ASHHRA Health and Wellness Pulse
BENEFITS
Many companies are increasingly seeking to stand out as attractive employers by offering unique and non-traditional employee benefits and, according to a U.S. poll conducted by Monster.com, work schedule flexibility is the most desirable non-financial benefit by a wide margin for job seekers (50+ percent). The next most popular benefit is personal time off/vacation carry-over. Less attractive options include: childcare availability, education reimbursement, and employee parties/social activities. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=74260&from=Total%20Rewards%20News to view the full article online.
Nice guys may finish last, but an OfficeTeam survey suggests that nice companies often finish first when it comes to recruiting. More than four in 10 (42 percent) of professionals said an organization's participation in charitable activities is at least somewhat of a factor in their decision to work there. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=74328&from=Total%20Rewards%20News%20All to view the full article online.
Employees who contribute to health savings accounts (HSAs) generally become more engaged in managing their health after enrolling, according to a survey conducted by Buck Consultants. Fifty-one percent of respondents set aside more money for potential medical costs than before they had HSAs, while 29 percent have more discussions with their doctors about the cost of care, and 13 percent more actively manage their chronic disease. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=74294&from=Total%20Rewards%20News to view the full article online.
By Dan Berman Social Security is based on a simple idea: pay for retirement benefits through payroll taxes levied on workers and employers. But that’s where the simplicity ends. Prospective retirees need to consider how to maximize their benefits and those of their spouses. Even the age when benefits are first collected has a great impact on how much is received each month. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/12/11/6-things-about-social-security-advisors-need-to-te to view the full article online.
Around 70 percent of pre-retirees plan to work longer in retirement, while only 37 percent of retirees took this approach to address retirement risks, according to the 2013 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey from the Society of Actuaries (SOA). SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=74300&from=Total%20Rewards%20News to view the full article online.
By Elizabeth Halkos The big story in 2014 for employee benefits—after health care reform—is the substantial role that voluntary benefits plays for employers and their employees. Both traditional and non-traditional voluntary benefits are making their way to the forefront of the benefits package that employers will offer next year. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/12/13/five-voluntary-trends-to-watch-in-2014 to view the full article online.
More than three in five (61 percent) pre-retirees now say they are "terrified" of what health care costs may do to their retirement plans. The annual survey by Nationwide Financial reveals the number of affluent pre-retirees jumped 30 percent from the fewer than half that used the word "terrified" last year to describe their concerns about paying for health care costs in retirement. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=74287&from=Total%20Rewards%20News to view the full article online.
By Paula Aven Gladych For the past 20 years, annuities have been on the cusp of greatness. But now they’ve arrived, according to Douglas Dubitsky, vice president and head of product management at Guardian Retirement Solutions in New York City. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/12/02/annuities-finally-in-the-spotlight to view the full article online.
For the millions of U.S. employees starting new health plans on Jan. 1, 2014, research by Accenture suggests that as many as one-in-four individuals who enrolled online through private insurance exchanges selected lower coverage levels than their employer previously offered to decrease their monthly premiums. And the majority (57 percent) of those who select lower-priced health plans will buy ancillary benefits, such as vision coverage or even pet insurance, using their allocated leftover funds. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=74299&from=Total%20Rewards%20News to view the full article online.
WELLNESS
By Christian Schappel Most company wellness programs lean heavily on biometric screenings/health risk assessments to be successful at driving down health spending. The problem is many workers aren’t willing to participate in these evaluations, making it hard to get wellness initiatives off the ground. SOURCE: HRMORNING.COM
Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/conquering-employee-fears-about-health-risk-assessments/ to view the full article online.
Engaged employees are more likely to believe their company cares about their total quality of life—physical, emotional, social, and financial health—not just their life at work, according to a survey from Virgin Pulse. Additionally, engaged employees are at ease more often than they’re uncomfortably stressed at work and feel their family and close friends have a connection to their work life, co-workers, or employer. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=74203&from=Work-Life%20News to view the full article online.
By Risa Lavizzo-Mourey The U.S. spends $2.7 trillion a year on health care, more than any other country by far, and yet we are not healthy. Lots of people know this state of affairs is not sustainable. They also know that, to create a healthier nation, we must focus on more than just treating illness. We must create opportunities to pursue the healthiest lives possible, wherever we live, work, learn, and play. So, my big idea for 2014 is the emergence of a Culture of Health. SOURCE: LINKEDIN
Visit http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131210000013-43742182-big-ideas-2014-creating-a-culture-of-health to view the full article online.
The holiday season is a busy time with many demands such as parties, shopping, baking, cleaning, and entertaining. It's important to minimize the stress of the holidays and enjoy them even more. The Simonds-Hurd Complementary Care Center at the HealthAlliance Hospital Burbank Campus offers great services to help minimize your stress including yoga, massage, reiki, and much more. Dr. Daniel O'Leary hands off "Ask a Doc" to Lynn Gerrits, MA, Complementary Care Center manager, who will give you helpful tips to help your stress this holiday season. SOURCE: YDR.COM
Visit http://www.ydr.com/offbeat/ci_24742439/7-free-and-easy-ways-reduce-holiday-stress to view the full article online.
By Alison Acerra, MS, RD When I began my graduate studies in Clinical Nutrition at New York University in 2000, rates of obesity in the U.S. were on an upward trajectory with no end in sight. The term Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) wasn't yet in the vernacular, however those of us in the nutrition community were about to get familiar with it, and fast. Caused primarily by insufficient exercise and a diet rich in sugar, salt, and fat, a MetS diagnosis nearly guarantees a future of diabetes, heart disease, and/or stroke. SOURCE: HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
Visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alison-acerra-ms-rd/corporate-wellness_b_4385590.html to view the full article online.
By Dan Cook There seems to be no getting around it: Wellness plans, properly designed and implemented, work. Yet more evidence comes to us from an awards selection process executed by The Principal, an investment management firm. The Principal, in compiling a list of 10 small to medium sized companies with very low employee turnover, discovered that all the companies offered some type of wellness program. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/11/27/wellness-plans-key-to-reducing-turnover?t=wellness to view the full article online.
By Joanne Eglash Deck the halls with boughs of holly, put the fudge on the dining room table, and watch your belly acquire five extra pounds of pudge. If you want to avoid that recipe for holiday weight gain disaster this year, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Mike Roizen, authors of "YOU: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management," want to help. They unveiled their 10 best diet tips for the holidays in their Dec. 15 column. SOURCE: EXAMINER.COM
Visit http://www.examiner.com/article/dr-oz-and-dr-roizen-10-ways-to-avoid-holiday-weight-gain-from-yoga-to-nuts to view the full article online.
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