Benefits, culture, and well-being
The bad news —??employers bear the brunt of excessive healthcare spending, with 50% of Americans getting health insurance through their jobs.
The good news —?this gives employers the unique opportunity to play an instrumental role in solving the value crisis in U.S. healthcare.?
This monthly newsletter is designed to educate, inspire, and empower employers who want to reject the status quo by?seeking and building better health plans.
READ
Here's what employees want to see in a benefits package and how your company can accommodate without overspending
Employees want benefits that make a tangible difference in their lives — and providing those benefits doesn’t have to break the bank for employers. Many business leaders assume all benefits are as costly as health insurance, which can cause them to write off additional perks before they even look into them. The truth is that many meaningful benefits cost businesses very little — and even covering a small portion of the cost of certain benefits can greatly improve access and affordability for employees.?
Employer tip:?As this article suggests, “Find the benefit that's most valued and go from there." Use polls or surveys to determine what new benefit would be most valuable to your employees, and then find a way to make it more accessible and/or more affordable for them.
Offering mental health benefits is good for your people and?your business. With leave for mental health reasons accounting for approximately 70% of workplace disability costs, not taking care of employees’ mental health is costly. And it hurts recruiting and retention, too: Around 60% of Gen Z employees consider mental health resources to be an important factor in choosing a new employer, and in staying with their current one.?
Employer tip:?Offer employees “a menu of resources” to take care of their mental health. This may include access to free therapy via virtual care partnerships, employee assistance programs, flexible working schedules, and mental health communication campaigns to reduce stigma around seeking help for mental health conditions.
Instead of thinking about employee benefits as tangible offerings and company culture as theoretical values, employers should think of them as two sides of the same coin. Business leaders should not only choose benefits that align with their values, but also lead with the ‘why’ behind benefits when communicating them to current and prospective employees. This helps employers construct a meaningful benefits package, while also helping employees understand and appreciate its worth.?
Employer tip:?If you say you value employee well-being, be sure to give employees the flexibility to use the wellness benefits you offer. For instance, providing mental health coverage but not giving your employees the flexibility to schedule regular therapy sessions seriously dilutes the value of the benefit — and could seem hypocritical to employees.
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OUTRAGEOUS HEALTHCARE PRICING
Did you know that 41% of U.S. adults, or about 100 million people, face healthcare debt?
44% of them owe more than $2,500, and 12% owe more than $10,000. This goes to show that outrageously high medical bills have a real, widespread impact on American people.
LISTEN
In this episode of the?LA Times?podcast, host Gustavo Arellano and his guests discuss the lasting stigma that surrounds mental illness in the workplace.?
Strides have been made: In 2008, the Americans with Disabilities Act recognized mental illness as a disability worthy of workplace accommodation. And the pandemic raised mental health awareness, prompting many employers to offer mental health resources for the first time.?
But people living with mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder and depression are still hesitant to disclose them to employers for fear of discrimination at work or even losing their jobs. This is because not all workplaces and bosses treat mental illness with the same compassion that they would a physical illness or injury, despite mental health disabilities being protected from discrimination by law.
ATTEND
Well-executed rewards and recognition programs are proven to improve employee retention and satisfaction, but many of the old technologies and approaches are out of date — and in need of an upgrade.?
This free virtual event, taking place on Wednesday, March 29 at 11 AM ET, will reveal the latest trends in employee rewards and recognition, teaching employers what works and what doesn’t in today’s workplace.?
SANA SPOTLIGHT
Check out this five-star review from one of our amazing Sana customers — an employer who appreciates how easy Sana makes it to offer high-quality small business health insurance.?
With 3.9 stars on TrustPilot, Sana has 2-3x the customer satisfaction of any legacy health plan.?