Overall Wellness Is Attractive to Employers and Employees

As we mark the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 and the resulting social and workplace changes that it triggered, many things have changed. The work-from-home model is looking like it will be a big part of how we move forward. The old days of soldiering on through illness and dragging yourself into the office are no longer a sign of dedication but looked down upon as selfish and dangerous. It is hard to believe we needed a pandemic to help us realize these behavioral changes.

The emotional and financial toll on individuals and families is still unknown. Time will tell if mental health issues and financial instability become the next pandemics we face in the years to come.

Employees are still struggling with work-life balance. Employers are well aware of the stresses and isolation that the quarantine practices have inflicted. There are efforts in most companies to try to relieve the challenges, make time for individuals to separate work and life, and encourage people to actually take time off. With all the communication and good intentions, employees are still working long hours and struggling to maintain a healthy balance between their careers and personal life while both are happening concurrently in their homes. It is harder to see the real impact this time has taken on employees when you are not having casual, in-person conversations with them on a daily basis.

With all the communication and good intentions, employees are still working long hours and struggling to maintain a healthy balance between their careers and personal life while both are happening concurrently in their homes.

Financial debt is piling up. While many people continued to work over the past year, many experienced layoffs, reduced hours or pay cuts. Some companies are continuing those reduced hours or reduced pay through 2021 due to the unknowns of the coming year and the need to remain profitable. Almost 60 percent of Americans withdrew from their retirement accounts during the pandemic, according to a recent survey from Kiplinger and Personal Capital, a wealth management organization. This means that people not only are suffering from financial challenges today but are putting their longer-term retirement plans in jeopardy as well.

Employers are looking for ways to help their employees’ total well-being. Employers are looking at benefits for their employees that address the challenges to their total well-being: physical, emotional and financial. Physical wellness programs that provide credits toward employees’ medical coverage and encourage physical activity and good habits have been in place for years. The need for such programs is extending further into emotional well-being. Communication of employer assistance for employees in need of counseling is expanding, and more executive-level leadership members are speaking out regarding their own challenges in this unprecedented time to help remove the stigma associated with mental health.

Financial wellness has taken on new importance as people understand how fragile their financial position can be. Financial wellness programs include: 401(k) savings programs; student loan repayment assistance; 529 College Savings plans; and access to financial counseling, education and planning. Options to engage in no-obligation, one-on-one discussions with financial planners are often included. Employers are looking for cost-effective offerings they can provide for their employees to educate, plan, and assess their current and future financial stability. Multiline carriers looking at cost-effective ways to provide these benefits must straddle the fine line of offering an objective service while also being a provider of the products that may be in the best interest of the employee’s long-term financial health. It is critical that carriers demonstrate objectivity and not appear to be creating a means of lead generation.

Employer-provided financial wellness benefits can be a win-win. A recent Broadridge Financial Solutions study found that a surprising 72 percent of Americans in the workforce said that, second only to salary, financial wellness benefits are the most critical factor when deciding whether or not to take a job. Additionally, two-thirds of those employees would seek a different job if they lost any of the financial wellness benefits they value.

Employers understand the important role that benefits play in attracting and retaining talent, creating even more of a demand for financial wellness programs. They are also keenly aware that worry stemming from financial concerns can impact emotional well-being of employees and be a contributor to poor performance.

As we begin the transition to a post-pandemic world, many lessons will remain with us and shape our social and workforce behaviors. Employers will bend to accommodate the new demands of employees to continue to work from home, or at least increase the flexibility allowed. Employers will also watch the needs of their employees as they recover mentally, physically and financially from the events of the last year. The importance of total well-being has been highlighted through the pandemic and resulting quarantine and shutdowns, and it will continue to be a focus as we see the real impact of 2020 unfold over the next few years. The result is that the demand for financial wellness benefits in addition to physical and mental wellness programs is likely to increase in the years to come.