ASHHRA Health and Wellness Pulse
BENEFITS
By Tara Siegel Bernard Assume for a moment that your employer let you decide when and where you worked – you might arrive early so you could leave in time to care for a child, or work part of the week from home. Or perhaps you want to reduce your hours for a while to care for an aging parent. How would you be perceived if you raised your hand for one of these options? SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/your-money/the-unspoken-stigma-of-workplace-flexibility.html?_r=0 to view the full article online.
By Paula Aven Gladych As many financial advisors have found out over the years, women think differently than men when it comes to money and retirement. New research from Lincoln Financial Group found that emotions such as hope and fear influence women more than men when it comes to saving for retirement. Women also are more concerned than optimistic about retirement issues such as being able to pay day-to-day expenses, converting savings to retirement income, maintaining their current lifestyle in retirement, and saving enough to retire on. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/06/18/women-more-emotional-about-retirement-planning?ref=hp to view the full article online.
When Yahoo’s CEO announced this year that she was banning telecommuting, a firestorm of protest erupted nationwide. The policy change goes against the prevailing view in the American workforce that telecommuting is an option that helps employees achieve a satisfactory work-life balance. And smart companies know that work-life balance opportunities are important to their recruitment and retention strategies. SOURCE: AARP
Visit http://www.aarp.org/work/employers/info-06-2013/flexible-work-attracts-older-workers.html to view the full article online.
Nearly half (47 percent) of all employees reported that the stress from a personal problem negatively impacts their work performance, according to "Stressed at Work: What We Can Learn From EAP Utilization," a study from Bensinger, DuPont and Associates (BDA). The study found that stress most often leads to difficulty concentrating, absenteeism, and poor work quality. The overall data revealed gender differences in the influence of stress on work performance, yet variances by age were minimal. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimComment?id=72929&from=Work-Life%20News%20All to view the full article online.
By Mark McGraw The House's recent vote to pass the Working Families Flexibility Act has rekindled the political debate around comp time versus overtime for private-sector employees. Experts say the bill's progress will likely stall for now, but advise HR leaders to brush up on how the bill could amend the Fair Labor Standards Act. SOURCE: HUMAN RESOURCE EXECUTIVE ONLINE
Visit http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=534355508 to view the full article online.
Despite some common ground, there are also clear divides between employer and employee perceptions around the likelihood and impact of an income-threatening disability, according to findings from the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA). SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimComment?id=72808&from=Benefits%20News to view the full article online.
By Carol Harnett Does sound HR leadership have a greater impact on employee health, absence, and performance than wellness programs? If the unexpected results of a particular research project are any indication, the answer is an unequivocal "Yes." SOURCE: HUMAN RESOURCE EXECUTIVE ONLINE
Visit http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=534355514 to view the full article online.
By Abby Ellin Companies are making shifts in the benefits they offer employees, from providing more contraception coverage and more services for new mothers, to being more flexible with paid time off, according to a new report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). This is partly a response to new laws, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as well as an uncertain economy, the report said. SOURCE: ABC NEWS
Visit http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/06/workers-see-shift-in-benefits-report-finds/ to view the full article online.
By Cali Williams Yost
Studies show that work/life programs can help improve employee engagement and productivity. But you may believe effective strategies are expensive and require a big-business budget. Not true. Some larger and midsize employers have created innovative, low-cost work/life practices that even small businesses can adopt. SOURCE: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DAILY
Visit http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/35370/real-life-examples-of-simple-low-cost-worklife-efforts to view the full article online.
By Kathleen Koster Yahoo! president and CEO Marissa Mayer defended her controversial decision to terminate the company's teleworking policy at the Great Place to Work conference in L.A. recently. Her keynote presentation generated a lot of buzz among attendees and fellow speakers before she even took the stage. Tamar Elkeles, chief learning officer for another technology company, Qualcomm, argued that in today's world, work and life are so blended that work-life balance has turned into work flexibility. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS
Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/yahoo-ceo-aims-to-draw-employees-to-workplace-2733721-1.html to view the full article online.
WELLNESS
Now in its fifth year, National Employee Wellness Month is an annual initiative that helps business leaders learn how companies are successfully engaging employees in healthy lifestyles. It showcases how prevention, coupled with supportive social communities like the workplace, can improve employee health and productivity, lower health care costs, and create a healthy workplace culture. SOURCE: EMPLOYEEWELLNESSMONTH.COM
Visit http://employeewellnessmonth.com/in-the-news/ to view the full article online.
By John D. Martini, Allison Warden Sizemore, Dennis R. Bonessa, Dodi Walker Gross, and Rachel Cutler Shim On May 29, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service and the Departments of Labor and Health & Human Services released final regulations regarding wellness programs integrated with employer-sponsored health plans. The new wellness program standards apply to insured and self-insured programs, grandfathered and non-grandfathered, and are effective for plan years beginning on and after January 1, 2014. SOURCE: MONDAQ
Visit http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/245774/Employee+Benefits+Compensation/Final+ACA+Wellness+Program+Regulations+Released to view the full article online.
Ochsner Health System is a non-profit multi-specialty health care system comprised of eight hospitals and 38 clinics located throughout Louisiana. Since 2003, Ochsner had been monitoring its rising health care costs and the health of its workforce. The organization had quickly grown to 10,000 employees after several new acquisitions post-Hurricane Katrina. As Ochsner expanded, it became apparent that they needed a more integrated and accessible wellness program to replace the home-grown manual program. Most importantly, with so many entities under their umbrella, Ochsner sought to improve overall employee health and reduce health care costs company-wide. SOURCE: VIRGIN HEALTHMILES
Visit http://us.virginhealthmiles.com/Documents/CS_Ochsner.pdf to view the full article online.
By Nancy Shute
People who are overweight or obese often feel like they're getting dissed by doctors. So you'd think that a fat doctor would understand. Well, yes and no. Patients are more apt to trust overweight doctors when it comes to diet advice, a study finds. But they're also more likely to feel that the overweight doctor is judging them about their weight. SOURCE: NPR.ORG
Visit http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/06/05/188920874/fat-doctors-make-fat-patients-feel-better-and-worse to view the full article online.
By Judy Martin As the work-life balance debate roars on with employees wondering whether to lean-in or lean-out these days, perception is everything (most recently at Arianna Huffington’s #ThirdMetric conference where redefining success beyond money and power was the focus). And the perception of being cared for in a workplace culture that encourages wellness, just might boast a more committed and happy workforce in the new world of work which is arguably hi-tech, global, and 24/7. SOURCE: FORBES
Visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/06/11/challenge-2013-linking-employee-wellness-morale-and-the-bottom-line/ to view the full article online.
Recognition programs that motivate specific behaviors have jumped to a top-tier goal for organizations for the first time in 11 years, according to the results of a WorldatWork and ITA Group survey, cited by 41 percent of organizations in 2013 versus 25 percent in 2008. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=72773&from=Work-Life%20News%20All to view the full article online.
By Julie Appleby Employers will be able to increase rewards to workers who participate in wellness programs under final rules released by the Obama Administration. The final rules, similar to those proposed in November as part of the Affordable Care Act, have raised concerns among advocates who represent people with chronic or severe illnesses, as well as among some employers. They allow employers to increase workers’ financial stakes from 20 percent of the cost of their health premiums to 30 percent, starting next year. SOURCE: TLNT
Visit http://www.tlnt.com/2013/05/30/new-rules-increase-rewards-penalties-for-worker-wellness-participation/ to view the full article online.
By Dan Cook "What light through yonder window breaks?" Romeo asks in the second act of Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet." Perhaps it is the light of the glow of good health and the brightness of eye of the well-rested. At least, that’s what a recent survey suggests the legendary lover was referring to. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/06/10/workers-with-windows-sleep-more-soundly?t=wellness to view the full article online.
By Al Bredenberg In background materials about the ACA and its wellness provisions, the U.S. Dept. of Labor explains that, beginning in 2014, the ACA increases "the maximum permissible reward under a health-contingent wellness program from 20 percent to 30 percent of the cost of health coverage, and [increases] the maximum reward to as much as 50 percent for programs designed to prevent or reduce tobacco use." SOURCE: THOMASNET NEWS
Visit http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2013/06/18/corporate-wellness-programs-boon-or-boondoggle/ to view the full article online.
Controlling health care costs is crucial for Iowa manufacturers to remain competitive. But a big question for many companies is whether investing in an employee wellness program will cut costs and improve productivity. To help answer that question, a team of Iowa State University researchers is conducting a pilot program with three Iowa manufacturers. SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY / IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
Visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130617160734.htm to view the full article online.
If companies want their employees to trim their waistlines, they might need to pay up. According to a new poll commissioned by Workplace Options, a global employee effectiveness company and work-life services provider, 58 percent of American workers would commit to losing weight, quitting smoking, or attending fitness classes if they were offered a monetary incentive by their employer. SOURCE: PR WEB
Visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/6/prweb10826460.htm to view the full article online.
Integrating its employee wellness, productivity, and health care programs into a unified strategy helped Kraft Foods Group reduce its medical spending growth trend from 8 percent in 2009 to 1.2 percent in 2012. In addition, the Dallas-based food giant increased employee participation in health risk assessments from 39 percent to 99.5 percent between 2009 and 2010. Its employees have improved clinical outcomes and better health, based on health risk scores. SOURCE: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DAILY
Visit http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/35633/kraft-improves-worker-health-with-new-integrated-strategy to view the full article online.
The link is strong between the wellness and vitality of an organization and the health and wellness of its employees – resulting in employees’ increased job morale, satisfaction, commitment, and performance. Additionally, employees place a premium on the culture of wellness with 87 percent claiming that health and wellness programs play a role in determining their employer of choice. However, quantifying the bottom-line impact of these programs continues to be a challenge for employers, according to a new survey by Virgin HealthMiles. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimComment?id=72710&from=Benefits%20News to view the full article online.
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