ASHHRA Health and Wellness Pulse
May 2017
 
Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Benefits
Strategy
World at Work
The nonprofit Health Transformation Alliance's (HTA) goal is "to improve the way corporations provide health care benefits in an effort to create better health care outcomes for their employees. By coming together to share expertise, the companies seek to make the current multilayered supply chain more efficient."  Formed by more than three dozen companies, the HTA seeks to fundamentally transform the corporate health-care benefit marketplace by focusing on four areas: Greater Marketplace Efficiency; Learning from Data; Educating Employees; and Breaking Bad Habits.
 
Corporate Wellness Magazine
Digital technology has transformed most aspects of employees’ day-to-day lives — and workplace benefits programs are no exception. Yet while it’s easy to think technology has displaced live communication, the reality is, technology acts as a complement to human interaction. However, technology is only one variable instigating rapid change in employees’ benefits communication preferences, and there is no one-size-fits-all model that will match every organization or employee’s unique needs. 
 
Benefit Trends
Fast Company
Some companies are recognizing their employees’ social consciences by offering paid time off for political involvement and even covering bail for employees arrested while peacefully protesting.
 
Employee Benefit News
One in eight U.S. couples experience infertility — and deal with exorbitant amounts of stress in their journey. Research has shown the stress levels of women diagnosed with infertility are equivalent to those of people with cancer, AIDS or heart disease. Yet many struggle silently, especially at work. Because of these dire statistics, more and more employees are looking for benefits that address fertility. 
 
Financial
HR Daily Advisor
The goal for a compensation program is to set a competitive wage range for a given position, and pay the people who perform that job within the salary range. Complications arise, though, when your workforce is spread from city to city, state to state or country to country. How can you determine what is competitive pay if you have employees doing the same job in Manhattan and in Kansas City?
 
UPMC  Health Plan
Workplace Programs & Perks
HR Morning
Good benefits communication is more important than the actual benefits you offer – at least when it comes to employee satisfaction. Proof: When a company with a rich benefits program communicated poorly, just 22 percent of workers were satisfied with their benefits. On the other hand, when an employer with a less rich benefits program communicated effectively, 76 percent of employees were satisfied with the benefits.
 
World at Work 
In a recent survey on potential changes to total rewards strategy for the 2020 workforce, 26 percent of respondents stated that they intend to expand the definition of benefits to include "life planning skills." What are these employers specifically targeting? Improved communication skills?  Better team building? Increased leadership skills? As we consider the changing business landscape and the workforce of the future, what are the primary life planning skill sets that lack in individuals today that are critical to organizations of the future?
 
Retirement
Bloomberg
Automation, that demon of American job security, may be the patron saint of retirement savings. The average balance in a 401(k) defined-contribution account at Fidelity Investments hit a record $95,500 in the first quarter, up more than 9 percent from a year earlier, the company reported this week. 
 
Employee Benefit News
With a lot of uncertainty in the health care industry, including the fate of the Affordable Care Act, it can be difficult for employees to determine the right choice for their current health care circumstances — let alone how they should be planning for their health care in retirement. It’s a big issue that concerns virtually all employees. 
 
Culture of Health
Workplace Wellness
HR Daily Advisor
Wearable devices like activity trackers have shown the potential to enhance employee participation in wellness programs, but getting the most out of a device requires more than simply asking employees to use it, a recent study found. The report by the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) identifies some best practices for employers incorporating wearables into workplace programs.
 
Corporate Wellness Magazine
A great well-being program gets employees ready to do great work. When employees show up healthy, energized and with a purpose, they’re more engaged. To drive real employee engagement, you need an effective well-being program that employees love and want to use. The reason some wellness programs feel invasive and punitive while others are inspiring and positive starts with how an organization rolls out their program.
 
Work-Life Integration
HR Dive
Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve’s first female chair, recently spoke out on the need for workplace policies that encourage women’s participation in the workforce. In a speech on gender inequality at Brown University, Yellen praised workplace policies such as paid family leave and tax-relief for child and elder care. She said such policies increase women’s numbers in the workforce and raise productivity, which boosts the economy. 
 
Entrepreneur
We live in busy times. Our sales targets keep increasing. Our schedules are consistently packed and all of us are looking for that perfect work-life balance because we understand its relevance to our effectiveness and efficiency at work. If you yourself are struggling with this issue of work-life balance, these simple steps will help you tremendously.
 
Population Health
NPR
New research documents significant disparities in the life spans of Americans depending on where they live. And those gaps appear to be widening, according to the research.
 
 

 

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