In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

The idea of “wellness programs” in employee benefits initially focused solely on physical wellness, and included things like helping employees maintain a healthy weight or kick unhealthy habits like smoking.

However, 2016 saw an increase in the number of employers offering employee benefits like student loan repayment programs (Time predicts it will be “2017’s hottest employee benefit”) and encouraging employees to take advantage of mental and social assistance programs.

But by the end of 2016, a growing body of research started connecting physical health and financial stress, leading to an increasing number of employers including financial wellness products in their employee benefits packages. Here’s why employers are putting a growing amount of emphasis on mental and financial wellness in their benefits packages, and where we might see that trend go in 2017.

While 87 percent of HR executives rate employee engagement as one of their biggest challenges, there’s no real agreement on what employee engagement actually is. Learn what employee engagement is and how to use it to improve your company’s culture.

Gender equality in the workplace is becoming an increasingly important issue for women and men. A recent study found that more than half of employees felt gender inequality was a problem at their company and many of them plan to look for a new gig in the next six months.  

The holidays are filled with potential opportunities for identity theft. Here are some ways employers can help their employees avoid this stressful holiday hazard.

President-elect Trump campaigned on the promise of reducing regulatory red tape. That could be bad news for consumers’ retirement accounts if he rolls back President Obama’s fiduciary rule, which was set to take effect in April 2017.

Can your physical office environment keep employees from leaving? It might, according to a new survey from the International Interior Design Association. Here are the features you may want to add to the office to boost employee retention.

What is the most important factor in attracting top talent? SHRM’s newest study looked at what HR executives are doing to draw in new employees and keep them with the company.

Are you working on your resolutions for 2017? What about resolutions for your business? Get yourself started with these five financial wellness resolutions for the new year.

A lack of financial knowledge is the root cause of many employees’ financial stress. But why are so many Americans financially illiterate in the first place?

Is your organization struggling with a high turnover rate? Here are some of the most common reasons employees quit and seven simple steps you can take to make them stay.

Did you find this Best Money Moves roundup useful? Please let us know. Email us at info@bestmoneymoves.com.

It’s hard to stay on top of everything in the news. That’s why each week our Best Money Moves newsroom will bring you the most important news in financial wellness, employee benefits and financial stress. We hope you like the information and, if you do, please spread the word. For midweek developments, follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.