Employees Feel Less Secure

Welcome to your weekly state of employee care report. These are really and truly tough times and I think we are in for some real reckoning in the workplace. With over 120,000 layoffs in the last few weeks, we are witnessing employee withdrawals like never before. It doesn't help that workers are going through caregiving challenges, reduced buying power, and are being forced to return to the office despite all the data we've seen reminding us that remote work works, and that productivity doesn't suffer when employees have the option for flexibility.

However, the latest job reports are stunning, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and healthcare. The labor market added 517,000 jobs in January, with unemployment rate at 3.4% below the 3.6% estimate.

Here are few things that stood out to me this week:

1. Maryland May Be The First State To Adopt A 4-Day WorkWeek. What I love about this bill is the reduction in working hours from the standard 40 hours to 35 hours and the tax credits up to $750,000 made available to employers who enroll at least 30 employees in the program. There is enough proof that we can reduce working hours without harming productivity. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out in Maryland.
2. Emergency savings is no longer an individual problem, or even a perk for the best workplaces — rather, the conversation has entered the national dialogue around the role money plays in employees' total well-being.?Thanks to the SECURE 2.0 ACT .
3. We need to support working parents beyond the early stages. I have seen more benefits geared towards fertility, family building, reproductive and newborn vs. young kids and adolescents. Roughly 40% of US parents with children younger than 18 say they are extremely or very worried that their children might struggle with anxiety or depression at some point. This is a number worth paying attention to, and one employers should support.
4. The share of Americans who say they live paycheck to paycheck keeps rising and most of the new arrivals according to Bloomberg earn over $100K. 64% of U.S consumers - that is about 166 million people - were living paycheck to paycheck in 2022. 73% of Americans, that is 200 million people cannot afford a $400 emergency
5. Employees feel less secure committing to one employer , no thanks to the recent layoffs. We may begin to see a shift from full-time employment to a variety of freelance or part-time employment to diversify income and improve income security.
6. Paid leave is still elusive in America. The lack of a federal paid leave is particularly painful for low-income workers — only 12% get the benefit. They often can't afford to take time off. Despite the fact that FMLA passed 30 years ago, we still do not have paid family leave in America, and recent efforts have been dead on arrival. A group of Democratic lawmakers have announced they were reintroducing legislation to establish paid family leave and other updates to the law.

About MH

MH is building care infrastructure for today’s workforce. We are the first solution to cover the full spectrum of workplace and life needs through flexible access to an employer-sponsored wallet, community, content, and personalized coaching all in one comprehensive web app. Whether employees want to utilize their benefits on housekeeping or fertility benefits, or proactively manage their caregiving responsibilities, career, or wellbeing, MH guides your workforce to the right solution at the right time, making them feel resilient and productive.? We empower companies to help all of their employees feel valued and supported throughout their working lives.

Talk to one of our sales team today by emailing us at [email protected] or visit us at www.mhworklife.com