Remember just a few years ago, when
As if women hadn't always been managing through menopause. As if mental health wasn't important until apps came about. These needs have been around forever. Fortunately, there are new and
When you don't know what you need, who to ask, or what to ask for…
This begs the question: Who else is quietly coping, or struggling, with something that employers could help with, but that employees will never know to ask for?
They're trying to get sober. Their father with Alzheimer's moved in last month. A pending divorce is wreaking havoc on them emotionally and financially. They don't know where to turn first — and they clearly need help.
Employers do the best they can in offering an array of benefit programs and point solutions. This year in particular, given medical trend, they have an even more difficult job because they have to make benefits decisions and trade-offs for an employee population that is becoming more diverse and spanning as many as five generations, while also managing increasing costs.
Here is what some of the data tells us are the issues and trends affecting employees:
- The
2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that one in five women and one in four men over 18 reported binge drinking in the last month.Alcohol misuse cost the U.S. $249 billion in 2010. MetLife's employee benefits trends report said 40% of employees have trouble paying their bills, and 35% say they're less productive because of financial stress.Forbes Advisor found that due to debt-related stress, 48% reported sleep problems, 40% had higher anxiety and 34% experienced depression. Yet, Bank of America notes that only two in five employers offer financial wellness programs.- 40% of U.S. parents of kids under 18 say they are extremely or very worried that their children might struggle with anxiety or depression at some point,
per Pew .
Employers can't choose for everyone. But everyone can choose for themselves.
The rapid expansion of digital health, wealth and wellbeing benefits solutions has created many options that employers can now make available to address their employee needs like never before.
But benefits are just not working the way they were intended. That rapid expansion has made it extremely challenging for employers to choose the ones best suited for their diverse workforces from the thousands of solutions available. Employers and employees have been unable to realize the true value of these resources because of low utilization, limited awareness and lack of integrated reporting across solutions.
The key to unlocking the incredible potential of these valuable benefits programs and solutions is to change how benefits selections are made — and by whom.
It's time we let employees choose for themselves.
In practice, "employer-sponsored benefits" are actually "employer-selected benefits." If we revert to the true meaning of the word – and give employees the access and control to build their own benefits portfolios – then employers can get benefits right for everyone.
The primary challenge in doing so has been the cost and administration required to offer these myriad options without having to contract with individual vendors.
Employees need access and control to build their own benefits portfolios and update them throughout the year as their families' needs change. Because that's another dynamic we haven't discussed: family needs change all the time, not just during open enrollment.
If Sonya decides after "Dry January" that she's ready to quit drinking, she might add Sober Sidekick to her portfolio.
When Joe's dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer's and moves in as a qualified dependent, Joe might use his flexible spending account to add caregiving support from Tender to his Benefits Portfolio. He can use his employer-sponsored lifestyle spending account to add the Overalls concierge service to handle bills and daily life admin while his family adjusts.
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When employees have the flexibility to adapt their benefits portfolios to changing needs, they're not only likely to engage with their benefits, they will feel a greater connection to their employer and they will feel "heard."
Anticipating the trend toward self-selected employee benefits
Individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs) and qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements are growing in popularity. Applicable large employers are the fastest-growing cohort of ICHRA adopters, up 84% from 2023 to 2024, according to the
We see these new platforms and options for giving employees choice and agency combining to alleviate the burden that's been placed on employers as benefits have grown in both value and in complexity. Further, the ability of employees to choose the benefits that they need when they need them holds the long-term potential of creating better incentives for improving long-term health and wellbeing over time.
