Employee Benefits Insights —Trends, Opinions & Resources

Welcome to the first edition of Employee Benefits Insights!

Every month I’ll summarise the latest trends, expert insights, and exclusive updates in the world of employee benefits. As we continue our mission to build a world working at its best, widening the scope of conversation is essential.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

1. Benefits Trends
2. Benefit Spotlight
3. Opinion
4. Tech innovations
5. Useful resources

1. Benefits Trends — Neurodiverse-friendly work policies are on the rise

Post-COVID, neurodiversity is a hot topic, fuelled in part by platforms like TikTok and the emergence of neurodivergent influencers, as well as growing research highlighting the benefits of a diverse workforce.

This increased awareness is pushing employers to think more carefully about if their policies and workplaces are accessible for neurodiverse individuals. Think: inclusive hiring practices, reasonable adjustments, mental health support, better training and awareness.

I predict a bigger emphasis on neurodiverse-friendly policies and benefits in 2024. We’re already partnering with some cool providers in this space (e.g. Brain in Hand). But I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

P.S. Check out the searches for ‘neurodiversity’ in the last 5 years…

2. Benefit Spotlight — Income Protection Insurance??

I was recently asked: what’s the most under-appreciated benefit?

My answer: Income Protection Insurance.

It’s such a simple concept— insurance that protects employees financially if they become unable to work due to illness.

Of course, most people don’t think it’s worthwhile — we’re all healthy until we’re not, right? Plus, many naively assume government assistance will cut it if they become too unwell to work.

But the truth is, disability benefits probably won't cover your rent, let alone your mortgage. Without insurance, you’re only one unexpected illness or accident away from ending up below the poverty line.

A lot of companies are hesitant to offer it, but I think, given proper communication about it’s value, employees will definitely make use of this benefit.

3. Opinion: Companies are spending too much on healthcare interventions???

Businesses are spending 20 times more on healthcare interventions to treat employee ill-health & increasing absence rates than they are on preventative measures. Quite the imbalance.

And because of the likes of medical inflation and crisis in the NHS (in the UK), the levers companies are pulling to treat employee ill-health are becoming more and more elaborate and costly. PMI premiums are skyrocketing and companies are either paying these or increasing the costs employees have to pay. Companies are also pouring money into employee mental health treatment and occupational health services.

However, investing in preventative healthcare measures catches the problem at its source. Think:

• Health screening
• Nutrition guidance
• Gym memberships
• Epigenetic testing
• Better work-life balance

All this means is that employees won’t have to ‘bounce back quicker’ as they won’t have to bounce back at all.

4. Tech innovations ??

On the topic of preventative healthcare, there’s more talk of health screening and testing in the employee benefits space. One tech innovation I think we’ll see becoming popular is the likes of gut microbiome testing. Apps like Zoe are already gaining traction, and I think it’s only a matter of time before employers start offering these services to employees as part of their wider healthcare initiatives.

5. Useful resources

Ben has released a bunch of super useful resources recently. I’m going to shamelessly plug some now!

???[Live event] Employees as consumers: Employee benefits for a disrupted world with Lucy Adams.

• Former HR Director at the BBC, current CEO at Disruptive HR, Lucy Adams will walk us through her EACH model and how it applies to your benefits strategy.

???[Free tool] AI HR policy generator.

???[Webinar] Cut costs & carbon: An intro to Electric Vehicle Schemes with Octopus EV.

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