ASHHRA Health and Wellness Pulse

Matt Palmquist, Strategy+Business
In recent years, an increasing number of companies have begun to offer their employees a corporate wellness program — an employer-funded initiative designed to provide the type of preventive care and screening that can both ward off employees’ future health problems and improve their current fitness levels.

Visit http://www.strategy-business.com/blog/The-Legal-Perspective-on-Wellness-Programs to view the full article online.

Karen Hsu, HR Daily Advisor
Are you looking to boost employee engagement at your workplace? Lack of engagement is a big problem in the modern workforce, but gamification can help trainers and HR professionals find the data they need and increase engagement.

Visit http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2016/08/26/build-team-increase-engagement-gamification/ to view the full article online.

Jack Craver, BenefitsPro
The typical argument in favor of the United States’ unique system of health care often centers on the freedom consumers have to choose the benefits that best meet their needs. In reality, however, few Americans are truly health care shoppers.

Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2016/09/19/half-of-employees-dont-understand-their-health-ben?ref=hp-news to view the full article online.

Chad Brooks, Business News Daily
Much research has suggested that employees who are allowed to work from home often produce more than their office counterparts. However, a new study from the London School of Economics and Political Science discovered that on a long-term basis, there are no differences in productivity levels between home and office workers.

Visit www.businessnewsdaily.com/9398-remote-employee-productivity-drop.html to view the full article online.

Reed Abelson, New York Times
State health insurance exchanges created under the new health care law are in turmoil. By contrast, the employer market — where the majority of Americans still get their coverage — seems like a bastion of stability. An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation released on Wednesday shows that the share of employers offering coverage remained steady this year, and that the cost of premiums for health plans remained largely unchanged. But underneath some of those figures, some important changes are underway.

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/business/health-insurance-analysis-kaiser.html?ref=economy&_r=0 to view the full article online.

Gwen Moran, Fast Company
From teaching employees the basics of your technology infrastructure to helping them develop new insight and skill sets, training is a necessity in many companies. According to a 2015 report by Training magazine, managers are increasingly adopting new formats and methods of training to both improve employee satisfaction and increase effectiveness.

Visit https://www.fastcompany.com/3062528/4-ways-to-make-your-employees-love-training to view the full article online.

Ben Steverman, Bloomberg
More and more older Americans are working longer. Women, new research suggests, are much of the reason why.

Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-14/why-more-women-than-ever-are-putting-off-retirement to view the full article online.

Brian M. Kalish, Employee Benefit News
As a result of the Affordable Care Act, the appeal of health care benefits to employees has decreased while simultaneously increasing the importance of retirement plans as a tool to recruit and retain employees, according to a new survey by Nationwide and Harris Poll.

Visit http://www.benefitnews.com/news/aca-causing-more-emphasis-on-retirement-plans to view the full article online.

Cort Olsen, Employee Benefit News
Determining what makes a wellness program successful can be very subjective based on what the investor of the program expects to receive out of it. To ensure a client has the best wellness program, an adviser must be able to determine what it is their client is seeking.

Visit http://www.benefitnews.com/news/what-a-truly-successful-wellness-plan-looks-like to view the full article online.

Lenny Sanicola, World at Work
We continue to hear these stats over and over again: "The U.S. is the only developed nation that does not guarantee paid leave from work for new parents." "Only 12% of U.S. workers have access to any paid maternity leave benefits." However, as the above stats are repeated over and over, the issue of paid leave and parental leave has risen to the forefront of dialogue and debates among U.S. government leaders and private-sector employers.

Visit http://blog.worldatwork.org/2016/09/the-echo-of-parental-leave-continues-to.html to view the full article online.

Stephen Aarstol, HR Daily Advisor
What if I told you that you could work fewer hours and be paid the same, or even more? What if I told you that you could give all your employees a raise for free, and they could go home early, everyday? What if I told you that this is also the fastest way to grow your business? I doubt you’d believe me, and I don’t blame you. But here’s the thing: I just did it.

Visit http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2016/09/21/inventing-better-work-life-balance-5-hour-workday/ to view the full article online.

Paul Mulhausen, Employee Benefit News
Mental illness can become evident in many different ways. Some conditions affect a person’s thinking, feeling or mood and vary from mild to severe. Every person will have different experiences, even those with the same diagnosis. When looking specifically at workplace productivity, depression, anxiety and substance use cast a heavy burden on an employee. These behavioral health conditions exact an enormous personal and social cost, affecting not only a person’s health but also his or her ability to work.

Visit http://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/employers-need-to-remove-mental-illness-stigma-from-the-workplace to view the full article online.

Mike Miliard, Healthcare IT News
Hospital CEOs and CFOs must align with chief data officers, chief patient experience officers, chief clinical transformation officers and others for population health management programs to succeed. Doctors, nurses and patients are all critical as well.

Visit http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/commentary-population-health-demands-all-hands-deck-approach to view the full article online.

Erin Ross, NPR
Fitness trackers remain wildly popular, but do they make us fit? Maybe not, according to a study that asked overweight or obese young adults to use the tiny tracking tools to lose weight.

Visit http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/20/494631423/weight-loss-on-your-wrist-fitness-trackers-may-not-help to view the full article online.

 

Join the ranks of health care HR specialists who have attained CHHR certification.
With the CHHR behind your name, it shows you to be a professional of the highest caliber: One who truly knows the field and is savvy to current best practices in benefits and wellness. ASHHRA members who qualify and apply for a CHHR Scholarship will receive a voucher for the full CHHR exam fee (a $295 value)!