An increasing number of employees in the “Sandwich Generation” are looking for benefits to help them manage the demands of caring for parents and children alike. A recent nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center found that nearly half of respondents in their 40s and 50s have a living parent and are either raising a young child or supporting a grown one.
“There’s an emerging recognition of the impact of caregiver stress on working parents’ ability to be productive at home and at work,” says David Lissy, CEO of Bright Horizons, a provider of dependent back-up care services. “Particularly as families wait longer to have children, there’s more at stake in their careers and they’re pulled in many directions, dealing with the realities of their aging parents.”
On average, access to Bright Horizons allowed employees to work six days during the past six months – productive time that otherwise would have been lost – and nearly 70% of these workers used the service for adult care.
Care.com, another provider of backup care services for employees, saw a three-fold increase last year in the number of clients that added senior care planning. IRobot, Inc. chose Care.com as an employee benefit because “we value our employees and want to support them in managing the demands on their personal lives,” says benefits analyst Cathy Blanchard. Since adding the service, iRobot has seen a 15% month-to -month increase in using the program, which has boosted productivity by reducing costs from care-related absences and distractions.
If you’d like to learn more about offering day care for adults and children as an employee benefit, just give us a call.
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Benefits experts have usually focused on the role of management in implementing programs that improve employees’ flexibility in balancing their life and work. However, researchers are now calling on workers to take the primary responsibility for a creating more flexible daily life by making small, shifts in their everyday behavior.
For example, a survey by Cali Williams Yost, author of Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day,” found that nearly 75% of employees believe that work-life flexibility is only possible if their employer and/or boss provide it. Adds Brad Harrington, Ph.D., executive director of the Boston College Center for Work and Family, “ultimately it’s the individual who must solve this problem, determine their fit, and manage the process of achieving it.
Although more companies are offering flexibility programs and policies that help employees manage such life transitions such as parenthood and illness, Yost and Harrington point out that many workers find it unrealistic to work regularly from home, revise their daily schedule, or use other flexibility options. Even so, they argue, this doesn’t make work-life balance a lost cause.
“Major life events matter,” says Yost, “but it’s the everyday routine we crave and where employees struggle the most with managing work-life fit. Employees themselves need to manage work-life as a daily practice. While this sounds counterintuitive, it starts by thinking small.” She encourages employees to “make small, consistent changes in how, when and where they manage their work and their lives… taking actions that over time build the foundation for a successful work-life fit that transforms their performance on and off the job.”
That’s sound advice to share with your workers
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You can’t eliminate the stress that your employees bring to work – but you can offer them these guidelines to help manage workplace stressors on their own:
- Prioritize, streamline, delegate, and discard. When facing a task, ask if it’s really necessary to do immediately.
- Break things up. Take two – to three – minute breaks every hour and commit to doing at least one fun thing every day.
- Make time. Build time into your schedule for creative expression, healthy eating, moderate daily exercise, hanging out with friends, and enjoying nature.
- Be on time. Build in cushion time between appointments to allow for traffic and the unexpected.
- Send negativity flying. If a co-worker is on the warpath, visualize an airplane with an ad banner over the person’s head, with each negative word floating up into the banner and out of view.
- Relax and watch what happens. Do mini-meditations or mindful breathing while you’re between tasks or in line at the cafeteria.
- Get essential nutrients. Go beyond vitamins and begin to think about daylight and laughter as integral parts of your daily life.
- Consider what you’re consuming. Sugar, caffeine, and alcohol can increase stress levels.
- Watch your words. Don’t let negative internal chatter and self-recrimination distract and demoralize you.
- Be kind. Do something nice for a different co-worker every day until it becomes second nature to reduce stress for others.
- Sleep on it. Sleep deprivation a major culprit in stress is Try to get restful, restorative slumber every night, and watch your stress level decline.
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The number of mid-market employers giving Group Health plan members incentives to participate in wellness programs has more than doubled since 2010, says a recent report by Fidelity Management and Research L.L.C.
The study found that more than three in four midsize businesses (77%) – those with fewer than 5,000 employees – offered employees monetary rewards tied to wellness activities and health management outcomes in 2011, compared with fewer than two in five (38%) that provided cash incentives in 2010. Overall, nearly nine in ten employers surveyed (86%) gave some type of incentive for wellness activities and/or outcomes in 2011, up from with 63% a year earlier.
The average value of incentives offered to employees and their dependents has also increased substantially. For the 2013 plan year, the average employee incentive value will reach $521, up from $460 in 2011; while the average incentive value for dependents will grow to $465 this year, from $390 in 2011.
Despite the rapid increase in mid-market businesses offering incentives for wellness program participation, they’re still less likely than larger employers to provide these rewards. The value of incentives also remains lower among midmarket employers than those given by larger businesses. Less than half of midsize firms (45%) offered inducements for healthy behavior worth $500 or more, compared with 50% of large employers and 68% of very large employers.
“As the cost of providing health care continues to increase, employers recognize one of the key ways to manage their company’s costs is to give incentives to their workforce for leading a healthier lifestyle,” says Adam Stavisky, Fidelity Senior Vice President/ Benefits Consulting.
If you’d like to implement, or a revise, an incentive program to help keep your workers stay more healthy – and, thus, more productive – just let us know. We’re here to help!
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Non-traditional voluntary employee benefits are becoming increasingly popular with workers because they address their real-world lifestyles and financial needs. If you’d like to offer your workers a benefit that can help them invest in their future, advance their careers – and make them more productive – all without costing you a dime, consider online learning programs.
According to a recent nationwide study by Harris Interactive, more than half (53%) of workers and their spouses surveyed would be at least “somewhat likely” to use educational services for themselves or their families through an employee purchase program.
While higher education has become essential to get ahead in today’s high-tech world, skyrocketing costs have made it increasingly difficult for workers to afford. More than nine in ten college students have taken out loans to earn their bachelors degree – and the value of student loan debt has topped $1 trillion ($300 billion more than credit card and auto loan debts combined)!
Many employers currently offer some form of tuition assistance for the continuing education of their workers. However, online learning can provide a more affordable and convenient alternative for your employees to fund their education and that of their family members (through tutoring programs and SAT/ACT preparation programs) while learning at their own speed. Workers would pay through convenient pain-free payroll deductions, providing a responsible way to budget, together with the opportunity to graduate free of debt. What’s more, the program won’t burden your employee benefits budget.
To learn more about how you can offer this creative benefit to your workers, just give us a call.
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A recent nationwide study found that more and more businesses and workers are benefiting from voluntary employee benefits programs. According to the Prudential Insurance Company State of Group Voluntary Benefits survey:
- More than six in ten employees surveyed (63%) believe that voluntary benefits increase the value of their company’s benefits program.
- The percentage of employees who would like to receive more benefits grew to 34% from 24% a year ago.
- One in three employees feels that losing their voluntary benefits would be disruptive and expensive.
“Employers and employees agree on the value of voluntary benefits,” says Bob Patience Prudential Group Vice President, Voluntary Benefits Insurance. “Employers see an increase in employees’ satisfaction with these programs, while employees appreciate their employers’ endorsement of the products offered, and believe they get good value because of their employers’ involvement and diligence.”
Voluntary benefits offers workers a number of advantages, including the education and resources they need to make informed decisions based on their needs. Taking full advantage of these programs is a great way for employees to improve their “wellness” – both physical and financial. What’s more, voluntary benefits offer workers the convenience of employer-based enrollment systems and “pain free” payroll deduction.
What employees saw as the primary advantage of voluntary benefits varied based on age, education, and gender. More than three in five workers (62%) over the age of 60 focused on the guaranteed coverage feature. More than half (56%) of college graduates preferred the wide range of available products. A slightly higher percentage (53%) of women than of men (45%) chose the convenience of payroll deductions.
Our agency’s professionals would be happy to advise you on creating or updating, your Voluntary Benefits program – just give us a call.
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