HEALTH/BENEFITS
‘Emerging Benefits’ Is The Next Workplace Trend An annual survey shows employees are looking at benefits that will help alleviate their financial stress as well as maintain their overall health. By Susan Rupe
W
orkers say stress over their personal finances hampers their productivity on the job. Employers say they are challenged with attracting and retaining workers. Both groups are looking to a trend in voluntary benefits as a way to help them overcome the challenges they face as the world of work continues to evolve. MetLife’s 17th annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study showed a greater interest in workplace benefits that go beyond the traditional medical, dental and vision insurance. These newer benefits are described as “emerging benefits.” They include everything from help with paying student debt to subsidies for egg freezing or gender reassignment support to financial counseling. Fifty-eight percent of workers said having nontraditional benefits would reduce their stress. “It used to be that employers told their workers, ‘Here are my benefits; here’s what I pay for, here’s what you pay for,’” Todd Katz, MetLife executive vice president-group benefits, told InsuranceNewsNet. “But now, employees are saying, ‘We’re all different.’ You have multiple generations in the workforce, and even within generations there are different views of what’s important. “So employers have said, ‘I get that. The best way for me to deal with that is to give my employees choice.” Choice, Katz said, is not only giving workers an option between Medical Plan A and Medical Plan B. It’s coming up with an array of benefits — some employer-paid and some voluntary — that give 40
InsuranceNewsNet Magazine » May 2019
Top 11 Emerging Benefits By Generation Total
Gen Z (21-22)
Gen Y (23-36)
Gen X (37-52)
Boomers (53+)
Wellness/well-being programs that reward my healthy behavior
69%
71%
77 %
69%
59%
Unlimited paid time off
72%
73%
80%
70%
63%
Concierge programs (e.g., assistance with finding and booking reservations for things like travel, dining, entertainment, and dependent care services)
44%
55%
59%
41%
26%
Phased retirement program (to support a gradual shift from full-time employment to full-time retirement)
68%
68%
74%
63%
65%
Genetic testing
38%
47%
54%
36%
18%
Subsidized egg freezing
33%
39%
51%
29%
9%
Gender reassignment support/ subsidy
32%
46%
49%
27%
12%
Paid sabbatical program (e.g., extended paid leave after a certain amount of time at the employer)
66%
67%
77%
62%
56%
Onsite free/subsidized services (e.g. meals, gym, massage therapy, hair, dry cleaning)
61%
66%
76%
60%
43%
Onsite health/medical care (including physical and mental health)
59%
65%
71%
58%
45%
The ability to work abroad or take work assignments in a foreign country
54%
65%
67%
52%
34%
workers the opportunity to select what fits them best. It also gives an employer the ability to differentiate themselves from others in the marketplace by providing a unique set of benefits. So what are these emerging benefits, and who wants them? According to the MetLife survey, the top five emerging benefits across all worker age groups are:
3. Phased retirement program (to support a gradual shift from full-time employment to full-time retirement) — 68 percent
1. Unlimited paid time off — 72 percent
5. Onsite free/subsidized services (e.g. meals, gym, massage therapy, hair, dry cleaning) — 61 percent
2. Wellness/well-being programs that reward healthy behavior — 69 percent
4. P aid sabbatical program (e.g., extended paid leave after a certain amount of time at the employer — 66 percent