How Are Your Employees Doing? 6 Ways You Can Help
Worn down employees, overwhelmed with the demands of life and their jobs? These benefits might help.
This story originally appeared on principal.com
How well are your employees doing?
If you’re like some businesses over the last year, you might not know they’re struggling until it’s too late: United States employee voluntary turnover is expected to increase by 20% this year, according to a study from Gartner. People are job hopping for all sorts of reasons: better pay, improved benefits, opportunities for growth, or a different career altogether.
One way to help? Support employee well-being — mental, emotional, physical, and financial — through workplace benefits.
“As a business, it’s time to reevaluate whether your benefits match what your employees say they need,” says Joleen Workman, vice president of customer care for Principal®. “You have more resources available today to respond to those needs and manage a happier and healthier workforce.”
These Six Ideas May Help You Get Started
Idea #1
Support a work/life balance
A study by Gartner found that the past three years changed how employees feel about work and life: 58% have a different perspective about where they work, and 50% have different expectations of their employers. Translation? Work/life balance matters more than ever.
Depending on your company’s size and needs, that may enable you to lean into flexibility in where, how, and when employees work — less about counting hours in the office and more about work that needs to be done. “I picture it more like a compassionate conversation where your employees feel the emotional investment you have in them as people,” says Amy Friedrich, president of U.S. Insurance Solutions at Principal.
Idea #2
Support physical well-being
According to the Centers for Disease Control, wellness programs increase productivity and morale and reduce absenteeism — good for employers, good for employees. And it’s an area that may cost less than you think. “There are options to choose what’s paid for by the employer and what’s paid by the employee,” says Nate Schelhaas, senior vice president of U.S. Insurance Solutions at Principal. Here’s one example: health insurance, mostly paid for by an employer, but gym memberships, perhaps with a small discount arranged by an employer, mostly paid for by employees.
Idea #3
Support financial well-being
This type of offering — anything from information on basic budgeting to webinars about managing health care costs and tackling student loan debt — has positive effects beyond bigger savings accounts. One recent study, for example, found that nearly three-quarters of employees experiencing financial stress also experience physical symptoms. And if your employees don’t feel well, they can’t bring their best selves to work.
Idea #4
Support mental and emotional health
Employers with employee assistance programs (EAP) find they have lower absentee rates and health care costs, as well as more productive workplaces — which may help with burnout and stress for both employees and owners.1 Many EAPs include several supports for mental and emotional health, such as:
· Caregiving assistance — finding daycare or elder care, for example
· Family counseling
· Grief and crisis intervention
Both owners and employees often need updates on EAP existence, value, and access, says Kara Hoogensen, senior vice president of specialty benefits for Principal. Luckily, there’s a decreasing stigma around EAPs, especially among younger generations: It’s not an issue for millennials.2
“It comes back to creating an environment where employees are going to be best positioned to deliver their best work,” Hoogensen says. “If employees feel supported while at and away from work, they have more mind space available to deliver great results.”
Idea #5
Nurture your employees’ life stages
Customizing benefits for your workforce requires knowledge about who your employees are and what they value. “A 25-year-old may have student loans, while a 55-year-old may be saving into their retirement account to catch up on savings,” Schelhaas says. “Understanding what your employees want is critical to your success.”
Idea #6
Support career growth
You don’t need a formal mentoring program with committees. A small business can easily connect employees with role models in the community who will serve as career mentors. Create your network of small business leaders, including women and those with diverse backgrounds.
Think of benefits and well-being as a loop: An employee with a medical crisis, for example, may then struggle to afford high health care costs, which in turn triggers mental stress. Conversely, an employee with physical, financial, and mental support may be able to improve their work performance. Find what works, review, and adapt.
Discover more ways to help your business and employees thrive.
1 Office of Personnel Management
2 Principal survey of 128 businesses (Principal customers) and 128 employees (of other businesses), February 2022.
This content is intended to be educational in nature and is not intended to be taken as a recommendation.
Insurance products issued by Principal National Life Insurance Co (except in NY) and Principal Life Insurance Company®. Plan administrative services offered by Principal Life. Principal Funds, Inc. is distributed by Principal Funds Distributor, Inc. Securities offered through Principal Securities, Inc., member SIPC and/or independent broker/dealers. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, IA 50392. ©2022 Principal Financial Services, Inc.
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