As we turn to a new decade, your veteran employees are growing older while waves of new generation employees will arrive at your business. Today, both young and older employees are starting to demand more when it comes to employee benefits, hoping to strike a better work-life balance in their careers.
This means that the employee benefits you offer your employees will need to adapt to changing attitudes in the workplace. In this article by Pacific Prime, we will explore the top employee benefits to consider for 2020, going through each of their potential return on investments (ROI) for your business.
Health insurance
The cost of healthcare has been rising at an alarming rate. For older employees, healthcare costs are likely to continue rising as they start to enter their golden years. As for younger employees, their lower-income base will likely mean that they won't have enough savings for expensive medical bills, should a terrible accident occur.
As we enter the 2020s, healthcare costs are looking to continue rising. This trend is reflected in the cost of health insurance premiums. Pacific Prime's 2019 Cost of International Health Insurance Report found that 97% of 100 countries surveyed saw both individual and family international private medical insurance premiums increased.
Meanwhile, some developed countries, such as Singapore, witnessed up to 9% annual premium increases -10 times its annual inflation rate.
For this reason, comprehensive health insurance is highly valued by employees, increasing their loyalty and engagement at work. This, in turn, significantly improves retention rates in companies.
Professional development
Millennials (ages between 23 to 38) and generation X (ages between 7 to 22) will soon form the bulk of your employees. Growing up in the digital world, these young professionals have vastly different career expectations than their predecessors.
For instance, younger employees face various financial challenges, from struggling to pay rent to paying off student loan debt. This has led millennials and generation X employees to demand faster career development opportunities.
In the US, a recent survey found that nearly a quarter of all millennials say they've changed jobs within the past year, which is three times higher than older employees. Meanwhile, a separate survey in Hong Kong found that almost half of all employees in the city are looking to switch jobs for better pay.
For this reason, providing career and professional skills development sessions in the workplace can go a long way to keeping these young talents productive at work and retaining them for a longer period of time.
Wellness programs
Wellness programs have risen in popularity over the past few years, aiming to address the overall wellbeing of employees. But why are they so popular? Let's take a look at a fraction of the overwhelming number of studies that show why wellness programs are beneficial for businesses.
There are various types of wellness programs directed to different aspects of your employees' wellbeing. Here are three key examples of the most effective wellness programs being implemented by industry leaders today.
Physical wellbeing programs
Physical wellness programs focus on the physical health of your employees. They are aimed at improving your employees' performance at work by promoting a healthier diet, exercise, and better posture. Physical wellbeing programs can range from educational sessions on how employees can improve their physical health, to the active promotion of physical wellbeings, such as providing gym membership cards.
Mental wellbeing programs
The WHO estimates that more than 300 million people suffer from depression globally and close to 800,000 people commit suicide each year. Mental wellbeing is common, and it takes a serious toll on your employees' job performance. For this reason, mental wellness programs, such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), are being offered in the world's leading companies. To name a few, these companies are:
And these are some of the benefits which an EAP can provide:
- Therapeutic counseling services
- Work-life balance services
- Emergency hotline counseling services
- Professional skills training sessions
By improving the mental wellbeing of your employees, your workforce will become more engaged at work, absenteeism will be reduced, and overall productivity will improve. Morneau Shepell research group found that the return on investment is eight times greater for every USD $1 invested in an EAP program.
Financial wellbeing programs
Financial wellbeing programs are designed to help employees through their personal financial struggles. The program can target both older and younger employees, offering coaching sessions such as saving for retirement and paying off student loan debt.
Financial wellbeing programs have shown to be particularly effective in improving a company's retention rate. PwC's survey found that up to 78% of employees who are stressed about their finances stated they would be attracted to another company that cares more about their financial wellbeing.
Employee benefits to consider for 2020
There are plenty of employee benefits to consider for 2020, which will require a lot of research and put a heavy strain on your HR specialists. Your employees' demographics and health, company culture, and your leadership style will heavily influence the type of wellness program that will be most effective in boosting productivity in your firm.
One way you can easily find the best program for your company is by consulting employee benefits experts like Pacific Prime. As a global employee benefits broker, Pacific Prime's experts are able to offer unbiased employee benefits consulting on the most suitable employee benefits plan for your company.
For more information, feel free to contact our team of experts, or visit our corporate website to view the solutions we provide today!