Employers have been trying to address many of the same benefits challenges for the last few years, such as rising healthcare costs and competitive compensation. Some employers have responded to these challenges by attempting to meet employee demands, but by and large, most employers still struggle to find adequate solutions. These challenges are likely to continue through the remainder of 2024, but understanding the latest benefits trends can help employers evaluate their offerings to best meet employee needs, respond effectively to their challenges, and gain a competitive edge over competitors.
The Evolution of Leave
Expanding paid leave benefits can be an important talent acquisition strategy for employers since candidates and employees prioritize them. These benefits can give employees a meaningful safety net and peace of mind, helping build trust and increase loyalty. Paid leave is evolving to support diverse workers and encourage family-friendly workplace policies. More employers are embracing various types of paid leave, such as family, medical, sick, and bereavement leave, even when not required by law. Volunteer leave is also gaining popularity, as it allows employees to give their time to organizations they care about.
Over the last few years, many more states have enacted laws to provide paid leave. Currently, 13 states and the District of Columbia have state-run, mandatory paid family and medical leave programs that cover most private-sector employees. Eight additional states have voluntary systems that provide paid family leave through private insurance. Undoubtedly, paid leave laws will soon impact more employers. As such, employers who are or will soon be subject to paid leave laws should ensure their workplace policies are compliant with 2024 requirements.
For those not subject to paid leave requirements, employers may consider offering creative paid leave benefits to boost employee attraction and retention, increase employee productivity, reduce absenteeism, and alleviate employee stress. Adding up those advantages, paid leave can attract a diverse workforce and boost employees’ emotional, social and financial well-being. Happy and healthy employees are a win for employers.
Boosting Benefits Utilization With Personalization
Today’s benefits extend beyond health insurance as workers seek packages with flexible offerings that help them afford everyday purchases and save for the future. With an increasingly multigenerational workforce, employers are also faced with the challenge of designing employee benefits that appeal to all generations of workers.
Considering this, many organizations are looking closer at their benefits packages and exploring ways to expand offerings their employees will desire and utilize. A report by health care benefits company Lively found that 81% of organizations plan to add or improve employee benefits in the next year to better recruit and retain employees. Common types of benefits that are attractive to workers include:
- Health savings accounts (HSAs)
- Expanded PTO
- Pet insurance
- Professional development opportunities
- Lifestyle spending accounts
The Importance of Emotional Salary
Emotional salary refers to the nonmonetary components contributing to an employee feeling adequately rewarded at work. The seventh annual Engagement and Retention Report from Achievers Workforce Institute (AWI) found that compensation plays a significant role in the search for new employment. Alarmingly, two-thirds of employees (65%) have one foot out the door this year. Employees noted that compensation is the top reason to look for a new job in 2024, as pressures from inflation and the cost of living have shifted workers’ focus. However, AWI researchers also noted that an important factor to consider is an employee’s emotional salary, revealing that the following factors can increase emotional salary:
- Culture alignment—Employees want company decisions to align with their own values.
- Frequent recognition—Employees want to be appreciated at work.
- Work relationships—Employees want to feel connected to others at work.
- Consistent feedback—Employees want their voices to be heard and responded to.
- Career progression—Employees want to believe they have a future at the company.
The Demand for Mental Health Benefits
Anxiety has been rising in recent years and is now a top mental health issue in the workplace. A recent report revealed that nearly 24% of the individuals who contacted mental health provider ComPsych in 2023 were looking for help with anxiety. For context, anxiety didn’t even rank as a top-five mental health issue in the providers’s 2017 analysis. Today, this mental health condition is surpassing common struggles such as depression, stress, relationship and family issues, addiction, and grief.
With various mental health conditions prevalent in the workplace, employers can focus on ways to break the stigma around mental health and treatment, offer mental and emotional wellness benefits, and foster a supportive work culture. Organizations may invest in new mental health initiatives or amplify existing efforts, such as employee assistance programs, counseling benefits, mental health apps, peer-to-peer support programs and mental health days. However, stigma can prevent employees from utilizing benefits or even getting the help they need.
A study at global pharmaceutical company Novartis found that when employees heard about colleagues’ mental health struggles, they were more likely to use the services or learn more about available mental health programs. The company’s trial found that colleagues sharing their personal stories resulted in an increased uptake of an existing peer-to-peer support mental health program by as much as 8%. Open and candid workplace conversations about mental health struggles can help normalize access to support at work. Once employees are engaged in mental health-related topics, education efforts can help workers fully understand their available mental health tools and resources.