Lessons from EBN’s Benefits at Work conference

LEADERSHIP: To be successful in managing people, leaders have to understand their own purpose, in order? to instill it in their workforce. Employees need to feel as though their work matters and contributes to a larger mission — and it's a leader's job to remind them of that.?

Rachel Druckenmiller ?? , keynote speaker at this week’s Benefits at Work conference, hosted by Employee Benefit News , shared that getting vulnerable with your workforce and sharing your own journey of career growth or challenges can help foster deeper connections and prevent disconnect.?

"If people feel disconnected and they don't know where they're helping or why it matters, they're going to be checked out," she said. "This is where the quiet quitting trend can come from because employees think that if no one cares what they're doing or that no one notices and values it, what's the point?"

Read: Why leadership fails — and 3 ways to get on the path to growth, trust and success

BURNOUT: Gary C. Cooper grew up with a larger-than-life father who ran a successful pharmaceutical company. After graduating college, he followed in his father's footsteps, continuing to expand his family's business. By the age of 25, Cooper's businesses had $25 million in revenue — but that work came at a high cost.?

"My dad was a workaholic — he went to work before I woke up, and then came home and woke us up at 11 p.m.. to watch Johnny Carson," says Cooper, now an entrepreneur, CEO and author. "I started working the same hours my dad worked. For 10 years, I worked like a dog — I never had an off switch. I drove 60,000 miles a year, ran 50-60 miles a week. I sold six companies. I had multiple houses and cars. I had four children, and yet I wasn't happy.”

Read: How this entrepreneur rejected his workaholic habits and improved his business

BENEFITS AND PERKS: Seventy-eight percent of employees are more likely to stay with a company because of their benefits program, according to Willis Tower Watson , and 61% of employers are surveying their employees to understand which benefits are most beneficial to them, a survey by 美世 found. While health insurance is the most desired employee benefit, according to a survey from Forbes Advisor, retirement plans, mandatory PTO, mental health support and even pet insurance are both appreciated and expected by today's workforce. Continued flexibility to work remotely is also highly valued by employees — 50% said not having this perk would be a "deal breaker," Mercer found.??

Tapping into employee communities, Comparably surveyed workers at large companies to rank the organizations with the best benefits and perks. Here’s who made the list.

Read: 20 companies with the best benefits and perks