4 Benefits Trends to Look Out For in 2023
Much like everything else in the world of work, preferences in employee benefits change over time to reflect the current challenges both employers and employees are facing. As the new year has just begun, we wanted to offer an overview of a few trends in benefits that employers and HR professionals should be taking note of in order to offer their employees the most valuable package they can.
1. Personalization
Moving into 2023, the ability to choose is going to be a major plus for employees. Many traditional benefits plans don’t offer employees much flexibility - you either accept the plan as offered to you or you don’t. However, this type of program design doesn’t acknowledge how different kinds of employees want and prioritize different things. Offering a one-size-fits-all plan will only really appeal to a certain kind of employee, while others who don’t fit a traditional description will be less likely to consider it valuable. This defeats the point of offering benefits, as they should by definition offer employees additional advantages beyond their salary.
Instead, benefits programs that allow employees the opportunity to make choices for themselves will become increasingly popular this year. As a simple example, giving each remote worker a printer and a desk lamp is beneficial, but inevitably won’t assist all employees equally. Instead, a free-form home office allowance gives each remote employee the chance to choose what goods and services would make their home working experience easier, more comfortable and more productive. This kind of choice is going to be a critical factor in keeping employees happy and feeling valued by their employer this year.
2. Mental health coverage
As employees will continue to face complex challenges through 2023, it’s important for employers to recognize that the need for mental health benefits aren’t going anywhere. Many employees are feeling the strain of higher living costs and socio-political tension among many other factors. On top of workplace stress, these external pressures can have seriously negative effects on employee mental health, leading to employee burnout. reduced productivity, increased absenteeism and high rates of employee turnover. In fact, according to research by Koa Health, 40% of turnover is directly related to employee mental health concerns. With this in mind, it’s in an employer’s best interest to offer their employees benefits that can help them diagnose and treat their mental health concerns.
If your business already offers a health plan, including extra coverage for mental health might be a good option for you. Alternatively, you may want to offer some kind of allowance that would help employees cover the costs of services like therapy, or offer mental health days separate from an employee’s paid sick days to acknowledge the two as equally important. Another solution could be to have some type of mental health professional on staff or working in a consultant-style role for your business. This individual would be able to identify employees who might be struggling with their mental health and offer them specific help, and would be able to offer valuable general assistance to your team as a whole.
3. Emergency savings accounts
The past few years have been financially challenging, to say the least, for many employees. The volatility created by the pandemic, followed by high inflation and an increased cost of living seen in 2022 has forced countless households to save less and spend more to keep up with their day-to-day financial needs. According to research from Statistics Canada, 24% of Canadians have had to pull from their savings in order to pay their monthly expenses, while research from Moody’s Analytics shows the typical U.S. household has spent $445 more per month on average in 2022 to buy the same goods it did one year prior.
As they help employees tackle these challenges, emergency savings accounts as a benefit are seeing a rapid rise in popularity. An emergency savings account is a savings plan that offers employees the opportunity to earn cash incentives from their employer as they work towards a set saving goal. The act of saving on a consistent basis, enhanced by the chance to earn cash rewards, helps employees develop their saving habits and influences long-term changes to the way they manage their money. This type of benefit can go a long way in helping employees cover their day-to-day needs, can prepare them to face financial emergencies more effectively and will show employees that their employer cares about their well-being outside of work.
If youʻre looking for an innovative emergency savings account to offer your employees, QUBER is your solution. Our platform leverages behavioural science to help employees grow their savings, protect themselves against financial emergencies and improve their financial habits on a long-term basis. If you’re interested in learning more about QUBER or booking a free 30-minute demo of our platform in action, contact our sales team and we’ll be in touch.
4. Health and wellness benefits
A person’s health is a multi-faceted, complex thing to consider. Just as mental health is important to an employee’s overall well-being and their performance at work, it goes without saying that their physical health is just as important. In fact, the two are intricately linked: those who are predisposed to mental health conditions are at a higher risk of developing chronic physical ailments, while those who experience physical health issues are much more likely to develop depression and anxiety as a result.
Looking into 2023, it’s essential that employers look beyond the traditional perception of what health-related benefits should help employees with. There are a number of proactive fields of health and wellness that can have a big impact on quality of life, including sleep science, addiction services, diet and nutrition and physical activity. Offering benefits coverage on these types of activities can make a massive difference in employees’ lives and even reduce the amount of reactive health coverage they’ll need, and thus shouldn’t be ignored by employers. A happy, healthy employee is one that’s going to make good choices, stay engaged at work and stay with their employer long into the future.
