Employers can reduce compliance risk by conducting annual audits and giving employees time to file certifications, WorkForce Software’s Paul Kramer said.

Published July 5, 2022 by Ryan Golden

Employers likely need few reminders about the importance of Family and Medical Leave Act compliance, though that has not stopped federal regulators from telegraphing their enforcement plans in recent months.

As with other areas of compliance, employers continue to face litigation around the FMLA, often incurring costly settlements and associated legal fees.

Last week, a live web Q&A session presented by the Disability Management Employer Coalition covered areas including FMLA audits, concurrent leaves and delayed worker certifications. Paul Kramer, head of compliance at vendor WorkForce Software, walked employers through a set of considerations for FMLA compliance.

#1: Be proactive about DOL audits — and do your own

FMLA audits can translate into a lengthy process, but things tend to move quickly once the U.S. Department of Labor notifies an employer that an audit will take place, Kramer said. Among other items, the agency may seek to examine company and employee records; interview management and employees; and conduct on-site visits and inspections.

Attorneys who previously spoke to HR Dive said employers should prepare by gathering necessary materials, composing a position statement and designating a point of contact for the audit. Kramer similarly advised employers to:

• Review their FMLA correspondence and policies.
• Ensure leaves have been properly tracked and calculated.
• Analyze their FMLA certifications and practices for fairness and consistency.
• Review any steps taken to curb leave abuse.
• Ensure employees have been given proper notice of their leave rights.
• Check that company records are complete and accurate.

Kramer also recommended that employers perform their own audits annually. He noted that FMLA records must be maintained for at least three years.

#2: Be aware of when leaves may run concurrently

Employers may have situations in which FMLA leave runs concurrently with other leave. Kramer said determining whether an employee qualifies for different leave can be a key challenge.

“I think a big problem with leaves that run concurrently is that you have to make sure the employee actually qualifies for each concurrently run leave,” Kramer said. “Different leave laws have different qualification requirements employees must meet to be eligible for the leave and you must make sure the employee meets them before approving the leave.”

Asked by an audience member who worked for a public-sector organization about tracking family and medical leave that may interact with workers’ compensation cases, Kramer said that an employee’s workers’ compensation absence due to an on-the-job injury also may qualify as a serious health condition for FMLA purposes. “If it does, the workers’ compensation absence and FMLA leave may run concurrently,” he added.

#3: Be careful when denying leave over delayed certifications

Under certain circumstances, the FMLA permits employers to require that eligible employees submit a certification from a healthcare provider to support the employee’s need for FMLA leave.

Generally, an employee must provide the certification within 15 calendar days of the employer’s request, but Kramer said he would advise employers to grant “a little extra time” to employees if needed. By doing so, the employer may be able to use the granting of extra time as evidence that it did not retaliate against the employee in the event the employer is sued.

“You have to be cautious about denying FMLA leave because a certification is a little late,” Kramer said. “When an employee makes diligent good faith efforts to provide the certification timely but is unable to meet the 15-day calendar deadline, the employee is entitled to additional time to return the requested certification. Do you want to risk the DOL or a court concluding that the employee made diligent good faith efforts to provide the certification timely and that you wrongly denied the leave?”

Kramer also said employers may want to require employees to put leave requests in writing; “There is evidence to suggest that when you require leave requests in writing it reduces dishonest behavior. Think about it. If someone asks you to put something in writing, aren’t you always more careful to be accurate?”

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/you-have-to-be-cautious-3-fast-fmla-compliance-tips/626564/

By Leah Shepherd, June 15, 2022

A proposed bill in California would make pay more transparent. Under the bill, employers with 15 or more employees would have to include pay range in all of their job postings and publicly report how much certain groups of employees are paid.

"I give the bill a moderate chance of passing," said Anthony Zaller, an attorney with Zaller Law Group, based in El Segundo, Calif. "If passed, it would be one of the strongest pay transparency laws in the country. Not only does the bill require employers to report wages for employees across race, gender and position in the company, it also proposes to publish each employer's information on the Internet."

"It seems to be moving through the Senate quite quickly, but it does have quite far to go before the governor signs it," said Laura Reathaford, an attorney with the law firm Lathrop GPM, based in Los Angeles.

If it passes, HR professionals would need to implement a consistent protocol to ensure that job ads reflect accurate pay scales. "It will be important for HR professionals to have a compliance system in place to review and approve all job ads to ensure they are legally compliant," Zaller said. "It will also be important to have records of the ads placed and retain these records for the time period required by the bill."

That means HR professionals should document pay history for each employee for the duration of their employment plus three years after the employment ends.

This effort toward pay transparency is meant to help employers to detect and avoid discriminatory pay patterns.

It's still unclear whether the proposed law in California would impact salary negotiations with job applicants.

"While it sets a range for the negotiations and gives employees an idea of what the position pays, the ranges could be large, and many employers are currently posting wage expectations to attract qualified employees," Zaller said. "Moreover, California law already prohibits employers from asking employees about prior salary history."

"Job applicants do not apply for jobs simply because the salary range has been disclosed. They apply for jobs where the salary and wages are competitive," Reathaford said. "Therefore, I think one effect this law will have is that employers may be pressured to offer higher wages because the salaries and wages of their competitors will be more robust and accessible."

Similar Bill in New York

The New York State Legislature recently passed a similar bill that would require employers with four or more employees to include salary ranges in their job ads. Gov. Kathleen Hochul has not signed it yet.

New York City has a similar pay transparency law that will take effect on Nov. 1. The New York City Commission on Human Rights recently released guidance to clarify that the law applies to both internal and external job postings. Bonuses, stock, benefits, overtime pay and commissions are not included as salary.

Although employers in New York City won't be fined if they correct a first violation within 30 days, they may have to pay civil penalties of up to $250,000 for any subsequent violations.

Pay Data Reporting

California's proposed bill would require private employers with 100 or more workers to submit a pay data report to the state's Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The report must include the number of employees by race, ethnicity and sex in these job categories:

• Executive- or senior-level officials and managers.
• First- or mid-level officials and managers.
• Professionals.
• Technicians.
• Sales workers.
• Administrative support workers.
• Craft workers.
• Operatives.
• Laborers and helpers.
• Service workers.

The pay data report also must include the number of employees by race, ethnicity and sex whose annual earnings fall within each of the pay bands used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Occupational Employment Statistics survey.

Employers with multiple establishments would have to submit a report for each establishment. Failure to provide a report each year could result in a fine of $100 per employee.

The state will publish these annual pay reports on a website that the general public can view.

Ultimately, preventing discrimination is the purpose of this record-keeping.

"The underlying goal is to have employers evaluate any pay disparities within their organization, specifically along racial or gender lines. The law is meant to encourage compliance with equal pay and anti-discrimination laws. If companies and HR professionals keep this goal in mind, the reporting obligation should be less of a concern," Reathaford said.

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Source: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/california-pay-transparency.aspx

HR Dive spoke with Salary.com’s David Turetsky, who encouraged employers to speak openly with workers amid economic frustrations.

Published June 14, 2022 by Katie Clarey

The pandemic may have spurred last year’s record-high quit rates, but job seekers weren’t necessarily all motivated by health and safety concerns. Many left because of low pay.

A Pew Research Center study released in March found that 63% of those who left a job said low pay numbered among the reasons why they quit, alongside a lack of advancement opportunities (63%) and feeling disrespected at work (57%). Thirty-seven percent of respondents said low pay was a major reason why they left their jobs.

David Turetsky, VP of consulting at Salary.com, saw Pew’s findings play out in real time. “We came out of a pandemic where everyone was worried for their health. That’s part of why the Great Resignation happened,” he said. “Workers decided ‘I’m not getting paid enough to kill myself at work.’”

It appears many workers received the compensation boost they wanted by switching jobs. According to Pew, more than half of those who switched jobs said they earned more money in their new gig. A February Conference Board survey produced similar findings, revealing that a third of employees who made pandemic-era job switches made over 30% more in their new positions. A fifth landed increases of 10% to 20%. 

Workers who jumped ship weren’t the only ones to benefit from a teeming job market. At the beginning of the year, ADP Research Institute analyzed the wages of 18 million workers during the last three months of 2021. It found wage growth among existing job holders hit 5.9% in December from a year earlier — the biggest increase the firm had seen since 2014, it said. Wage gains for existing employees averaged 5.7% in the last quarter of 2021, representing an all-time high for that timeframe.

Salary.com captured organizations’ preparations for the widespread uptick in pay in a fall 2021 poll. The research revealed 52% of organizations planned to boost funding for merit increases, a large jump from the 19% of respondents that reported such plans in 2020. Organizations also communicated plans for increased bonus spending.

Meanwhile, 40% of respondents said they were incorporating premiums into base salaries, and 33% said they were providing hiring bonuses. Nearly two-thirds of those polled said they were using referral bonuses and hiring bonuses, up 24% since 2020.

Since employers reported their plans for higher salaries and alluring bonuses, however, the broader economic situation has tightened, with inflation soaring, expenses rising and preparations beginning for a potential recession. A more recent Salary.com survey revealed 98% of employers are somewhat or very concerned that rising inflation rates will erode employee compensation.

Stormy economic conditions led Turetsky back to the lesson he believes employers should learn from the latter half of 2021 and its high quit rates: “Compensation should not be the reason why people leave,” he said. The Great Resignation motivated companies to review their pay practices and policies and ensure they’re competitive and transparent.

He referenced the recent headlines heralding Microsoft’s decision to nearly double its budget for employee salary increases in an effort to retain staff. “That’s Microsoft. They can do that,” Turetsky said. “There are a lot of other organizations that can’t. They’d love to, but they can’t.” Instead, smaller organizations have to make hard decisions about how to dispense the funding they have to help employees deal with the economic conditions at hand.

Many companies are turning to compensation tools that don’t compound, Turetsky said. Instead of heightening base salary, organizations use tools like stay bonuses and lump-sum payments.

Employers need to think beyond more granular pay tactics to quell quit rates during hard economic times, especially when pay may be affected, Turetsky said. ”I’m always on the side of being more open. The more you try and hold back from employees, the more they don’t understand when you make strange policy decisions. You have to tell people why you’re doing the things you do so it makes sense to them, so they believe in your mission and so they’ll stay.”

When companies don’t communicate openly with employees, they send the message that workers aren’t mature enough to be in the know on business decisions. Turetsky noted that this frustration fuels labor organization — an effort that’s fundamentally rooted in taking power from opaque management.

“It all comes back down to how you treat employees,” Turetsky said. “And it starts from the hire: how you hire them, how you pay them, paying them fairly.”

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Source: HR Dive 

https://www.hrdive.com/news/consultant-says-shifting-market-is-pushing-pay-cultural-transparency/625395/

Published June 22, 2022 By Laurel Kalser

Dive Brief:

• Mental health coverage and telemedicine or telehealth services are among the most important benefits employers feel they can offer employees in 2022, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s annual benefits survey released June 12. The survey was conducted in January and February and sent to U.S.-based SHRM members representing a variety of industries and sectors that range in size from two to more than 25,000 employees.
• Of the survey’s 3,129 responses, 93% said they offered telemedicine or telehealth, a 20% jump from 2019, when the category was last recorded. Similarly, respondents offering mental health coverage hit a new high of 91%, up from prior to the pandemic. “The strong prevalence of these benefits, even after businesses have returned to more normal conditions following the COVID-19 vaccine rollout,” indicates they’re likely to become “permanent fixtures,” the executive summary noted.
• Retirement savings and planning benefits were next, with 82% of employers saying they were important to offer, up from 55% in 2020/21. Most employers offered some type of retirement plan; 94% offered a traditional 401(k), 68% offered a Roth 401(k). Many employers also provided some type of employer match. Just over half (51%) said they automatically enroll new or existing employees in their company’s retirement plan, a figure that’s held steady since the pandemic’s onset.

Dive Insight:

As reflected in the survey, employer priorities continue to adapt to evolving post-pandemic needs. For example, while nearly all of employers currently offer paid vacation (99%) or sick (96%) leave, the prevalence of leave for new parents, beyond what’s required by law, returned to pre-pandemic levels. In particular, the number of organizations offering paid maternity leave dropped to 35% in 2022, down from 53% in 2020; paid paternity leave dropped to 27% in 2022, down from 44% in 2020.

The decline could be attributed to direct parental leave needs early in the pandemic, the executive summary explained. “Now that many businesses have returned to a more typical way of operating, employers seem to be dialing back on expanded parental leave opportunities,” the summary said.

Consistent with the priorities employers now place on mental health coverage, the survey revealed emerging support for mental health leave: 1 in 5 employers said they offered paid mental health days separate from regular sick leave. That’s in line with what one employment law attorney urged HR professionals June 13 at SHRM’s annual conference. 

With the stresses brought on by the pandemic, an employer should ensure that employees know it appreciates what’s going on in the world and supports their mental health, the attorney said. Employers can show support by training managers on how to respond to leave requests as well as emphasizing the importance of using inclusive language.

The survey also reflects the pandemic-triggered shifting between in-person and remote work. Hybrid work opportunities continue to be well-represented among benefit offerings, the survey found. About 2/3 of employments (63%) said they offer most of their workers the opportunity to adopt some combination of remote and in-person work. Across all organizations, 62% said they reimburse or offer a subsidy to employees for at-home office work or equipment. On average, thees employers provided about $891 to employees to cover the costs of working at home.

In developing a hybrid work model, employers need to be intentional and build trust, a global diversity, equity and inclusion strategist said during her June 13 presentation at SHRM’s annual conference. While company leaders look for models to adopt, they should keep in mind that no one size fits all, the strategist said. She outlined five questions employers should ask to structure their model, including who gets to choose in-person versus remote work and when, and how and for whom they will use management tactics like surveillance.

The possibility of remote work gives organizations access to wider talent pools, the survey’s executive summary noted. Because workers also have more options for where and when they will work, employers face a challenging talent landscape. But benefits can be instrumental in how this plays out, the summary concluded.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/shrm-mental-health-telehealth-benefits-are-post-pandemic-priorities/625754/

June 21, 2022 by Denise Leaser

In 2021, more than 47 million people quit their jobs, and 2022 isn’t looking much better: More than 4.5 million workers quit in March alone, a record high. As organizations seek to understand why, they are brainstorming ideas to keep employees happy. Perks like bean bag chairs and foosball tables are being replaced by high-end offerings like spa weekends, star chefs, yoga and fly-fishing trips.

But it won’t work. That’s because most employers fail to understand the root of the problem: The Great Resignation did not appear out of nowhere, and it did not start with the COVID-19 pandemic, even though it exacerbated the problem. Resignations now mirror the pre-pandemic trend that started in 2009, and American employers are going to have to retool to this new reality.

According to Harvard Business Review, the problem is the mindset of the labor market and the aging population in America. Workers are retiring in greater numbers and reconsidering their work/life balance and care roles. They are making localized switches among industries, or reshuffling, rather than exiting the labor market entirely. And, since the pandemic, they’re demonstrating a reluctance to return to in-person jobs, either from fear or the taste of flexibility they have experienced by working from home.

So, how can you know what elements of your corporate culture matter to employees—and what can you do to get it right? Using Glassdoor data, MIT Sloan/CultureX performed multi-year research project to identify the problem. The used artificial intelligence, specifically natural language understanding, to analyze the language workers used to describe their employers. Sentiment analytics revealed how positively (or negatively) employees felt about various topics regarding the corporate culture. Then, to identify which factors were most important in predicting a company’s overall culture score, they calculated each topic’s SHAP (Shapley additive explanations) value to understand the impact each feature has on a company’s overall culture rating.

The MIT Sloan/CultureX team identified 10 elements of culture that matter most to employees, but I’ve collapsed them into four areas that will be easy for any organization to understand: Meaning, Mobility, Managers and Money.

1. Meaning. Employees expect to be treated with respect and appreciation. They want to know that their work makes a difference to people and that it enriches their lives. They also want to work in a role that matches their values and builds their skills. Problem is, many employees are not in roles that match their skills or their values. Compounding that, employers are using a “warm body” approach to hire, not considering the personality traits, motivations or skills of candidates. In fact, only 16% of new hires possess the needed skills for both their current role and the future, according to Gartner.

Action: Organizations need to perform a full audit of their employees, take inventory of skills and understand, deeply, the desires and motivations of their workforce. Tools like MyInnerGenius create an unbiased profile of an employee and can suggest better roles in the organization and skills paths to accel in future roles.

2. Mobility. Employees now expect mobility and flexibility to move into different roles and to shape their workdays. But many employers do not create personalized progression plans for their employees and, as the pandemic becomes normalized, some employers are forcing employees to return to the office. Among Americans with jobs that can be done remotely, 60% say they want to work from home all or most of the time when the pandemic is over if given the choice, according to new Pew Research.

Action: Survey employees to find out if they prefer to work from home, then establish accommodations for top performers, including modifying the way work gets done or promoting employees to new roles that do not require in-office work.

3. Managers. According to the MIT Sloan/CultureX research, employees assign more credit or blame to the C-suite than to their direct boss. Nonetheless, employees expect managers to be supportive of their work and their need for purpose. They expect managers to be responsive and go to bat for them and offer encouragement. Being supportive is perhaps the most important trait to increasing engagement and retention.

Action: Managers should be assessed to determine their leadership capabilities, including their ethics and their ability to empathize. Managers should also be assessed for communication skills, engagement, coaching ability, leadership, collaborative mindset, purpose, direction and adaptability. Managers with deficits should be provided with personalized performance plans and training or reassigned to roles that do not require people management.

4. Money. Benefits are more important than salaries to most employees. Health insurance, health benefits, retirement benefits and pensions rise as top motivators for retention. And wages are important, especially in an inflationary economy. A Brookings study found that 44% of U.S. families did not earn enough to cover their living expenses.

Action: Many employees will simply quit or begin job searches before they ask for a salary increase. Don’t wait for an employee to ask for a raise; ask the employee first. Managers should proactively ask employees if they believe their compensation is commensurate with their work.

Companies that focus on these cultural priorities and treat their employees like customers and establish personalized development plans can dramatically reduce the impact of the inevitable shifts in the labor market.

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Source: Human Resource Executive

https://hrexecutive.com/here-are-4-ways-to-retain-your-best-employees/

Top concerns among Gen Zs and millennials

This year’s survey finds Gen Zs and millennials deeply concerned about the state of the world, and actively trying to balance the challenges of their everyday lives with their desire to drive societal change. They are struggling with financial concerns, while trying to invest in environmentally sustainable choices. They feel burned out, but many are taking on second jobs, while pushing for more purposeful—and more flexible—work. They press their employers to tackle climate change, particularly when it comes to efforts they can get directly involved in, but businesses may still be missing opportunities to drive deeper and broader climate action. And they have inspired organizations to take action to address workplace mental health challenges, but many don’t feel this is resulting in any tangible change for employees.

Please continue reading this article on the Deloitte web site at: https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/genzmillennialsurvey.html

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Source: Deloitte 

Published May 27, 2022 by Emilie Shumway

Dive Brief:

• While saving for retirement is the top financial goal for employees, 51% of workers said the pandemic somewhat or significantly increased their stress about being able to afford to retire when they wanted, according to a survey from TIAA. 
• Overall, employees said they were satisfied with their company’s retirement offerings, but they showed increased interest (54% versus 51% in 2020) in guaranteed lifetime income annuities, which only one-third of responding employers said they offered. Employers seemed to register the deficit, too; 43% of those not currently offering GLI annuities said they were extremely or very interested in them, and 38% said access to GLI annuities was the feature most lacking from their retirement plans.
• Among both workers and employers not interested in GLI annuity plans, cost was the primary reason, followed by the complicated nature of the plans. 

Dive Insight:

The pandemic increased stress generally, and it appears stress related to retirement plans was no exception. 

While the TIAA study did not investigate causes, circumstances that emerged relative to the pandemic (and other global events) may be a factor. High inflation and a struggling stock market have frightened those on the verge of retirement. A recent Pew Research survey found that 70% of Americans viewed inflation as a “very big problem” for the country, making it the top issue. It was followed by another economic concern: healthcare affordability. And of course, given the nature of the condition, anxiety caused by the pandemic may have caused more generalized anxiety. 

Guaranteed lifetime income annuities can address retirement anxiety by providing more security than other types of plans, as GLI plans can be invulnerable to inflation, market swings and other unexpected financial events. Through such plans, employees provide an initial, upfront investment and then receive set monthly payouts for life, even if they outlive the value of their investment or the economy is upended. 

However, buying into an annuity can come with a hefty price tag — often $100,000 or more for the initial investment, along with a slew of fees. Given workers’ financial demands related to everything from housing to child care to healthcare, it can be a significant task to set aside hundreds of thousands to invest in an annuity fund, even over many years. 

Still, the TIAA survey shows workers who are familiar with it are interested in the GLI concept. The number of workers interested in in-plan GLI annuities if the cost were lowered jumped from 54% to 73%, the survey showed.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/pandemic-increased-employee-stress-about-retirement/624454/

Comprehensive program provides associates access to free tuition to build careers in technology, supply chain, data analytics and more

MOORESVILLE, N.C., April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lowe's today announced a new education program to make it easier for associates to grow their careers. The new benefit gives full-time and part-time associates access to 100 percent debt-free programs, unlocking opportunities for over 300,000 eligible associates to pursue their educational and career aspirations.

In partnership with Guild, Lowe's is offering over 50 academic programs across 23 universities and learning providers in Guild's Learning Marketplace, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The free programs are designed to help associates excel in their jobs today and build toward the careers of tomorrow within Lowe's, including pathways into supply chain, logistics, data analytics, cybersecurity, technology and more.

Research conducted by Guild found that its students enrolled through employer programs similar to Lowe's are twice as likely as the average employee to receive a promotion or new role.

"At Lowe's, we believe greater access to education leads to more opportunities, and our success is intertwined with our associates' success and their ability to continuously learn," said Janice Dupré, Lowe's executive vice president of human resources. "We actively listen to our associates to identify how we can help them in the many facets of their lives. This debt-free education offering is one of the many ways we're working to help our associates reach their career potential while knocking down traditional barriers that often make it difficult for them to obtain a degree."

Lowe's new education program offers debt-free tuition assistance to associates seeking to earn undergraduate certificates or degrees, or enroll in English language learning, high school completion or college prep programs. The education benefit is designed for busy working adults. Programs include flexible classes that fit different schedules, fully covered textbooks and course fees, and one-on-one support from Guild coaches. Lowe's will continue to provide direct payments of up to $2,500 annually in tuition assistance for more than 165 additional academic programs serving associates to reduce the burden of up-front, costly tuition payments. 

Lowe's is committed to creating pathways for more people to access higher education while strengthening its pipeline of associates from all backgrounds and experiences. Academic partners in the Guild program include the University of Arizona – a Hispanic-Serving Institution – and HBCUs such as Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T State University and Paul Quinn College.

For 20 years, Lowe's has partnered with top scholarship organizations to contribute to student success. Recently, Lowe's announced a $9 million investment in select schools and scholarship programs to provide traditionally underserved students with greater access to higher education and pathways to future Lowe's employment.

"With the persistent war for talent, it's more critical than ever to invest in employees," said Rachel Carlson, Guild's CEO and co-founder. "By offering debt-free education and upskilling, Lowe's is expanding their long-term strategic commitment to providing career pathways, skills and support that every worker needs to open doors to their dreams."

Additionally, Lowe's offers a long-standing tuition reimbursement program, which reimburses associates up to $2,500 annually in education expenses. Lowe's also continues to offer Track to the Trades, a company-funded pre-apprentice certificate program to help up to 4,000 part-time and full-time associates pursue careers in the skilled trades each year. Lowe's covers 100 percent of tuition for Track to the Trade diplomas in HVAC, solar, commercial HVAC, appliance repair, multi-family facilities management, electrical and plumbing. This program supports Lowe's commitment to building a future generation of skilled trades professionals through the Generation T movement.

Kelly Pennington, a scheduling and staffing administrator at Lowe's store in Madison, Tennessee, is pursuing a bachelor's degree in behavioral science through online courses with Wilmington University. Her learning experience has inspired her to encourage others to enroll in Lowe's education programs.

"When I hit my 20 years with Lowe's, I thought, 'I think it's time to venture and go another direction.' But as I'm continuing to learn through the schooling, I could actually take this and apply it more with Lowe's," Pennington said. "Being involved in the position that I'm in now, I actually get to promote the schooling to other associates. A lot of times when I mention I'm going back to school and Lowe's pays for it, they're like, 'Really?' You kind of see them light up."

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Source: Lowes

https://corporate.lowes.com/newsroom/press-releases/lowes-launches-debt-free-education-program-more-300000-associates-04-13-22

BY WORLDATWORK STAFF | APRIL 27, 2021

Employers are diversifying their benefit offerings in 2021 with enrollment in high-deductible health plans (HDHPS) and voluntary benefits such as income product plans increasing, according to a study from benefits technology platform.

Benefitfocus Inc.’s “State of Employee Benefits 2021” report, based on 3.5 million benefit enrollments, found that:

• Employers are expanding benefit packages to address the diverse needs of a multi-generational workforce. Nearly three quarters of large employer groups offered a mix of traditional health plans (PPOs) and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) for 2021, moving away from single health plan strategies. Voluntary benefit offerings continued to expand to supplement core coverage and provide greater flexibility and choice.
• Employee health plan premiums saw moderate growth as employers took on more of the cost burden in 2021. While employee health plan premiums saw only a slight increase from 2020 to 2021, employers are paying more as a percentage of the total premium in 2021.
• HDHPs are catching up to traditional PPOs in popularity among employees. PPOs are still the health plan of choice among employees, but HDHPs have grown in popularity across the board, with participation up 30% since 2018.
• Consumer-directed health care accounts appeal to younger employees. Since 2018, the percentage of Generation Z with a health savings account (HSA) has more than doubled. Gen Zers, Millennials and Gen Xers are upping HSA contributions by 10% or more in 2021. 
• Supplemental benefits gained significant traction among employees. Over the past four years, employee participation in hospital indemnity plans has more than doubled and increased by 13% in 2021 alone. Participation in both critical illness and accident plans has grown by 65% or more since 2018 as well.

“The State of Employee Benefits provides a clear picture of how employers maintained their strategic focus on employee engagement and controlling health care costs,” said John Thomas, chief data officer for Benefitfocus, in a press release. “It also highlights, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, how employers are approaching benefit plan design, offering more consistency in workforce benefits planning and better addressing employees' total well-being.”

Marta Turba, WorldatWork’s vice president of content management, encourages employers to consider broadening their benefits offerings to help employees address COVID-exascerbated problems. That would include expanding health coverage for medical recovery from the pandemic, such as catch-up for routine services missed during the pandemic, and addressing such pandemic-related problems as obesity, depression, stress and complications because of delayed care. Also consider expanding family-related benefits, such as child and elder care-related assistance and relationship counseling.

For the report, Charleston, S.C.-based Benefitfocus aggregated, anonymized and analyzed 3.5 million actual enrollment records from nearly 350 large employer customers (1,000-plus employees).

Based on its analysis of the compiled data, the Benefitfocus report concluded: "There was a clear trend upward for expanding benefit offerings as a way to differentiate in a competitive job market leading up to 2020. If anything, employers took a more paternalistic approach in 2021, continuing to offer more benefits and absorbing health plan cost increases to keep things consistent for employees. At the same time, employees took more advantage of savings opportunities and income protection." 

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Source: WoldatWork

https://worldatwork.org/workspan/articles/study-shows-employers-expanding-benefits

by Renee Cocchi, April 18, 2022

We aren’t the same workforce we were a few years ago. Our eyes have been opened to the world of remote/hybrid work. And one thing is certain, there’s no going back. Employees have tasted the freedom and enjoy making themselves a priority. Now, employers are challenged with meeting and trying to exceed employees’ desires, to come out on top in the battle for talent.

One way to do this is by keeping up with what employees accept from you.

In its second annual study (Great expectations: A road map for making hybrid work work), Microsoft surveyed 31,000 people in 31 countries, along with an analysis of a trillion of productivity signals in Microsoft 365 and labor trends on LinkedIn.

As employers move forward in this new hybrid world, they can use these four key trends Microsoft uncovered to help steer their ships.

New priorities for employees

Employees have new priorities, and they aren’t willing to make the sacrifices they did in the past. The survey found that over half (53%) of the people are more likely to put their health and well-being ahead of their work. And if employers aren’t prioritizing their employees’ health and well-being, it’s likely their employees will fly the coup. Eighteen percent of respondents quit their job last year and 52% of Gen Z and millennials said they’ll likely get a new job next year.

But seeking new, more flexible jobs isn’t just being done by people in non-management positions. Leaders want that flexibility, too. Forty-seven percent said they’re likely to apply for a new job that’s not near their home in the next year.

Managers feel stuck in the middle

While leaders are steering the ship, it’s the managers who get to hear it from both sides. They hear from the leaders what they’re willing to give, and then they hear it from their employees what they want and expect. They’re the go between. It’s not an easy thing to deal with day in and day out. So, to keep your managers happy and keep their employees happy, managers need the power to act. If their hands are tied, frustration will set in. And most employers can’t afford to lose good managers. But it may happen because 54% said they feel leadership is out of touch with employee expectations. Another 74% said they feel they have no power or resources to make the changes needed to keep their teams happy.

Make commuting worth their while

Help employees feel connected and engaged. When employers do that, employees are more innovative and productive. Employees must know when and why they need to come into the office. If it’s just to sit there and stare at a wall, the employee feels manhandled and not valued. Bring them in for important meetings or collaboration on projects. If you make it clear, employees won’t feel so confused. The study found 38% of hybrid employees said knowing when and why they need to be in the office is their biggest challenge. And only 28% of leaders noted they created new team agreements for hybrid work. Other things the study uncovered: 43% of remote workers don’t feel included in meetings and only 27% of leaders said their company developed hybrid meeting etiquette so employees feel engaged and included.

Flexible work doesn’t mean 24/7

Microsoft reported that the average time spent in meetings for Teams users went up 252% since March 2020, and meetings spill over what’s considered the normal business hours. This includes weekends, too. Flexibility is great and allows employees to be more present in their lives outside of work. But there must be boundaries to protect employees from burnout.

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Source: HR Morning

https://www.hrmorning.com/news/hybrid-work-trends/