Open enrollment headaches, post-election shakeups, and the aging workforce
Here are 5 things to know about work this week.
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1. Tackling open enrollment headaches: HR leaders see underutilized benefits as retention tool
It’s open enrollment season — which can be a headache for HR people and employees alike.
In fact, in one recent survey , nearly one-third of 22 to 32-year-olds (the cohort dubbed “zillennials”) said they’d rather apply for a new job than go through the process of selecting health insurance during this period. And more than half of them admit to having blindly chosen a plan because they found the details too confusing.
Open enrollment is about so much more than health insurance, of course. It is a time when employees must make a range of choices that will shape their personal financial picture for the next year — from selecting pet insurance to optimizing their retirement contributions. Then, there are the scores of benefits employees may not even be aware they have access to but which can prove especially valuable.
2. How AI is transforming HR’s ‘dead data’ problem
As organizations generate an avalanche of daily employee data – everything from Slack messages to Microsoft docs – people managers face an unprecedented challenge: how to transform all that so-called “dead data” into actionable insights.?
“We have 300 million terabytes of data every day that is getting generated around people,” said Guillaume Roy, cofounder and chief innovation officer at Workleap, an employee engagement platform. “It can become very difficult for HR leaders and business leaders to get insights around these data.”
But recent innovations in AI offer promising solutions for resurrecting that dormant information and converting it into “companion knowledge,” enabling more personalized and effective employee experiences.
3. Workplace policies poised for seismic shakeup post-election
With conservatives set to control all three branches of the U.S. government in a matter of weeks, people managers are bracing for potentially titanic changes to the workplace regarding everything from labor relations and safety regulations to healthcare benefits and DEI policies.
“The post-election landscape has everyone in the business world wondering what’s next, especially when it comes to workplace policies that have been in conservative crosshairs for years,” said Angel Reyes, founder and managing partner of the law firm Angel Reyes & Associates.
4. RTO failing to deliver on boosted collaboration
Corporate leaders’ demands for staff to return to in-person work came with one primary goal — to bring people together and boost collaboration.
But so far that hasn’t been the result. Actually, employees in hybrid and fully on-site arrangements are now having an even harder time effectively working with their colleagues, according to recent data.
Satisfaction with workplace collaboration fell from 36% in 2021 to 29% this year, coinciding with the return to offices, a Gartner survey of over 18,000 employees found. Other data from Gartner shows “hybrid and remote workers are consistently more satisfied with collaboration than their fully on-site peers,” said Jessica Knight, vp, research, at Gartner. “Clearly, physical proximity and co-location is not a silver bullet to solve the collaboration challenge,” Knight said.?
5. Aging workforce calls for a closer look at workplace design
With people aged 75 and older projected to be the fastest growing segment of the U.S. workforce, HR leaders face an urgent challenge: adapting workplaces to accommodate older employees working past the traditional retirement age.
“As our workforce ages, employers must shift their mindset to view accommodations for older workers not as an added burden but as an opportunity to enhance productivity, retain talent and foster an inclusive workplace,” said Brandy Burch, CEO at Benefitbay, a benefits solutions provider.
The demographic shift is already well underway. The average age of workers in the U.S. is 42, with some industries skewing even older. Yet, many companies fall behind when it comes to accommodating older employees.
Color by names and numbers
50% of employers have continued to hire the same share of workers with degrees even after removing education requirements from job listings.
Elsewhere in Digiday Media
Check out some of Digiday Media’s other stories on the future of work over the past week:
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This newsletter was curated by Courtney Marabella , senior social media/audience manager for Digiday . Let us know what you think, or what you hope to see more of, by dropping us a note at [email protected] .