COVID-19 Blog: Benefits That Actually Help

November 2nd, 2020

I recently wrote a summary for my internship with the Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts (WWCMA) about the changes that are happening in the world of benefits enrollment. I'd like to share the information here and potentially dive a little deeper on certain aspects. As we move forward in 2020 with the uncertainty of when this pandemic will end, employees are craving different options from their employers as they attempt to adapt to more remote work and other socially distanced parts of life. 

A recent survey found that 52% of employees would leave their company for a job with the ‘right’ benefits and 77% stated that benefits were a big part of their consideration. The question then becomes, in this climate, what are the ‘right’ benefits? The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) suggests that the following will likely be the most common changes in benefits: expansion of telehealth coverage, increasing mental health services, increasing cost-sharing for plan expenses, adding voluntary benefits that employees can self-select into, and increasing explanation about what EAP programs are already available to employees. To provide these changes, it is also expected that employers will be reducing their contributions to their employee’s retirement and 401K contributions. It is important, as an employee, to ask your employer what specific changes might be coming for your company this benefit enrollment season. 

Some of the best companies to work for right now are making sure that employees are taking time off during this pandemic. One Employee Benefit News article said it well when they wrote that right now employees are refusing to stop working when, in reality, stress and burnout are off the charts. This is because they either can’t go on a real vacation due to fear of infection or are fearful that taking time off could mean they would lose their jobs and join the tens of millions of Americans that are unemployed right now. The top companies are now ensuring that their leaders are modeling the healthy behavior of taking time off so that all employees will hopefully follow suit. As we are all adapting to this uncertain landscape together, we must make sure that we don't let anyone make us feel guilty for taking care of ourselves. It is quite possible that individuals who are still working full-time might be feeling guilty that they are still employed while so many others have lost their jobs. Therefore, this guilt might be pushing those individuals to work longer hours and not take any time off. This is NOT what leaders should be encouraging employees to be doing. In fact, it must be the exact opposite. Leaders should be transparent with their employees about if more layoffs are coming or if their job is secure for the time being. This honesty can help employees take a breath and relax instead of overworking themselves out of guilt.

The concept of adding voluntary benefits is something that I'm shocked has not been discussed earlier. If companies could develop partnerships with different health vendors, then that company's employees could self-select only options that are important to them. It makes sense that a company might cover up to a certain dollar amount per employee, but each employee has different needs. For instance, working parents right now might put a higher priority on child care assistance benefits, as many are dealing with children doing remote schooling. Other employees who don't have children, might want to focus on professional development during this pandemic, as they want to ensure that they build their skillset while they have more time at home. The biggest challenge with having more personalized benefits is ensuring that the benefits are fair amongst the various employees.

As we move forward, the goal of caring for each individual employee seems to be coming to the forefront. While identifying the various needs of an employee population might require some surveying work, it will also show the employees that their company realizes how important its' people are. Doing the research here will inform employees that their company is doing what is necessary to retain the best talent.

-Vicky