Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence - July 2022

JULY 2022 • Vol.09 • No.07 (ISSN 2564-1980)

Group Life Insurance: An Employee Benefit Or A Catalyst To Financial Ruin?

- Bob Gaydos, CEO and Founder, Pendella Technologies

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How Financial Empowerment Strengthens The EmployerEmployee Connection - Tim Perkins, nudge

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Adoption Benefits: The Forgotten Side Of Fertility Benefits - G. David Adamson, ARC Fertility

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Preventing Rising Drug Costs With Employee Data - Janet Young, Springbuk

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Is Your Drug Plan Set Up For Failure?

- George Huntley, Theoris Group, Inc.

INDEX

Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence JULY 2022

Vol.09

No.07

(ISSN 2564-1980)

07

Group Life Insurance: An Employee Benefit Or A Catalyst To Financial Ruin?

Employees deserve easy access to life insurance options

On the Cover Articles

­– Bob Gaydos,

CEO and Founder, Pendella Technologies

Sponsored Content

13 Supporting Employees With Cardiovascular Disease Is A Smart Business Practice – Ryan Gough, Executive Director, the

Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health (PACH)

18 Providing Financial Wellness Tools Make You An Employer Of Choice How can you help your employees deal with their monetary stress – Brian Radin, President, Comdata Prepaid

24 How To Build A Sense Of Belonging With Inclusive Employee Benefits Creating a welcoming workplace culture – Neha Mirchandani, CMO and Head, People,

BrightPlan

30 Organizational Stress Now An Omnipresent, Ominous Concern For Businesses Across America Expert interview reveals what business owners and managers can do to gain a better grip on organizational and operational stress – Merilee Kern, Founder, Executive Editor and

Producer, The Luxe List

36 Tackling Workplace Toxicity What employers can do to create a kinder corporate culture – Dr. Monica Vermani, Clinical Psychologist, Start

Living Corporate Wellness

Top Picks

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INDEX

How Financial Empowerment Strengthens The Employer-Employee Connection Key takeaways - Tim Perkins, Co-Founder, nudge

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Adoption Benefits: The Forgotten Side Of Fertility Benefits Creating a diversified and inclusive workforce - G. David Adamson, Founder,

21

Chairman, and CEO, ARC Fertility

Preventing Rising Drug Costs With Employee Data Key steps you can take to lower what you spend on employee prescription drug costs - Janet Young, Lead Clinical Scientist, Springbuk

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Is Your Drug Plan Set Up For Failure?

Ensure your employees actually benefit from benefit plans - George Huntley, COO & CFO, Theoris Group, Inc.

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Babitha Balakrishnan

Debbie Mcgrath Publisher, HR.com

Our mission is to promote personal and

Editor, Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence

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Director (Product, Marketing, and Research)

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Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence (ISSN 2564-1980) is published monthly by HR.com Limited, 56 Malone Road, Jacksons Point, Ontario L0E 1L0

Better Benefits = Better Retention

T

he disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has forced employers to carefully consider their employee benefits offerings. Today, employees are increasingly concerned about their physical, mental and financial health compared to before the pandemic and, hence, organizations are also in a race to offer enhanced benefits offerings to retain and attract employees. Employers should recognize that early preparation and starting their open enrollment efforts as early as possible will be a huge plus in terms of optimizing talent retention.

The July edition of Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence includes informative articles that focus on today’s critical issues for employee benefits plans and programs, including creating greater financial security for employees.

A workplace study conducted by LIMRA revealed that in the next five years, the number one insurance benefit employees will be most interested in is life insurance.

So what should employers do to improve this offering? Bob Gaydos’ (CEO and Founder, Pendella Technologies) article entitled, Group Life Insurance: An Employee Benefit Or A Catalyst To Financial Ruin? shares valuable insights.

With financial education and effective communication on employee benefits, employers can help their people to learn how to control the things that are within their power. How Financial Empowerment Strengthens The Employer-Employee Connection by Tim Perkins (nudge) highlights some research findings on how young people trust their organization significantly if they have certain benefits in place.

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How much do you know about adoption assistance benefits? At a time when many organizations are looking for ways to recruit and retain the best and the brightest workers, family-building benefits like this can make a difference. Read Dr. G. David Adamson’s (Chairman, and CEO, ARC Fertility) article, Adoption Benefits: The Forgotten Side Of Fertility Benefits to learn more about adoption benefits.

If you’re trying to lower your organization’s spending on prescription drugs, the odds may seem stacked against you.

Nevertheless, there are steps you can take to lower what you spend on employee prescription drug costs. Read Janet Young’s (Lead Clinical Scientist, Springbuk) article, Preventing Rising Drug Costs With Employee Data for valuable insights on this topic.

In brief, employers should listen to their employees to discover the things that matter most to them (employees). Then prioritize those items when choosing which benefits your company will offer. Once employees realize the organization is willing to invest in their financial security, they will stay.

We hope you find the articles in this issue informative and helpful and, as always, we welcome your valuable feedback and suggestions.

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COVER ARTICLE

Group Life Insurance: An Employee Benefit Or A Catalyst To Financial Ruin?

Employees deserve easy access to life insurance options

By Bob Gaydos, Pendella Technologies

I

n the 1980s, employer-sponsored group life insurance became more broadly available, while individual life insurance disappeared from the employer benefits offering as a result of the AIDS epidemic.

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During that time, insurance companies began requiring more invasive medical tests and lab work as part of determining a person’s eligibility for an individual life insurance policy, so employers began only offering group life insurance.

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Group Life Insurance: An Employee Benefit Or A Catalyst To Financial Ruin?

Imagine the additional costs and aggravation medical tests like these created for businesses everywhere.

Let’s Take a Look at a Typical Scenario That Occurs Today

ABC employer provides both employer-paid and voluntary group term life insurance. These two protections afford the employee $50,000 in group coverage (which is also taxable income to the beneficiary) and up to $300,000 in voluntary group life (which may be subject to eligibility).

The widespread adoption of group life insurance and the omission of offering individual life insurance created two major problems for Americans: 1. The misperception that group life insurance is all an employee needs to protect their family

A typical family with two incomes, two school-aged children, a household income of $150,000, and a $250,000 mortgage has a recommended need for life insurance coverage in the amount of $1.25 million to cover ongoing costs such as common living expenses, college tuition, and the remaining mortgage. With only a group and voluntary life plan, the typical family is left with a deficit of $900,000.

This is a major financial protection gap.

2. A major protection gap, with 106 million American adults now without the financial protection they need to avoid financial devastation When employees go through the open-enrollment process, they are able to easily enroll in medical benefits and any group life and voluntary life insurance offered by the employer. What’s missing in that process is the option for individual life insurance to fill the protection gap when employees only enroll in group life and voluntary life insurance benefits.

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What’s more upsetting is the common misunderstanding by employees that they can take

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Group Life Insurance: An Employee Benefit Or A Catalyst To Financial Ruin?

employer-sponsored coverage with them when they leave a job. In most cases, the group life insurance policy is not portable, leaving the employee without any life insurance protection. Securing an individual life insurance policy after leaving an employer or upon retirement can be unaffordable or impossible if an individual’s health condition has changed at any point during their previous employment.

Nearly half (47%) of employers strongly prefer to offer a more customized menu of employee benefit options for employees to choose from, according to LIMRA. Individual life insurance is customized financial protection that’s tailored to meet the unique needs of every single employee. Now is the time to adopt existing technology that brings greater benefit options to employees.

Employer-sponsored group life insurance was never intended to be the sole source of life insurance. And, when offered without an individual life insurance policy, it is a catalyst to financial ruin. We should no longer only offer traditional employer-sponsored benefits to employees — it’s not enough financial protection and with today’s technology companies can easily do more.

The good news is that the process of adopting new technology is far easier than it used to be. In fact, organizations are able to deliver new benefit solutions with only a 90-minute investment of their time and at no additional cost. This case study demonstrates exactly how a PEO was able to bring greater benefits to their small- and medium-sized business clients with just three, 30-minute meetings.

Employees are looking for more than compensation from employers; they are looking for companies that genuinely care about their well-being, and benefits are the best way employers can demonstrate that. A workplace study conducted by LIMRA revealed that in the next five years, the number one insurance benefit employees will be most interested in is life insurance.

Employers make an unspoken promise to give their employees access to protection that’s going to help them if they become ill, injured, or die. To obtain the right amount of financial protection, employees deserve easy access to life insurance options and the ability to buy a policy online in minutes.

The technology is available and designed to make it beyond easy to bring this important financial protection back to employees. Let’s work together to create greater financial security for American families and future generations.

So, Where Can Employers Begin?

Talk with your benefits administration solutions provider. If they do not have an individual life insurance option to offer employees during and beyond open enrollment, ask them to get one. It’s a lot easier than you might think for a benefits administration solution provider to offer individual life insurance options to employees.

Bob Gaydos is the CEO and Founder of Pendella Technologies. He is a nationally recognized life and health insurance executive, benefits technology expert, and seasoned entrepreneur with decades of experience in the industry. As a licensed life insurance agent for more than 30 years, Bob has devoted his career to helping everyday Americans understand and obtain important life and disability insurance protection.

Small-to-medium-sized companies should consider partnering with a professional employer organization (PEO) that takes care of all the human resources, payroll, and employee benefits for the organization.

There are several PEOs that also offer an individual life insurance benefit, including Simploy, AdvanStaff HR, SpiritHR, Partners PEO, and Employ Source.

Every single one of these companies is ahead of the competition by continuously bringing greater value to their clients and evolving to meet the ever-changing benefit needs of their employees.

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Top Pick

How Financial Empowerment Strengthens The Employer-Employee Connection Key takeaways

By Tim Perkins, nudge

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lobal conflict, inflation, and the rising cost of living have weakened many people’s trust in financial institutions, while also causing a disconnect between employers and employees. As a result, the world of work is at a tipping point. New research, a survey of 6,750 full-time employees across 14 countries, digs deeper into their feelings around their financial wellbeing, and the connection this has to their workplace. We’ve outlined the key takeaways:

The research also highlighted how women are underserved with financial education, and less likely to feel hopeful about the future. This is the result of wider complex gender pay inequities - for example, 74% of financial professionals in the U.S. are men, and therefore more likely to create literature geared toward men.

Financial Anxiety Is Widespread and Severe

The research highlighted that many employees feel disconnected from their employers. Specifically, over half of all workers believe their companies view employees as interchangeable and replaceable. This is a problem for businesses because these feelings of disconnection can contribute to dissatisfaction, less productivity, and more employee turnover. Of course, no one wants to lose their top performers as they’re hard to replace and it’s an expensive exercise.

There’s a Short Circuit in the EmployerEmployee Connection

Globally, people are extremely worried about their financial situation. And who can blame them? Inflation and stress on supply chains are driving costs through the roof, and wages aren’t keeping pace. The global cost of living crisis is very real and isn’t going away any time soon - 37% of earners around the world are struggling financially, living paycheck-to-paycheck.

And it’s not just that anxiety about money is high, it’s that it’s increasing - 70% of people globally feel anxious about their financial situation, that’s a staggering 55% YoY increase in less than a year.

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Interestingly, we discovered that young people have the weakest connection with their employers. Despite the fact that many Gen-Z employees desire remote

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How Financial Empowerment Strengthens The Employer-Employee Connection

work options, it is likely the source of disconnection.

As a result, 23% suffer from loneliness and workplace isolation.

Eroding Trust in Financial Institutions Has Created Opportunity for Employers

A combination of macroeconomic factors and global instability has resulted in workers being particularly worried about the future. These concerns strike the core, as 34% of the people we surveyed said global instability has decreased their trust in financial institutions, such as banks.

People Desire a Connection With Their Employers

In fact, 77% of employees agree that they want to work at an organization where they feel connected to the purpose and the people.

People Want, and Expect, Financial Education From Their Workplace

Globally, while nearly half of employees say they show up exclusively for the paycheck, only 1/3 say their relationship with an employer is entirely transactional. This suggests a gulf between the kind of relationship people want with employers and their actual relationships. In other words, people don’t just work for the money, they desire a connection with their employers. However, many workers aren’t experiencing it.

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Against this backdrop of inflation, distrust of institutions, poor financial education and increased financial anxiety, people need and want more support.

Relatively few employers offer to help people upskill their financial knowledge with benefits like financial education. But the research suggests that there is a hunger for this kind of support - and an openness to receiving it.

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How Financial Empowerment Strengthens The Employer-Employee Connection

education benefits. Even more, employees that receive financial education benefits trust their employers 23% more than those whose employers do not offer financial education.

By helping employees improve their financial health, at a time when they need it most, builds trust and understanding of their financial situation - 56% of people say financial benefits would make them more committed to their employer. The research outlines how young people trust their organization significantly more if they have these benefits in place.

*Ensuring representation across age, gender, ethnicity and earnings.

25% of those surveyed earned over USD 50,000 in their local currency.

With Finpowerment, Employers Help Their People Take Control of Their Money and Achieve Financial Goals

Tim Perkins is the Co-Founder of nudge.

Individuals can’t control macroeconomic factors that cause financial and emotional stress. But with financial education and effective communications on employee benefits, employers can help their people to learn how to control the things that are within their power: economizing, growing money through investment, and increasing savings, so they can achieve those milestone life moments.

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Globally, employees who receive financial education feel 24% more connected to their employers than those whose employers do not offer financial

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Supporting Employees With Cardiovascular Disease Is A Smart Business Practice Here’s how employers can help employees improve their quality of life and prevent heart attacks, strokes, and amputations

By Ryan Gough

I

disease, and deep vein thrombosis. One condition that affects more than 200 million individuals worldwide and 8.5 million individuals in the United States is peripheral artery disease, more commonly known as “PAD.” PAD is caused by the narrowing of peripheral artery veins that carry blood from the heart to the arms and legs. PAD can be caused by fatty plaque buildup along blood vessel walls or from other causes, such as damage to blood vessels.

n 2021, 47 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs in what was known as the “Great Resignation.”

The Great Resignation demonstrated the importance of employee satisfaction in recruiting and retention. A fundamental way for employers to entice employees to come and stay is by providing comprehensive benefits and health care coverage.

Nearly half of all U.S. adults have some type of cardiovascular disease. Thus, in determining the scope of comprehensive benefits, employers should consider the needs of employees with cardiovascular disease.

PAD is more likely to develop in Black and Hispanic individuals and individuals over the age of 60.

Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes contribute to an individual’s likelihood of developing PAD. However, despite being a prevalent condition, only 25 percent of the general public is aware of PAD. Increasing awareness of PAD and other types of cardiovascular disease is a low-cost way for employers to support employees’ health.

Cardiovascular Disease in the United States

In the United States, cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women.

Cardiovascular diseases can manifest through a number of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, such as coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular

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Supporting Employees With Cardiovascular Disease Is A Smart Business Practice

In addition to increasing awareness about cardiovascular disease, especially among at-risk communities, benefits managers must ensure that health care coverage includes access to screenings and treatments. Through improved coverage, including testing and treatment, patients can be diagnosed earlier and receive timely treatment to help improve their quality of life and prevent heart attacks, strokes, and amputations.

step-therapy impacted patient access and resulted in delays to necessary medications. Non-medical switching occurs when a health insurer requires a stable patient to switch from their current, effective medication to an alternative drug by excluding the original medication from coverage, elevating the drug to a higher cost tier, or otherwise limiting access to treatment or increasing the patient’s out-of-pocket costs.

Ensuring timely treatment can also help reduce racial and gender disparities in cardiovascular health care.

For example, women with PAD are currently more likely to undergo a major amputation, leading to reduced mobility and higher morbidity and mortality.

Similarly, Hispanic patients are more likely to experience an amputation than non-Hispanic whites.

For employers, improved coverage may not only help ensure a healthier and happier workforce, but also help save on long-term health care costs through prevention and early treatment.

Step-therapy, also known as “fail first,” requires insured individuals to try and fail on alternative treatments before accessing the medicine their health care provider originally prescribed. Both non-medical switching and step-therapy can result in patients unnecessarily experiencing negative health consequences and adverse health outcomes, which can also increase employer costs.

For employers, untreated or poorly managed treatment of employees’ cardiovascular disease can result in increased rates of absenteeism, work impairment, increased need for physician visits, increased emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and a decreased mental and physical quality of life for employees. It can also place an additional responsibility on caregivers who may be required to take leave from work to care for their loved ones.

How Employers Can Support Employees with Cardiovascular Disease

A recent survey found cardiovascular patients, providers, and caregivers overwhelmingly agreed that insurance practices delayed access to cardiovascular treatments. Specifically, non-medical switching and

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Supporting Employees With Cardiovascular Disease Is A Smart Business Practice

A Smart Business Practice

Providing comprehensive coverage and benefits for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease will help support the health of employees and can improve productivity and profitability in the workplace. Limiting benefit utilization programs can also help lower health care costs. For example, one study of 100,000 employees over a one-year period found 243 hospitalizations, totaling costs of over $4 million, that could have been avoided if employees had known their blood pressure and adhered to their medication prescriptions.

Therefore, reducing the barriers such as non-medical switching and step-therapy can help ensure employees don’t experience additional difficulties accessing and maintaining their treatments and staying healthy. Providing timely access to diagnosis and treatment also helps employers avoid unnecessary health care costs.

Therefore, to help employees be more productive in the workplace and live healthier lives, employers should provide comprehensive health insurance, including access to screening and treatment options for employees with cardiovascular disease. PAD, for example, can be diagnosed through an ankle brachial index, abdominal aortic aneurysm, or carotid screenings.

To learn more about supporting employees with cardiovascular disease, watch PACH’s recent HR.com webinars on cardiovascular health: Non-Medical Switching: The Harmful and Unintended Consequences Affecting Patients and Reducing Health Care Barriers in a Diverse Workforce with Peripheral Artery Disease.

Treatments for PAD include lifestyle changes, prescription medications, and surgical procedures. To help ensure comprehensive coverage and access for employees with PAD, PACH recommends employers include the following language in their self-funded plans: “Screening for Peripheral Artery Disease includes ankle brachial index, aortic aneurysm, and carotid screening.”

Ryan Gough serves as Executive Director of the Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health (PACH), a nonprofit coalition of patient, provider, and advocacy organizations dedicated to advancing public policies and practices that accelerate innovation and improve cardiovascular health.

Employers should also consider limiting the use of benefit utilization protocols like non-medical switching and step-therapy. Employers can limit the use of benefit utilization policies by prohibiting health insurers or plan administrators from requiring patients to switch medications mid-year for non-medical reasons. Similarly, employers can prohibit step therapy policies that force patients to try and fail on multiple medications or medications they have previously failed on.

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Adoption Benefits: The Forgotten Side Of Fertility Benefits Creating a diversified and inclusive workforce

By G. David Adamson, ARC Fertility

I

t is an increasingly competitive labor market in the United States. The unemployment rate is at 3.6%, which the Federal Reserve classifies as full employment. First-time jobless claims are their lowest since 1970, while wages have steadily climbed over the past year. Companies are working harder to attract and retain quality employees, and higher pay is just one arrow in their quiver. To entice and keep top-tiered talent, many organizations have started

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offering benefits outside of traditional compensation plans, which explicitly help employees start or expand their families.

Family-building benefits create a significant amount of goodwill between employer and employee because it shows that a company is sensitive to its workforce’s needs outside the workplace. Studies have shown that employees who use these benefits have increased

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and $15,000 or more, or help to cover various associated fees, like court costs, adoption agency, and legal fees. Several plans might even offer partial reimbursement to employees for their expenses.

The most comprehensive and supportive plans can help employees take time off to pursue an adoption, which is especially useful for international adoptions.

Once the process has been finalized, the new family will need time together to bond. Currently, federal law requires employers with 50 or more employees to give 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave for childbirth or adoption. Some plans might allow paid leave or extended time off by combining vacation and sick days to give the new parents extra time to bond with their adopted child.

The cost of adoption benefits is relatively low because a small fraction of employees use them. But the goodwill and loyalty they create for a company’s workforce can have a lasting and positive impact on an organization. It can help create a diversified and inclusive workforce. At a time when many organizations are looking for ways to recruit and retain the best and the brightest workers, family-building benefits like this can make the difference when other factors like pay are equal.

loyalty to their employer, and even employees who never plan to use this coverage view them positively.

These benefits typically cover treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), and fertility drug prescriptions.

However, one area that many of these plans typically miss is adoption assistance benefits. While it is not something most employees will ever use, it is attractive to members of the LGBTQ+ community, those who might want to be single parents, those experiencing more challenging fertility issues and others who choose adoption as their preferred way to form a family. Depending on the scope of the benefit, the employee can receive several types of assistance throughout the adoption process.

Dr. G. David Adamson, MD, FRCSC, FACOG, FACS, is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ARC Fertility. He is a globally recognized reproductive endocrinologist and surgeon, and is a Clinical Professor, ACF at Stanford University, and Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF. Dr. Adamson also serves as the current Chair of the International Committee Monitoring ART (ICMART), a WHO NSA/NGO.

Information resources are essential when an employee is looking at adoption. The benefit plan may have connections to local adoption agencies or be able to provide assistance (or specialists) to facilitate international adoption. Adoption can be a complex and time-consuming process, and these plans can also offer financial aid to move things along.

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Financial aid is often required because there are many costs when adopting. Adopting a foster child might be only a few thousand dollars, while an international adoption averages around $50,000. A benefit plan could provide a lump sum payment between $1,000

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Providing Financial Wellness Tools Make You An Employer Of Choice How can you help your employees deal with their monetary stress

By Brian Radin, Comdata Prepaid

E

ntrepreneur and CEO of Virgin Group, Richard Branson says it best: “Clients do not come first.

Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”

However, how well do companies really take care of their employees? Look no further than recent job reports to see that many employees want more than what employers are providing now.

In February, the United States experienced a record five million more job openings than available workers. These positions, across all industries, are largely due to workers quitting jobs – a figure that jumped from 94,000 in January to 4.35 million in February.

We have reached a tipping point in the U.S. workforce, employees have the upper hand. There are 1.8

jobs for every unemployed worker nationwide. With a fierce job market, employers must up the ante when it comes to attracting and retaining employees. LaCroix sparkling waters, company social events and snacks will no longer cut it. Today’s workers are looking for a compelling employee value proposition.

With more competition than ever, employers must fight for workers and differentiate themselves from every other company that’s hiring.

Talent acquisition requires a compelling value proposition, more than snacks and ping pong tables. Although perks like these are increasingly the norm, a study by talent mobility platform Topia found only 17% of employees gave their company an exceptional rating on employee experience. In a separate study, Gallup found that one-third (34%) of employees were engaged in 2021, the first

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year in more than a decade that workplace engagement declined.

Further, 16% were actively disengaged, implying they do the bare minimum and view their workplace negatively.

Today’s employee wants more flexibility –unlimited vacation, a great culture, job purpose, overall well-being beyond compensation and even socially conscious employers. Although some of these asks are not new, flexibility has become key since the pandemic, and those looking for jobs in today’s tight labor market can demand it.

It sounds like an insurmountable task, but employers can boost employee engagement through innovative methods that elevate the employee value proposition and simplify some of the workplace’s processes to deliver more digital-first experiences

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employees value and have come to expect in their personal lives.

Overcoming Economic Challenges

According to Gartner, there is a new workplace dynamic or human deal. The new human deal comprises of five components: deeper connections, radical flexibility, personal growth, holistic well-being and shared purpose. These apply to all employees, regardless of industry, education or title.

Another recent article points out hourly employees bore the brunt of Covid-19-related economic challenges. Consider, for example, restaurant employees laid off or furloughed after lockdown restrictions went into place and

dining rooms temporarily closed.

Today, these employees are less likely to feel the same sense of loyalty to an employer, especially if a nearby competitor offers better pay and benefits.

Today’s employees – whether full-time, part-time or gig – crave flexibility. Flexibility in when they work, where they work and how they get paid.

In a recent Harris poll, reported by Fortune, most surveyed workers said flexibility in scheduling is important when taking a new job. They also want retirement contributions, mental health coverage and health and wellness stipends. In short, workers want benefits that put money in their pockets and reduce financial stress.

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Enabling Better Ways to Deal With Monetary Stress

Today’s workforce wants and needs financial wellness, particularly after a time when money-related stress for many was the norm due to Covid-related factors. Consider how many women (close to 300,000) left the labor force in 2020 to care for children and parents.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents to the 2021 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey said finances are the top reason for their stress, ahead of job, health and relationships. Survey respondents cite having less overall household income, difficulties meeting monthly

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Providing Financial Wellness Tools Make You An Employer Of Choice

offers them, the better chance they have at drawing in and keeping employees.

Company-paid happy hours, snacks and soft drinks are great, without a doubt. But today’s employees expect and demand more. They want financial security at a time when inflation is at a 40-year high. The American Payroll Association (APA) found nearly 25% of U.S. workers want access to their wages on-demand.

Further, Fisher Phillips, a national labor and employment law firm, reported that of companies offering EWA, 89% of their employees were more motivated and productive on the job.

expenses, using predatory payday loans or advancements and taking a loan or distribution against retirement accounts.

However, a better way exists.

Employers are in a stronger position to attract and retain employees, while workers can meet their financial needs through on-demand pay, also known as earned wage access (EWA).

EWA provides the much-coveted flexibility employees need. This solution enables them to tap into their pay immediately after working, so they can pay bills and meet financial obligations without having to wait for an every-otherweek or monthly payday.

Financial wellness tools, like EWA solutions, help employees meet their obligations and serve as an added benefit when it comes to attracting and retaining employees.

By offering EWA, you’re enabling your employees to better meet their financial needs and move beyond their monetary stress. And in doing so, you become a more attractive employer in a time when potential team members have many more options.

Paying Bills Amid Sky-High Inflation

In 2022, workers state financial wellness as one of the top workplace benefits they demand.

Employees want greater control over their day-to-day finances, crave the means to cover emergency situations and would like to contribute to longer-term retirement plans.

Brian Radin is the President of Comdata Prepaid.

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EWA provides all that and more.

Financial wellness rewards are a big deal, and the more a company

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Preventing Rising Drug Costs With Employee Data Key steps you can take to lower what you spend on employee prescription drug costs

By Janet Young, Springbuk periods, and the increased demands of an aging population have increased prescription drug spending.

(Most of that growth came before the mid-2000s, when increased supplies of generic drugs put downward pressure on costs.)

As an employer, if your prescription drug costs are rising, you are far from alone.

The United States spends more on prescription drugs than any other country in the world. In 2018, they were priced 256% higher than in the rest of the world. According to the Congressional Budget Office, inflation-adjusted spending in the United States on prescription drugs rose from $30 billion in 1980 to $335 billion in 2018, the most recent year for which data is available. The emergence of new high-priced prescription drugs, patent laws that allow manufacturers market exclusivity for extended

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If you’re trying to lower your organization’s spending on prescription drugs, the odds may seem stacked against you. Nevertheless, there are steps you can take to lower what you spend on employee prescription drug costs — or at least abate the upward trend.

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Preventing Rising Drug Costs With Employee Data

Specialty drugs are often a focus in attempts to reduce drug spending because they account for approximately 50% of employer drug costs. Strategies to decrease costs without impacting access include identifying specialty drugs that can be administered in lower-cost settings or that have lower-cost alternatives.

Understand Your Data — and Put It to Work

As the demands on employers’ health plans increase, it will become increasingly important to move from health analytics to health intelligence — solutions that algorithmically surface insights and opportunities that would otherwise be difficult and time-consuming to detect.

Many specialty drugs are paid through medical claims and administered in the outpatient setting.

Administration of these drugs in the outpatient hospital setting is generally more expensive than in physician offices for commercial patients. Shifting to a lower-cost setting is clinically feasible for many members.

For example, health intelligence can analyze medical, pharmacy, and eligibility claims data to identify at-risk populations for certain conditions within an employee population. Medical professionals can then reach out proactively, addressing medical conditions before they require costly prescriptions.

Biologic specialty medicines, which are drugs derived from living organisms, are an example of how reduced competition raises prices. According to the Association for Accessible Medicines, biosimilars — drugs that mimic the effects of biologic specialty medicines — tend to be around 30% less than the price of originator biologics. Since 2015, the FDA

Eliminate Wasteful Spending

Wasteful drug spending comes in many forms, including the administration of drugs in high-cost settings or the provision of high-cost drugs that don’t provide greater clinical value than similar lower-cost drugs. Health intelligence can help you identify issues with the greatest savings opportunities.

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Preventing Rising Drug Costs With Employee Data

may see results if they address the problems closer to the roots.

has approved 36 of these types of drugs. However, they have not yet had the expected impact on prices, in part because these drugs are often put on worse formulary tiers or excluded altogether. A first step is using your data to understand the savings opportunities that could be realized by increasing the use of biosimilars.

But Don’t Be Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

Be sure that your strategies consider the impact on total healthcare costs, not only drug costs. Adherence to maintenance drugs for conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes can prevent costly complications, ER visits, and admissions that drive up medical costs. Providing no-cost or low-cost maintenance drugs for these conditions may increase pharmacy spending, but reduce overall medical costs.

What is true of biosimilars is true of generic medication as well. One recent study found that the average manufacturer prices of generics were 39% lower than brand-name prices. But, as a separate study found, 72% of pharmacies placed at least one branded product in a more favorable tier than its generic equivalent. One reason was “that prescription drug plans earn some of their profits through rebates and other price concessions paid by pharmaceutical manufacturers.”

Conclusion

By embracing health intelligence, it is possible to put downward pressure on prescription drug prices. In addition to reducing costs, this approach can also improve employee health by increasing access.

In crafting your plans, it is important to expand consumer choice, especially in the case of biosimilars and generics where there is no quality trade-off.

And since healthier employees are also more productive, this situation is one of the rare ones where it’s possible to improve on three goals simultaneously — cost, health, and business performance — without tradeoffs.

Other types of wasteful spending that can be uncovered with your data include combination drugs (drugs with two active ingredients) for which the cost is substantially higher than the cost of the individual ingredients, prescriptions drugs instead of overthe-counter alternatives, and drugs with less costly formulations — for instance, a less expensive cream compared to a lotion.

Janet Young is a Lead Clinical Scientist at Springbuk. With more than 20 years of experience, Janet has provided clinical expertise and oversight to the development of healthcare analytics used in provider, payer, employer, and government sectors. Young served as a Lead Clinical Scientist at IBM Watson Health, guiding clinical content development related to new models, methods, and analytics using claims, EMR, Health Risk Assessment, and socio-demographic data. Young received her M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine.

Reduce the Demand for Prescription Drugs

It may seem counterintuitive, but by expanding your employee healthcare offerings, you may be able to put downward pressure on prescription drug costs.

For example, stubbornly high levels of stress may prime employees for poor health. In March, the American Psychological Association reported that 58% of Americans had experienced unwanted weight gain, and 23% had increased their alcohol consumption as a means of coping with stress.

Instead of waiting for resultant physiological harms that would require prescription medication, employers

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How To Build A Sense Of Belonging With Inclusive Employee Benefits Creating a welcoming workplace culture

By Neha Mirchandani, BrightPlan

T

he economic and social tumult of the past few years has HR leaders looking at new ways to create inclusive workplace cultures so they can attract and retain the most highly skilled workers.

Employee values and needs are shifting, and employers aiming for a positive, productive culture are trying new strategies in response.

Our 2022 Wellness Barometer Survey found that 72% of employees are stressed about their finances.

A Sharper Focus on Financial Wellness

The survey finding that the overwhelming majority of employees are concerned about finances points to an opportunity for employers who are seeking new ways to attract and retain skilled staff. Inclusive employee benefits can create a culture of belonging and respect, and addressing employees’ financial concerns can be an excellent way to differentiate a benefits package from that offered by competitors.

The Great Resignation trend that saw months of record-breaking voluntary departures is directly related to another phenomenon that is sometimes termed, the Great Reckoning, because the churn in the labor market doesn’t have a single cause. People are reevaluating how they choose to approach work and life. According to Pew Research, the majority who quit their job in 2021 cited factors like feeling disrespected in addition to more traditional reasons like dissatisfaction with pay and opportunities.

The business case to address financial pressures is compelling; employee financial stress costs employers an estimated $4 billion per week in lost productivity. And employers are a trusted source of financial information according to the survey, which found that 75% of employees trust financial advice from their employer vs. just 25% who trust financial advice from influencers. Financial wellness benefits can also address critically low levels of financial literacy, which dropped from 20% in 2021 to just 13% this year.

Economic factors that have an effect on their ability to attract and retain employees are also relevant to people leadership teams in 2022, including a persistently tight labor market despite economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures. Near-full employment rates give employees more power in the job market, but at the same time, workers are struggling to deal with higher prices and scarcity.

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Financial wellness benefits were also the top choice for survey participants, with 54% rating it their most desired benefits choice.

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How To Build A Sense Of Belonging With Inclusive Employee Benefits

extended parental leave, fertility benefits, etc.

Providing support across diverse family structures sends a message that the company cares and that employees of all types belong.

Personalized Benefits Reinforce an Inclusive Culture

For companies that have a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), showing that they understand that employees have unique experiences and backgrounds is essential. An employee well-being program can provide benefits and perks that underscore the company’s inclusive approach. Flexible benefits that allow employees to tailor wellness options are a great way to demonstrate this.

Financial wellness benefits are worth considering for HR leaders since employees report a significant impact on their physical and mental from financial stress, which translates into lower rates of engagement.

For example, a program with core benefits augmented by a menu of flexible options that employees can select based on their needs sends a message that the company recognizes each employee’s unique circumstances. Employees are free to make their own choices and prioritize what is important to them while receiving benefits that demonstrate the employer’s focus on the whole person.

Holistic Benefits that Create a Culture of Belonging

Financial wellness benefits are one part of the picture, but HR leaders need to think holistically to foster a culture of belonging through their benefits program.

The benefits should express company values by addressing the unique needs and life experiences of all team members. Disruptions and turmoil in employees’ lives away from the office can have a negative impact on job performance.

DE&I is about recognizing an array of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds and creating an environment where people feel respected, welcome and safe. Benefits can be a core part of creating a welcoming workplace culture by demonstrating shared beliefs and values. Putting together a benefits package that addresses the needs of today’s employees creates a sense of belonging, improving organizational resilience and giving the business a competitive advantage.

Since stress outside of work can contribute to greater rates of absenteeism, less focus on the job and lower employee satisfaction, people leaders have a stake in helping employees in their personal lives. The line between work life and home life has been blurring for decades, but working from home during the height of the pandemic helped erase it even more.

An employee benefits package should be crafted with that reality in mind. Sometimes, employees need a helping hand to manage issues in their personal lives. Employers can help with policies and benefits like flexible working arrangements, resources to help employees address mental health challenges, and support for family needs, such as backup childcare, adoption assistance, eldercare arrangements,

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Neha Mirchandani is a CMO and Head of People at BrightPlan.

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Is Your Drug Plan Set Up For Failure?

Ensure your employees actually benefit from benefit plans

By George Huntley, Theoris Group, Inc.

T

he average health plan spends about 15%-20% of its costs on prescription drugs and 80%-85% of its costs on the major medical side of the plan (hospitals, doctors, labs, etc.). It is important to contain costs wherever possible, but it’s similarly important to design plan coverage to drive overall cost efficiencies versus any single line item. The purpose of drug coverage is to promote health and healing, and importantly, to reduce higher cost spend on the major medical side of the plan. Unfortunately, many drug plans unwittingly create disincentives to overall health in classic tail-wagging the dog fashion.

Consider these basic facts. According to the CDC, chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability, driving $3.8 trillion in annual healthcare costs. Those living with diabetes pay an additional $9,600 in healthcare costs annually. We know that these chronic conditions are less costly when appropriately managed. How many of us will give out apples in the lunchroom (before the pandemic when it was safe to have a basket of apples out) or pedometers to encourage walking? But at the same time, we are designing our drug plans to force our lowest paid, most vulnerable workers to potentially ration their medications.

Most employer-based health plans receive rebates from their pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) based on the utilization of certain prescription drugs by plan participants. PBMs negotiate rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers in return for providing formulary access to health plans. This access is often exclusive for the winning manufacturer based on a class of drugs, for example, short-acting insulin.

Industry data shows that 69% of patients abandon prescriptions at the pharmacy counter when costsharing is above $250. Why then do we charge our valued employees double for their drugs at the risk of them not taking them? Patients who are nonadherent to their drug therapies are more likely to be absent from work impacting productivity and are more likely to suffer painful and expensive complications of their conditions.

The average rebate on a branded drug in the US is 48%. Meaning that the list price of any given drug is nearly double what the net price a plan is actually paying. Note in the case of insulin rebates often exceeds 80% of the list price. Health plans that don’t share these rebates with their plan participants during the deductible period are substantially overcharging their people and potentially costing the plan significantly on the major medical side.

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Companies receiving these rebates typically use them to reduce overall plan costs and lower plan premiums for all participants. This is fine for rebates received after participants have met their deductible where the employee is paying a flat copay, but it doesn’t make sense during the deductible period where they are paying the whole cost. Put simply if the plan design

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Passing through rebates to plan participants is good for employee satisfaction, improves morale and productivity – and is simply good for your business.

Self-insured employers should negotiate rebate retention and pass through specifically in their PBM contracts. The PBM is your vendor and they will pass them through to you and your people if you ask. They will not; however, typically offer it. While you’re at it, look into how much they are charging your people for generic drugs. You may find that your employees are paying $20 for a $4 prescription.

has the sick subsidizing the healthy, then the plan is not designed to help the sick get healthy.

The major medical side of our health plans automatically shares network discounts with plan participants. We don’t give it a second thought. It’s the value we provide our people as part of the health benefit. But the drug side of the plan wasn’t designed this way by the PBMs. The PBMs keep a % of the rebates for their trouble and passing it along impacts their already inflated bottom line. The top 3 PBMs control over 75% of the US drug market. They boast revenues and profits that are greater than many of the drug companies, yet these middlemen don’t touch the product at all.

George Huntley is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Theoris Group, Inc., a professional services firm headquartered in Indianapolis. He has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1983. He is also a founding member and current CEO of the Diabetes Leadership Council.

Mr. Huntley has volunteered with the American Diabetes Association since 1986, serving as the National Chair of the Board in 2009.

The obvious question though is “What will it cost the plan to pass rebates through to participants?” The good news is it will cost the plan next to nothing since the logical offset is to raise premiums for plan participants. The better news is that based on a recent actuarial study any increase to premiums at all will be negligible – 4/10 of one percent for most plans. It should be noted that this small increase in plan premiums does not consider any savings that may result from having healthier people in the plan.

There is a strong argument to be made that this will save money for the plan as a whole. The wagging tail in this case is from a happy puppy.

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Organizational Stress Now An Omnipresent, Ominous Concern For Businesses Across America Expert interview reveals what business owners and managers can do to gain a better grip on organizational and operational stress

By Merilee Kern, The Luxe List

A

mid the large number of health, economic, political, and other macro-crises of late, organizational stress is at an all-time high. For many, stress has become so burdensome that it is more than just a personal issue that can be placated with a few “mental health” days out of the office. Workplaces have become overwhelmed by employees struggling with stress – whether driven by feelings of unease, anxiety, depression, frustration or any number of unwanted emotions. Given the current level of demands, pressures and uncertainties, employees and businesses can be severely undermined over time.

is understandable, given the extensive amount of research substantiating the calamitous effects of excessive levels of stress on employee performance.

One notable cost-of-illness study estimated that “the cost of work-related stress ranged from U.S. $221 million to upward of U.S. $187 billion...” A more inclusive analysis conducted by the American Institute of Stress found that after including factors such as absenteeism, turnover, diminished productivity, increased medical costs, and increased legal costs, the total economic impact of stress to US employers was estimated at $300 billion.

Since it’s clear that any number of stressors will remain an indelible and formidable foe, distracting and derailing staffers to an extent reflected in bottom line impacts, employers are eager to find ways to efficaciously deal with this unfortunate truth. This

According to Dr. Gabe De La Rosa, Chief Behavioral Science Officer for Fierce Inc.—a training company with over 300 Fortune 500 clients—companies should have a proactive communication strategy to help address and alleviate staff stress and anxiety.

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“It’s key to create cultures eliminating the gap between what people feel and what they say in workplace conversations, as this is at the center of what drives a lack of mental and emotional health,” says Dr. De La Rosa. “Leaders that steer their groups toward eliminating this gap produce higher performing company cultures. When employees feel safe to truly show up as they are, they can invest more of themselves into their work roles. While stress has always been a cause of operational unease, the ensuing pandemic has raised the stakes far higher.

It has exacerbated concerns far beyond the health realm—a reality that can have grave consequences for individual businesses and industries at large.”

Traumatic Stress, Journal of Addictive Behaviors and Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. He’s also edited books such as “The Handbook of Employee Engagement,” which is considered a valuable resource for organizational psychologists.

Dr. De La Rosa’s expertise relating to organizational stress cannot be overstated. He has valuable experience measuring the impact of stress on individuals in one of the highest stakes workplace cultures: the U.S. Navy. There he works as a contractor in the role of Industrial/Organizational Psychologist for the Naval Center for Combat and Operational Stress Control. He is responsible for understanding and enhancing organizational factors impacting performance among Sailors and Marines.

His work has been published in peer-reviewed empirical journals such as Military Medicine Journal of

GDLR: One of the commonly cited reasons for decreased performance while under stress is that while employees are coping with elevated levels of stress, they have fewer personal resources available to focus on constructive endeavors because so much of their cognitive and emotional resources are focused on dealing with the various stressors that they perceive. Given the limited amount of physical, emotional, and cognitive resources that any person has to devote toward their work roles, it makes intuitive sense that when stress accumulates to a level that becomes unmanageable, adjustments must be made or performance in one’s work life

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Given his experience with stress in the workplace, I connected with Dr. De La Rosa to discuss what business owners and managers can do to gain a better grip on organizational and operational stress.

Here’s a bit of that conversation:

MK: How would you say stress impacts our ability to tap our relatively limited resources?

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and personal life will suffer. This creates a vicious cycle—stress can lead to errors, and errors can cause more stress. If employees anticipate some form of punishment or feel they have no safety to experiment or make mistakes, innovation and creativity will suffer and stress levels will rise.

MK: Can you share some insights about the efficacy of formalized stress management programs in the workplace?

GDLR: For many of us, talking about our emotions is not a skill we’ve learned. In many workplaces, talking about our negative emotions has a bit of a taboo attached to it. Oftentimes, employees internally feel one emotion but are forced to externally display another emotion, this can be incredibly taxing. That gap, the empty space between what we feel and what we actually say in conversations and relationships, is in large part, what drives a lack of mental and emotional health. Research suggests that stress has an incredibly destructive impact on employee productivity, wellbeing, and social relationships.

Because of this well documented relationship, forward thinking organizations have invested in resources designed to help their employees cope with stressors.

Research on the effects of stress management solutions reveals promising results. Those participating in stress management programs tend to experience beneficial changes in psychological wellbeing, somatic symptoms, and work based performance outcomes.

MK: What about the stress of dealing with Covid impacts at work?

GDLR: The well-established relationship between stress and personal and professional consequences is even more important in today’s reality. Today, employees are coping with the traditional stressors such as excessive workload or interpersonal conflicts with coworkers, clients, or supervisors all while attempting to manage a work role and personal life impacted by a global pandemic. The current Covid pandemic is something that is mostly out of any individual’s control, is constantly changing and is completely unpredictable, so it is unlike anything we have dealt with previously. Situations like this are likely to elicit anxiety related symptoms such as excessive worry, loss of concentration, and loss of sleep.

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behaviors such as drug usage, alcohol use and other counterproductive behaviors, he says.

Those currently in a leadership role should strive to not only remain vigilant about managing their own level of stress, but also establish a way to identify, measure and proactively address employee stress within their organization. Awareness of employee stress levels is incredibly important. Without some knowledge of how well employees are managing the demands of work or home roles, it is unlikely that a leader would even know when to provide additional support.

An important factor in getting employees to open up about how they are feeling is authentic leadership.

When leaders show up in an authentic manner as “real” human beings, then employees can take this as a cue that it is safe to be honest and open up about their own levels of stress—and causes thereof. It will surely prove cathartic to have this kind of open and frank two-way conversations about stress, work and life. The intention and exercise is, itself, an inherent win.

MK: What about factors correlating stress and employee performance?

GDLR: Today, employees and leaders can be equipped with tools that are necessary to proactively address some of the prickliest interpersonal stressors.

Oftentimes, there is an overarching layer of pressure or stress that is felt and instead of confronting it head on, a common choice is to try to ignore it or just carry on and hope that it gets better by itself. This common choice is not sustainable. As we have discussed, people have limited resources and eventually performance will decrease, or they may burnout and completely leave the organization. By procuring the tools necessary to create meaningful change, people can be empowered to really take the bull by the horns and move forward. Outcomes include lowered stress, increased productivity and actually enhanced relationships with coworkers or leaders who were previously sources of stress.

Sources: ●● https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC8091069/ ●● https://www.stress.org/workplace-stress

Merilee Kern is Founder, Executive Editor and Producer of “The Luxe List” as well as Host of the nationally-syndicated “Savvy Living” TV show. Forbes Business Council Member, Merilee is an internationally-regarded brand analyst, strategist and futurist who reports on noteworthy industry change makers, movers, shakers and innovators across all B2B and B2C categories.

Of course, the negative effects of stress extend far beyond an employee’s work role—a “Work-Family-Conflict” that can present in a variety of ways. According to Dr. De La Rosa, this can include time pressures that cause parents to miss out on key developmental milestones to psychological strain that cause parents/ spouses to be mentally “checked out” from their home life when they are physically present. “Indeed, work stressors have been linked to lower physical health, lower emotional health and counterproductive coping

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Tackling Workplace Toxicity What employers can do to create a kinder corporate culture

By Dr. Monica Vermani, Start Living Corporate Wellness

T

he corporate workplace has long been regarded as a competitive and tough space, where corporate profits and the bottom line come first, and all other priorities are a distant second. But these days, the writing is on the wall. As employers struggle to attract, engage and retain talent, the high cost of workplace toxicity is impacting organizations around the world.

messaging, passive-aggressive communication, poor listening skills, and invasive non-businesshours communication ●● low engagement and motivation, due to a lack of learning opportunities for advancing skills or career, or mentorship – a sign the employer is not invested in the growth of their employees ● high absenteeism, presenteeism, and employee turnover, stress-related physical and psychological symptoms can lead to high rates of absenteeism, which in turn can lead to burnout for employees left to carry the weight of their team members

In their 2022 State of the Global Workplace Report, Gallup Inc. shared the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of employees from over 100 countries around the world. And much of what the report reveals is cause for concern for employers. around the world.

According to the reports: “… only 20 percent of employees report being engaged in their job,” with Canadian and American employee engagement at 34 percent. Further, “an astounding 57 percent of Canadian and American employees reported experiencing high levels of stress… a full 12 percent over the global average.”

● employee burnout causes high absenteeism, presenteeism, and employee turnover can take many forms, including Underchallenged Burnout due to low job satisfaction, resulting in lowered mood, Frenetic Burnout, the result of a lack of positive outcomes, despite prolonged hard work, and Worn-out Burnout, resulting from prolonged workplace stress, and little or no recognition or reward for their efforts

The Toxic Workplace

Toxic workplaces come in all shapes and sizes, and leave employees unmotivated, unproductive, disengaged, and miserable.

Employee Impacts Beyond the Workplace

In Time’s Up for Toxic Workplaces, a 2020 article in the Harvard Business Review, author Manuala Priesemuth shared her research findings that indicate that the impacts of on-the-job toxicity extend beyond diminished team cohesion and other negative workplace dynamics. She explains: “… abusive work environments de-

Common symptoms include: ●● high anxiety and stress, due to overwork and poor dynamics amongst leaders and staff ●● poor communication, including a pervasive lack of clarity, inconsistent and inadequate

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stroy important bonds between team members, which further results in reduced performance and citizenship behaviors, meaning that employees are less likely to help and support each other. Toxic workplaces also impair the lives of individuals beyond the work realm.”

and levels of employment healthy and happy while meeting corporate goals and targets.

Enhanced Benefits of a Kinder Workplace

Creating a culture of kindness in the workplace involves demonstrating respect to all employees, and building a culture of openness, and consistency. Kindness involves investing in employee wellbeing, training, work/life balance, and fostering a culture where employees are engaged and supported.

The High Cost of Toxicity … a Number We Can’t Unsee

The 2019 SHRM report, The High Cost of a Toxic Workplace Culture found that: “One in five Americans have left a job in the past five years due to bad company culture. The cost of that turnover is an estimated $223 billion.” They also report that 49 percent of employees considered leaving their job, that one in five had changed jobs in the previous five years, and that 26 percent of employees regularly dread going to work. Of these findings, SHRM president and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. remarked: “Billions of wasted dollars. Millions of miserable people. It’s not a warzone—it’s the state of the American workplace.”

It involves providing compassionate support for employees through challenging times, and creating working environments where everyone feels safe, included, and appreciated. Investing in enhanced, customized employee wellness initiatives that include mental health components, like psychoeducation, tools, and resources is a powerful way to build a kinder, more supportive, and engaging work environment and culture. Addressing Employee Burnout: Are You Solving the Right Problem, a May 2022 article by the McKinsey Health Institute, states: “Across the globe, four in five HR leaders report that mental health and well-being is a top priority for their organization.

Globally, according to the 2022 State of the Global Workplace, Gallup states that the cost of employee disengagement worldwide is even more staggering, and “costs the global economy $7.8 trillion.” Further, they acknowledge the link between employee wellbeing and engagement, as critical. They explain: “…how people experience work influences their lives outside work, and overall wellbeing influences life at work.”

Kinder workplaces make for happier and more engaged employees. A happy, engaged workforce shows up, and functions at a higher level, with increased creativity, collaboration, and teamwork.

Workplaces with higher levels of employee engagement support, and satisfaction experience less absenteeism and presenteeism (where an employee is present but disengaged and unable to carry out their role). Workplace cultures that prioritize kindness are also more successful at attracting and retaining talent.

The high costs of workplace toxicity — both in terms of human suffering and corporate bottom lines — are numbers and outcomes we can’t unsee. The case of creating kinder, more compassionate corporate cultures has never been stronger or more important to survival and growth.

A Compassionate Place to Start

The question today is not whether to create a culture of kindness in the workplace, but how and where to begin.

Creating a kinder workplace is not something that can be done overnight. It requires an intentional and concerted organizational effort to treat employees in every area and at every level of the organization, with respect and dignity. It means communicating in a meaningful way with employees, and settling conflicts and disputes fairly and transparently.

Creating Kinder, More Compassionate Corporate Cultures

The case for creating a corporate culture that includes kindness has never been stronger.

Increasingly, leading businesses are working to create kinder, more compassionate corporate cultures and working environments, workplaces that foster team cohesion over competitiveness, support employee engagement, and strive to keep employees in all areas

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Tackling Workplace Toxicity

Understanding the value of an investment in a tailor-made wellness program that leverages strengths and supports improvements in workplace communication can greatly assist in attracting, top talent, and maintaining employee engagement and motivation, team cohesion, and productivity, while positively impacting the bottom line.

Attracting, retaining, and creating a workplace that engages and supports employees is critical to the success of an organization, perhaps now more than ever before. As we look toward a future in a world that is beginning to cautiously reopen, let us remember that there is always more room in the world for kindness,… especially in the workplace.

WELLNESS SOLUTIONS TACKLE WORKPLACE TOXICITY HEAD-ON Organizations invested in employee wellness report greater employee engagement and job satisfaction, team cohesion, and increased success in attracting top talent. Customized wellness programs can help build and nurture kindness in the workplace through enhancing self-care knowledge, tools, and resources, including:

One of Canada’s highest-rated clinical psychologists, Dr. Monica Vermani provides a multi-faceted treatment approach in treating adolescents and adults suffering from trauma/ abuse, mood, anxiety, substance addictions, and other related conditions and disorders, as well as family and couples’ therapy. Dr. Vermani’s Start Living Corporate Wellness programs were created out of her belief in the importance of good mental health in the workplace. Start Living Corporate Wellness programs support and facilitate individuals’ efforts to overcome the barriers that prevent them from living their best and most authentic life. Dr. Vermani’s latest book, A Deeper Wellness: Conquering Stress, Mood, Anxiety and Traumas, and its companion online A Deeper Wellness Life Lessons mental health program provides the tools to create a deep, authentic sense of wellness and wellbeing.

● meditation ● yoga ● exercise, and ● counseling. ● They also offer employees valuable interpersonal skills, like: ● how to build solid, supportive teams, ● resolve conflicts, and ● how to balance career and family responsibilities.

Wellness programs also open the channels of communication between management and staff, which leads to greater team cohesion, congeniality, and kindness.

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July 2022

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