Playing favorites: Are in-person workers unfairly benefiting from RTOs?

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT: According to Executive Networks 2023 Future of Working and Learning Report, 71% of senior HR leaders and 62% of senior business leaders agreed or strongly agreed that in-person workers are probably benefiting from a proximity bias, the tendency of leadership to show favoritism or preferential treatment to employees that are close to them physically.?

A 2021 report from SHRM reported that two-thirds of supervisors overseeing remote workers admitted to believing remote employees were more replaceable than their onsite colleagues. Forty-two percent said they sometimes forgot about remote workers when assigning tasks, which could explain why remote workers get promoted less often than their peers, despite being 15% more productive on average. An expert from TalenTrust shares why this dynamic needs to change — and fast.

Read: Are employers favoring in-person employees?

HEALTHCARE: Flexible spending accounts, or FSAs, require account holders to spend the money saved in their account each year on healthcare services, prescriptions and wellness products. Unspent funds do not roll over; you use it or lose it. The most common deadline is Dec. 31, but some employers offer a grace period, extending the deadline to March 15.

FSA users should check with their employer or plan administrator to confirm the date before they start spending, says Susan Elliott-Bocassi, MBA , SVP of operations for health E-commerce at FSAStore.com, Inc. , an online store that carries over 2,500 guaranteed FSA-eligible products.?She shares some surprising ways to spend your leftover funds:

Read: Still money left in your FSA? Here are 10 surprising FSA-eligible products

LGBTQ: FOLX Health , a digital healthcare provider for the LGBTQ community, is now an in-network provider for eight insurance carriers, including Cigna Healthcare , Evernorth Health Services and Blue Shield of California health plan members. This means queer members under these insurance plans can access primary care, gender-affirming care and mental health care with LGBTQ-friendly doctors. For many in the queer community, this is a game-changer, says Liana M. Douillet Guzmán (she/her) , CEO of FOLX Health.

"The percentage of Americans who identify as LGBTQIA+ is increasing, but it is still incredibly challenging for patients to find affirming and inclusive providers," she says. "As a result of the insurance integration, FOLX clinicians are now in-network for millions across the U.S."

Read: Blue Shield and FOLX are expanding healthcare access to the LGBTQ community