Log in
Book a Demo

5 Surprising Symptoms of Financial Stress (And 5 Helpful Solutions) Read it here.

The Truth is Open Offices Aren’t Really Collaborative

The Truth is Open Offices Aren’t Really Collaborative

by | Jul 17, 2018 | Blog

Open offices should encourage collaboration between employees. But the truth is they aren’t really collaborative after all.

Supposedly, having an open workspace improves communication and collaboration. However, a recent study published by The Royal Society indicates that the open office may be doing the exact opposite.

According to the study, face-to-face communication takes a 70 percent dive in open offices. Instead of fostering collective energy the study found the opposite. “Open architecture appeared to trigger a natural human response to withdraw from officemates and interact instead over email and IM.”

Do You Work in an Open Workplace?

The research also found that productivity declined after eliminating spatial boundaries. Considering 70 percent of Americans work in open offices, this is an issue companies are going to have to tackle in order to recoup possible productivity losses.

Lower Job Satisfaction Reported in Open Offices

A study published in SAGE Journals found that employees are irritated most by the sound of conversations, ringing phones and machines in the office. Noises like these are unavoidable in most open offices. They hinder productivity and are frustrating for employees who can’t tune out unless they isolate themselves further by listening to headphones.

Another study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health found that employees who work in open offices take an average of 62 percent more sick days versus other layouts. This is because viruses and bacteria spread more easily. But it could also be because the lack of privacy in open offices is stressful and stress makes sickness more likely.

Designing Around the Open Office Challenge

Although there are a number of challenges with open offices, they can be done right. Harvard Business Review determined what makes certain floorplans successful. They found that employees are more likely to respond positively to an open office layout when an employer conveys the vision for the space beforehand, is enthusiastic about the transition and encourages employees to adapt the space to their needs. The report notes, “When leaders encouraged adaptation and teams felt comfortable claiming the space as their own, they reported more place identity and generally felt better about the objective features of the space, like privacy, noise, and lighting.”

Work With Your Employees To Improve Open Offices

Communicate changes in office layouts, be enthusiastic about the space and allow flexibility so employees can make their office space more comfortable. While open floorplans have drawbacks, it’s still possible to create an environment tailored to the needs of your employees. Take back productivity, job satisfaction, and reduce absenteeism by making your office space work.

Read more about office environments:

Top 10 Workplace Etiquette Rules for Communication

What is Financial Toxicity?

What is Financial Toxicity?

by | Jul 10, 2018 | Blog

In the Best Money Moves Roundup, we run down the latest news on student loan and retirement assistance, the benefits of biking and artificial intelligence in the workplace.

If you ever wondered if there was a direct link between financial stress and health outcomes, look no further. According to research compiled by Managed Care, Americans are skipping medications that could improve their quality of life because they can’t afford them.  The term financial toxicity was coined by Amy Abernathy, MD, in an essay for the journal Oncology.  “Out-of-pocket expenses related to treatment,” she wrote, “ are akin to physical toxicity, in that costs can diminish quality of life and impede delivery of the highest-quality care.”

The truth is many employees need help navigating healthcare benefits to lower out of pocket expenses and avoid , “financial toxicity.”

What can you do about it?

What We’re Reading

Employer tackles student loan debt and retirement. When employees contribute 2% of their salary to paying down student loans Abbott Laboratories will pay the equivalent of 5% of an employee’s salary to to their 401(k). Learn more about their Freedom 2 Save program.

Happier, healthier employees. An initiative in France incentivising employees to bike to work led to a 15 percent reduction in sick leave, lower transportation expenses, less stress and higher job satisfaction. See how it worked.

Would you trust orders from a robot? More than 90 percent of workers responding to a recent study would, but progress is slow when it comes to companies adopting and preparing for artificial intelligence in the workplace. Read the full results breakdown.

Open offices lower direct communication. Recent studies found that email and instant messaging conversations increase significantly, productivity declined, and face-to-face interaction decreased when offices transitioned to an open landscape. Why this happens and how it relates to insect behavior.

Help Millennials secure their financial wellness. Nearly 70 percent of millennials are stressed about their finances. Help them get on track and back to work. Share this quick tipsheet with your employees.

A simple gesture to support employee’s mental health. With recent rises in mental illness and suicide employers cannot avoid addressing mental illness any longer. A memo like this is a good start.

On-demand health insurance. A new startup offers employees a core set of health care benefits and the option to add coverage for specific procedures. Is this the future of insurance benefits administration?

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

A Lack of Healthcare Benefits is Causing Financial Toxicity

A Lack of Healthcare Benefits is Causing Financial Toxicity

by | Jul 10, 2018 | Blog

A lack of healthcare benefits is causing financial toxicity for employees across the country.

If you ever wondered if there was a direct link between financial stress and health outcomes, look no further. According to research compiled by Managed Care, Americans are skipping medications that could improve their quality of life because they can’t afford them.  The term financial toxicity was coined by Amy Abernathy, MD, in an essay for the journal Oncology.  “Out-of-pocket expenses related to treatment,” she wrote, “ are akin to physical toxicity, in that costs can diminish quality of life and impede delivery of the highest-quality care.”

The truth is many employees need help navigating healthcare benefits to lower out of pocket expenses and avoid , “financial toxicity.”

A recent study by Willis Tower Watson found that those with high levels of financial stress were twice as likely to have poor health as opposed to those without financial stress. And the longer employees go without treating illnesses the more business is affected by lost productivity and absenteeism.

Adams Dudley, MD, a pulmonologist, and Director of the Center for Healthcare Value at the University of California-San Francisco is concerned about the prescription crisis we’re facing and said that, “This problem definitely impacts the lives of patients. They’re skipping medicines or skipping other things to buy medicines.”

As a prescriber, Dudley finds difficulty distinguishing what patient pays how much for the same drug because insurance coverage varies greatly, “These days price is such a weird thing. If I give one patient Spiriva [a bronchodilator], the cost could be $10. For another patient, it may be $200 a month. And I don’t get good information about which patient is which.”

Michael A. Evans, Vice President of Enterprise Pharmacy and Chief Pharmacy Officer of Pennsylvania’s Geisinger Health System shares a spreadsheet with prescribers of available medications for a patient’s condition along with the average wholesale price (AWP) of each medication to help prescribers lower patient costs. Evans said that for prescribers, “It’s been quite eye-opening for them, helping them better understand the cost burden on the patient in front of them, and it has definitely affected their prescribing habits. We get responses like, ‘Wow! I had no idea medication A I gave was so expensive. I could certainly use medication B.’”

Evan’s cost transparency sheet offers a solution to the problem Dudley describes, but a drawback is that the AWP is the cost of the drug to the health plan and the patient combined. This makes so it difficult to determine the patient’s actual expense.

Dudley points to another pertinent issue in healthcare, the discrepancy between the cost to make a medicine and the price it sells for. He says, “To many people, $160 is a lot of money. But almost anyone would rather spend it taking the family to dinner than paying for a medicine that cost three dollars to make.”

Employers can help address out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions by being knowledgeable about insurance benefits they offer, updating employees on any changes and asking for feedback to see if the current program is meeting their coverage needs.

Most Employees Think Companies Aren’t Prepared for This

Most Employees Think Companies Aren’t Prepared for This

by | Jul 2, 2018 | Blog

In the Best Money Moves Roundup, we run down the latest news on traumatic incidents in the workplace, pet perks, and payday advances.

Employees need support and guidance after traumatic events – like the sudden loss of a colleague or a natural disaster – but only 26 percent of workers are getting it.

Most employees surveyed by Workplace Options (WPO) have worked for an organization that experienced a traumatic event. More than half of them said that a disaster recovery plan (DRP) or business continuity plan (BCP) wasn’t in place to help employees affected by the event – or if there was nobody told them about it.

DRP’s are a valuable benefit for nearly 70 percent of employees and should be a priority for  employers. It’s estimated that less than half of employers have a DRP or BCP plan in place, but they’re critical for dealing with disasters.

See Exactly How Hard Poor Preparation Hits Businesses

What we’re reading:

Office pet perks? Corporations are starting to bring in pets for occasional office visits to reduce employee stress, Amazon even allows employees to bring their dogs to work daily. Learn about the psychological benefits of pet perks.

Employer payday advances. Early access to pay is a financial perk that could make employees happier, but is it a good idea since most Americans are already struggling to save? See for yourself.

Wellness initiatives lower diabetes. New research found that those who tested as diabetic or prediabetic had normal blood levels after participating in an employer-sponsored wellness program. Combat rising healthcare costs.

Exits are opportunities in disguise. Whether you collect information from a departing employee through an interview or survey, it’s important that you obtain their feedback. Mitigate future turnover risks and costs.

Empathy is key. Employees would be willing to leave their job for a more empathetic employer, so respect is still crucial for job satisfaction. Find out what the C.A.R.E. model is and how it can help employers be more empathetic.

Discover joins tuition trend. Degree assistance has been a hot employee benefit this summer and Discover plans to join in by offering the majority of employees (even new hires) full rides for bachelor’s degrees at several schools. More on this developing benefit.

Your employees need more than a vacation. Stress dissipates on vacation, but for most employees it comes back in full force the second they get back to work. How to address the larger problem.

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

 

How Do You Handle Trauma in the Workplace?

How Do You Handle Trauma in the Workplace?

by | Jul 2, 2018 | Blog

Workplace Option’s latest survey on handling traumatic incidents in the workplace illuminates a dire need for HR to step in and create new procedures.

Employees need support and guidance after traumatic events – like the sudden loss of a colleague or a natural disaster – but only 26 percent of workers are getting it.

Most employees surveyed by Workplace Options (WPO) have worked for an organization that experienced a traumatic event. More than half of them said that a disaster recovery plan (DRP) or business continuity plan (BCP) wasn’t in place to help employees affected by the event – or if there was nobody told them about it.

DRP’s are a valuable benefit for nearly 70 percent of employees and should be a priority for  employers. It’s estimated that less than half of employers have a DRP or BCP plan in place, but they’re critical for dealing with disasters.

Dean Debnam, chief executive officer at WPO, said, “Preparing for a potential traumatic event, and providing proper services for your employees if one should ever occur is hugely important to the resilience of your organization.” It’s true, between 40 to 60 percent of companies without a DRP or BCP never reopen after facing a disaster and a whopping 75 percent fail within three years, according to research from Open Access BPO.

These numbers might refer specifically to large scale natural disasters, but less extreme traumatic incidents take a toll on business too. Debnam said, “Providing education to managers and employees on available benefits leads to less risk of absenteeism and presenteeism of affected employees.”

Natural disasters, layoffs, workplace violence and sudden deaths are most emotionally stressful and traumatic for employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates nearly 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year, and that’s only counting reported incidents. There were over 19.9 million layoffs in 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Natural disasters are traumatic for the entire community. The claims process for insurable losses can be consuming and without a DRP or BCP in place employees who need assistance recovering might not get it.

It’s critical to have the right plan in place to maintain strong leadership when facing the unthinkable. Review and develop a disaster recovery plan or business continuity plan to make sure it addresses these four traumatic incidents that affect your employees most to bounce back productively while retaining top talent.