Employer-provided financial and compensation benefits, such as flexible spending accounts, tuition assistance and incentive bonus plans, are decreasing.

High deductible health plans and HSAs have been in the market for over a decade now – and FSAs and HRAs have been around for much longer. Adoption rates (particularly for HDHPs, HSAs and HRAs) continue to accelerate rapidly. But the "2014 Consumer and Employer Healthcare Benefits Survey" from Alegeus Technologies shows consumers, and current account holders specifically, do not fully understand them. 

An improving economy and stable financial markets have given financial executives confidence to explore a range of options to help their companies better manage the costs and risks of their health care, pension and other benefit programs, according to research from Prudential Financial and CFO Research Services.

The majority of Americans (89 percent) feel employers should try to offer workers flexibility to meet their families' needs, so long as the work gets done, signaling a strong sentiment in favor of the concept of flexible workplaces. A Harris poll has found that over half (52 percent) of U.S. workers (not including those self-employed) feel they could do their job better if they were allowed a more flexible work schedule.

Physical wellness is a hot topic, and workplaces all over America are promoting it. The majority of large employers now offer some programs that aim to enhance physical wellness – from promoting weight loss to smoking cessation to stress management – or help employees lessen chronic conditions such as back pain.

You can offer employees a lavish buffet lunch onsite every day, bring in a masseuse on Fridays and hold the company picnic at Disney World. But at the end of the day, if you have the wrong people in the wrong jobs, you still will not have a happy workforce.

It’s no wonder Americans are stressed. Almost three-quarters of the working population (74 percent) is losing sleep over worries that they may not be able to afford to retire.

When it comes to retirement savings, no family structure is apparently better prepared than same-sex couples without kids, who reported having $276,200 tucked away – the very model of successful workplace savers.

Employees tend to make the same retirement-planning blunders over and over again. Guest poster Rick Pendykoski, the owner of a retirement-planning firm, outlines the Top Ten – so HR pros can help people steer clear.

A former employee’s Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawsuit against a residential nursing care facility provides a couple of important lessons for all employers.

A suggestion to reduce rates of hospital-acquired infections by replacing handshakes with fist bumps and other gestures is meeting mixed reviews among clinicians.

According to the new telephone survey of 2,505 adults, nearly half of the public (49 percent) has suffered a major stressful event or experience over the past year – 43 percent of which were related to health. And as an article about the poll in the Boston Globe pointed out, the vicious chicken-or-egg cycle of health adding stress and thus harming our health is one that current medical practice has yet to break.

Hospital elevators are home to more bacteria than toilet surfaces – making the high-traffic area a breeding ground for potentially dangerous infections.

The clinician responsible for a medication error or wrong-site surgery can be left traumatized afterward, unable to perform his or her duties. Such second victims need support from their employers, and hospital leaders should provide thoughtful, integrated programs to help them cope.

Critics say efforts to combat obesity have been anemic and uncoordinated. That's changing as hospitals embrace new strategies and new partners – from schools to professional football teams.

In communities across the country, officials have banned smoking in public places ranging from restaurants to stadiums. Some could argue that we've gotten as far as we can expect with bans toward a tobacco-free nation. Even now, there are hospital systems that no longer hire health care providers who smoke.

St. Francis Medical Center has been recognized as a Gold-Level Fit-Friendly Worksite by the American Heart Association for helping employees eat better and move more.

The Kansas Hospital Association is pleased to announce that the Kansas Hospital Education and Research Foundation has received pledges from 51 Kansas hospitals committed to examining their current food and beverage practices. These hospitals will consider new policies that provide healthier food options in the hospital cafeteria and throughout the facility.

Locally grown foods will be served in the cafeterias of 13 Maryland hospitals for the statewide 2014 Buy Local Challenge (BLC). The Buy Local Challenge was created in 2007 by the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission to highlight the economic and environmental benefits of buying local food.

Morehouse General Hospital has been working over the past year to improve the quality of life for its employees. This effort is thanks to a one-year health and wellness grant awarded to the hospital by the Delta Regional Authority. The grant is through the DRA's Healthy Delta Initiative, which provides a one-time supplemental funding for the hospital to conduct a Healthy Workforce Challenge pilot program over the course of a year.

Employer-sponsored wellness programs were one of the first areas to adopt gamification concepts and, like recruitment efforts, have found the gamification revolution an absolute boon to motivating and engaging individuals.