Employee Benefit News - May/June 2021

A Workplace Reckoning:

Employers are utilizing artificial intelligence and virtual tech tools to navigate the conversation about diversity and inclusion.

Unconscious bias can impact an organization’s hiring practices and overall company culture — and unfair habits may be intensifying under the isolation of quarantine.

Most employers believe their benefits are inclusive or equitable until an employee who’s trying to access it points out the flaws, says Lisa Greenbaum, the chief client officer at Progyny.

“Plans are shaping up now for employers to improve health, equity and healthcare value over the next few years,” says Michael Thompson, president and CEO of the National Alliance.

People who suffer with chronic pain say it interferes with daily life and work.

Managers need to be cautious when approaching employees about mental health issues.

Adolescents and young adults may be getting sick at lower rates, but they’re still deeply affected by the impact of current events.

Employees have increasingly been turning to their employers for support managing the stressors in their lives outside of work.

These tools will help make the work from home process easier.

Although racism and sexism have been the focus, artificial intelligence also can weed out biases that fuel age discrimination.

Three-quarters of employees feel confident that they will have a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.

Whether it be out of pandemic boredom or financial necessity, companies may need to factor in older workers in their recruiting efforts.

It’s critical companies and their employees see skills development as a constant process rather than the one-and-done event it used to be. Here’s how to go about it.

Providing an easy-to-follow path to wellness through telehealth will become the baseline of employee-sponsored plans.

COVID concerns led millions of patients to put off routine care and screenings in 2020, so health plans will need to rethink how they forecast expenses.

The pandemic-driven migration out of big cities could lead to more missing participants, and going forward, more small, stranded retirement accounts.

Disability insurance is a fundamental part of a holistic benefits plan.