LizStevens, Author at Best Money Moves

Employee Benefits 2021: Employer Student Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

by LizStevens | Nov 18, 2020 | Blog

Employee benefits 2021: student loan repayment assistance programs. The different kinds of employer student loan repayment programs and why more employers plan to add them.

Student loan benefits emerged to help employees with their share of the $1.6 trillion in student debt. They’ve been hailed as an important employee wellness initiative and as a way to attract and retain talent. According to research by MetLife, student loan repayment assistance is now a must-have benefit for 36 percent of Gen Z and 29 percent of Millennials.

Employers who are considering adding student loan repayment benefits in 2021 should review the different types of programs that are available and zero in on the one that’s right for their workforce.

Employee Benefits 2021: Employer Student Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

According to research by PwC, just 7 percent of employers currently offer student loan repayment benefits (with the average employer offering $1,800 per year), but another 27 percent are considering it as they build their benefits package for the next year.

Nearly 15 percent of employers offer student loan refinancing or consolidation, programs that give employees an opportunity to restructure their student loans for more favorable interest rates and loan terms.

401(k) student loan matching is a relatively new program that the IRS approved in 2018. It allows employers to match student loan payments with a contribution to an employee’s 401(k). None of the employers PwC surveyed offered 401(k) matching on student loan payments, however, 23 percent of organizations are assessing its potential.

How Financial Wellness Can Help

The student loan benefit employers were most likely to offer was access to tools that have financial advice and financial coaching. Nearly 25 percent of employers already offer it and 22 percent of employers are considering adding it to round out their benefits offerings.

Student loan debt is just one source of financial stress for employees. According to Clever Real Estate, 54 percent of Americans missed or deferred at least one payment in 2020 for bills including:

Student loan payments (45 percent)
TV, internet, or phone bills (34 percent)
Credit card bills (30 percent)
Medical bills (30 percent
Electric, water, or other utility payment (27 percent)
Rent (21 percent)
Mortgage (21 percent)

Their top reasons for missing a payment included:

Paying for food or groceries instead (37 percent)
Prioritizing other debts (33 percent)
Lost income (28 percent)
Covering an unexpected emergency (25 percent)
Prioritizing rent or mortgage (24 percent)
Paying utilities (22 percent)
Forgetting to Pay (18 Percent)
Spending too much on nonessentials (15 percent)

Financial stress is clearly a multifaceted problem and the route to financial wellness looks a little different for everyone. Financial wellness programs like Best Money Moves are expansive end allow for personalization and customization, helping employees look at their overall finances, their financial goals and then directing them to resources that can help them bridge the gap.

Best Money Moves has all the essential budgeting tools employees need to assess and track their finances, but then they go above and beyond. Best Money Moves has a library with over 700 articles, videos and calculators to help workers educate themselves on everything from taking out student loans to buying their first home to saving for retirement. When employees have financial questions that need answers, Best Money Moves has a team of money coaches ready to help. And, of course, employee information is always private.

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company download our whitepapers and sign up for a demonstration here.

3 Tips for Working From Home During COVID-19

by LizStevens | Nov 11, 2020 | Blog

3 tips for working from home during COVID-19. These are three best practices for organizations with employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

This is just the beginning of the work from home world if employees have any say in the matter.

Seventy percent of full-time employees are working from home during COVID-19 and 75 percent of them say they’re equally or more productive now than they were at the office, according to research by Owl Labs.

Nearly 80 percent of employees agree having the option to work from home after the pandemic is over would make them happier, so much so that 1 in 2 workers wouldn’t return to jobs that don’t offer some form of remote work. After 2020, 80 percent of employees expect to work from home at least 3 times a week.

But that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a learning curve adjusting to a remote work landscape. Employees have struggled with taking time off when working from home, some workers feel inundated with daily meetings and some have had trouble finding work-life balance when they’re both in the same space.

3 Tips for Working From Home During COVID-19

Here are our top three tips for organizations working from home (WFH) during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond:

WFH Tip #1: Build a Flexible Routine

Working from home inevitably requires employees to adopt a new routine. They no longer wake up, prep to leave the home and commute to work. While they’re glad to be saving 40 minutes of daily commuting they are missing out on that time to get into the working mindset.

For the 25 percent of employees who told Recognize Services Inc that motivating themselves was one of the top challenges of working from home, building a flexible routine can help.

It’s tempting to wake up just a few minutes before logging into work, especially for employees who consider themselves night owls, but it’s important they give themselves time to wake up, have coffee, jog, eat breakfast, journal, do yoga, listen to some music or anything else that helps them ease into the day.

Breaks are also an essential part of the workday and much easier to enforce in a physical workplace. A survey by OnePoll on behalf of Freshly found that 60 percent of workers felt guilty taking any type of break, including lunch, when working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employers should be clear about how breaks work when employees are working from home and emphatically encourage them to take them. Regular breaks not only help reduce the risk of burnout they help keep employees engaged and productive, benefitting job satisfaction and retention.

WFH Tip #2: Stay Connected with Coworkers and Establish Remote Meeting Etiquette

Employers have leaned on virtual meetings to keep the team connected and on task when working from home, but employees are tired of having their days loaded with them.

Eighty percent of employees agree that there should be one day a week with no meetings at all, according to Owl Labs. Another 74 percent agreed that their organization should have ‘core hours’ meaning that there are four hours a day where employees are available to colleagues and then they work on their own schedule for the rest of the time.

Whether it’s restricting meetings on a certain day or during certain hours, it’d be helpful for employees if meetings were less frequent and more meaningful so they can get back to the task at hand.

WFH Tip #3: Prioritize Work-Life Balance When Working From Home

Employees have found themselves working more and taking less time off when working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average workweek increased by nearly 40 percent during COVID-19, with workers clocking in an additional 15 hours per week, according to research by NordVPN. Another survey by Monster found that despite 69 percent of employees experiencing symptoms of burnout, 59 percent of employees took less time off than they normally would and 42 percent didn’t plan to take any time off to decompress when working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey by OnePoll on behalf of Freshly found that 65 percent of employees feel exhausted by the end of the day because they have the demands of work and a family under the same roof.

Employees who want to continue working remotely need to prioritize work-life balance. It’s exceptionally difficult when kids are home for virtual learning, but there are a few ways employees can strike a balance between their work life and home life, even if they share the same space. Setting a firm time to stop working whenever possible and turning off work notifications if employees aren’t on call is a great way to start creating some boundaries, along with building in those breaks we mentioned earlier in this post.

Employers can help employees prioritize work-life balance by encouraging them to make use of their time off and asking them if there are any challenges they can help them with. Maybe parents are struggling to make meetings scheduled during a time they need to switch their kids to a new assignment or it’d make a big difference if they could log on and off an hour earlier so they could spend more time making dinner with their family. Those are two relatively simple yet meaningful accommodations employers could take into consideration to help employees make the most of their time at and away from work.

Managing Employee Healthcare Costs in 2021

by LizStevens | Nov 4, 2020 | Blog

Managing employee healthcare costs in 2021. What the average health insurance premium costs and changes employers are making to health benefits offerings in the new year.

The ever increasing cost of healthcare combined with uncertainty about coverage, deductibles and copays keep some employees from getting the medical care they need.

More than 40 percent of employees have deferred medical care because of financial concerns, according to research by Willis Tower Watson. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual premium is $7,470 for single coverage and $21,342 for family coverage in 2020. The average family premium has increased 55 percent since 2010 and 22 percent since 2015.

In spite of these increases, 56 percent of employers don’t plan to make any changes to reduce medical plan costs in 2021. Indeed, many plan to add new resources to better support healthcare needs in light of COVID-19.

Managing Employee Healthcare Costs in 2021

Employers are focused on improving employee healthcare by adding virtual or telehealth offerings and including voluntary benefits in 2020, according to research by Mercer. The good news is that both of these initiatives can help reduce healthcare costs.

Over 25 percent of employers are adding digital healthcare resources, like telemedicine for episodic care, artificial-intelligence-based symptoms triage, ‘text a doctor’ apps and virtual office visits with a patient’s own primary care doctor. These options are often less costly than traditional visits and are especially helpful during COVID-19 when physical visits aren’t always an option.

More than 20 percent of employers plan to add voluntary benefits, such as critical illness insurance or a hospital indemnity plan. Voluntary benefits are low-to-no-cost for employers because employees pay for them and maintenance is often handled through payroll deduction. They’ve risen in popularity in recent years as it became clear that a one-size-fits-all group benefits model wasn’t working for a multigenerational workforce. Voluntary benefits let employees personalize their level of coverage and choose a benefits plan that fits their needs without a significant impact on employer health spending.

Managing Out-of-Pocket Costs in 2021

Just 4 percent of employers plan to prioritize limiting surprise or balance billing in 2021, but many employees receive surprise medical bills they can’t afford to pay.

According to a survey by HealthCareInsider, 28 percent of employees received a surprise medical bill in the past year. A similar percentage said they carry medical debt and for 65 percent their medical debt exceeds $1,000. Nearly 60 percent of employees are concerned a health scare in their household could lead to bankruptcy or debt.

Fears about the costs of healthcare haven’t necessarily led to a change in benefits behavior. The vast majority of employees (92 percent) choose the same benefits year after year and spend an average of 33 minutes or less on the task.

Employers should make working with health insurance brokers to help employees better understand the difference between healthcare plans and estimated out-of-pocket costs for various services a higher priority. It’s a strategy that can reduce healthcare costs and assist in other employer initiatives, like reducing financial stress and increasing productivity.

Top HR Challenges in 2021 and How to Overcome Them

by LizStevens | Oct 20, 2020 | Blog

Top HR challenges in 2021 and how to overcome them. The most pressing issues in human resource management and what organizations can do about them.

Employers made difficult decisions to navigate COVID-19 in 2020 but it’s unclear what the lasting impact of those changes will be.

A new report by Lattice, The State of People Strategy: The New World of Work, asked HR leaders what their most crucial initiatives are for the 12 months ahead and what challenges they’re most concerned about.

Top HR Challenges in 2021 and How to Overcome Them

HR leaders said their most important initiatives in the next 12 months are:

48 percent said employee engagement
46 percent said training and enabling managers
44 percent said diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programs
37 percent said learning and development
33 percent said performance management

Most of these initiatives have to do with adapting procedures and processes established to limit the risk of COVID-19 while remaining operational, with the exception of DE&I programs which have become an organizational priority for many companies after the events of this year underscored the pervasiveness of systemic racism and inequality.

The top challenges HR teams face are:

58 percent said emotional exhaustion (for themselves or their team members)
54 percent said an overwhelming number of projects and responsibilities
51 percent said employee morale/retention
43 percent said budget constraints
29 percent said low perceived value of HR’s worth in an organization

Health and wellness programs can help HR teams overcome their challenges in 2021, if they can find the right mix of benefits within their budget constraints. Benefits that help employees improve aspects of their overall health, like mental health benefits and financial wellness programs, can build resilience and help employees both manage and avoid exhaustion and burnout.

Communication is going to be critical to organizational success next year, especially as many workplaces plan to continue working remotely indefinitely. Finding the right balance between professional check-ins where supervisors touch base with employees’ workloads, productivity and engagement are going to be just as important as personal check-ins where supervisors ask employees how they’re doing with everything going on and encourage them to ask for support when they need it.

The businesses that are most adaptive and communicative stand to come out of 2021 on top. Effective HR teams focused on their most important initiatives and highly aware of the challenges they’ll face will help their organizations beat their business goals in the new year.

How Employee Health and Wellness Programs Help Build Resiliency

by LizStevens | Oct 14, 2020 | Blog

How employee health and wellness programs help build resiliency on an individual and organizational level to better navigate economic uncertainty.

An astounding 75 percent of U.S. employees are struggling at work because of anxiety caused by COVID-19 and other recent events, according to a survey by TELUS International.

Employers aren’t blind to the unprecedented levels of stress employees are feeling. In fact, as the pandemic drags on, 85 percent of them are increasingly concerned about their employees’ health and wellness needs, according to research by Unum.

Another report by Principal found roughly 30 percent of employers plan to adapt benefits offerings to provide better mental health and wellness programs, childcare support, healthcare benefits and financial wellness programs to support employees through times of uncertainty.

“COVID-19 has fundamentally reshaped the benefits landscape,” says Kara Hoogensen, senior vice president of U.S. Insurance Solutions for Principal. “Employees and employers alike are recognizing the need for coverage that protects the health and well-being of both individuals and their families. This has brought new meaning to benefits that may have previously fallen lower on an employee’s priority list, such as income protection, life insurance and mental health programs.”

How Employee Health and Wellness Programs Build Resiliency

According to the research by TELUS International, since working from home during the pandemic, almost four in five employees have found it challenging to “shut off” from work in the evenings. Forty percent of workers aren’t getting enough sleep and 13 percent are hardly sleeping at all. Over 35 percent of employees reported feeling less healthy physically and 45 percent said they feel less healthy mentally. But just 40 percent of employees feel empowered to let someone at their company know when they aren’t feeling physically or mentally well, and that’s a problem.

Employees who aren’t feeling well struggle to focus, aren’t as engaged or collaborative, take more time off and are less satisfied with their jobs, ultimately taking a toll on an organization’s productivity and retention. Nearly 80 percent of employees would consider quitting their current position for a job that focused more on employee mental health.

Flexible Schedules Build Resiliency and Better Health Outcomes

Nearly 90 percent of employees agreed having more flexibility in their work schedule would positively impact their health, 49 percent said health care benefits that include therapy and counseling would make a difference, 43 percent would like thoughtful one on one check-ins from their employer and 37 percent thought virtual workshops about health and wellness or yoga and meditation classes would make them feel like their mental health is being prioritized.

Prioritizing Employee Health and Wellness is a Win-Win

Prioritizing employee health and wellness is mutually beneficial. Through health and wellness programs employees have the opportunity to improve their physical, mental and financial health, lower their stress levels and learn how to better manage the various struggles they may face in the future. This absolutely carries over to their performance at work. The result is a company culture that is healthier, more supportive and more resilient to challenges on all fronts.

Employee Benefits 2021: Employer Student Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

Employee Benefits 2021: Employer Student Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

How Financial Wellness Can Help

More on Topics Related to Employee Benefits 2021: Student Loan Repayment and Tuition Assistance

3 Tips for Working From Home During COVID-19

3 Tips for Working From Home During COVID-19

WFH Tip #1: Build a Flexible Routine

WFH Tip #2: Stay Connected with Coworkers and Establish Remote Meeting Etiquette

WFH Tip #3: Prioritize Work-Life Balance When Working From Home

More on Topics Related to Tips for Working from Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Managing Employee Healthcare Costs in 2021

Managing Employee Healthcare Costs in 2021

Managing Out-of-Pocket Costs in 2021

More on Topics Related to Employee Healthcare Costs in 2021

Top HR Challenges in 2021 and How to Overcome Them

Top HR Challenges in 2021 and How to Overcome Them

More on Topics Related to Top HR Challenges in 2021 and How to Overcome Them

How Employee Health and Wellness Programs Help Build Resiliency

How Employee Health and Wellness Programs Build Resiliency

Flexible Schedules Build Resiliency and Better Health Outcomes

Prioritizing Employee Health and Wellness is a Win-Win

More on Topics Related to Health and Wellness Programs at Work

Categories

Recent Post

Archives

Best Money Moves
Newsletter Sign-up