ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill.,
Sept. 6,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2023, 9 in 10 employers (90%)
increased their support for one or more core employee wellbeing
dimensions, including physical, emotional, career and financial. As
a result, total rewards investments made in 2023 are likely to be
based on their potential to create stronger organizational
attachment, according to Gallagher's 2023 US Physical &
Emotional Wellbeing Report. The Gallagher report examined how
employers are adjusting to top trends in employee physical and
emotional wellbeing and using these trends to help improve
employees' quality of life at and outside of work.
"Today's workforces consist of multiple generations and people
from a variety of backgrounds, and this requires employers to
analyze whether their benefit offerings are addressing a wide range
of employee needs," said William F.
Ziebell, CEO of Gallagher's Benefits & HR Consulting
Division. "As organizations continue to focus on recruiting and
retention as top operational and HR priorities, it's clear that
they're paying closer attention to important issues, such as
flexibility, burnout and inclusive medical coverage."
The Gallagher study, which is the second installment of the 2023
US Workforce Trends Report Series, was conducted from December 2022 to March
2023 and sourced data and insights from more than 4,000
organizations across the US. The study presents recent findings on
current and emerging trends to help employers optimize their
investments in employee physical and emotional wellbeing by
covering medical, pharmacy and voluntary benefits, as well as
absence management strategies.
Pervasive concerns about stress and burnout spark continued
focus on emotional wellbeing.
The focus on emotional wellbeing in the workplace continues its
upward trend with more than 7 in 10 employers (74%) increasing the
importance of this area in 2023. While prioritization of wellbeing
starts at the top, more meaningful interactions take place at the
operational level. In fact, since last year, providing mental
health training for managers, leaders or HR increased by 5 points
to 22%.
Employers are investing in building morale, addressing these
concerns through clinical care and designated time off for mental
health. Roughly 7 in 10 employers (71%) offer clinical care such as
virtual or telephonic mental health counseling, and 25% are
allowing time off for mental health and burnout (up from 3 points
in 2022).
Employers are updating PTO and leave policies that account
for life outside of work.
Nearly all employers (96%) offer paid time off (PTO) to
full-time employees, and more than 4 in 5 (81%) allow employees to
carry over days into future years. The ability to help employees
meet their work-life integration needs relies on flexible PTO
policies. But less than half (47%) include separate vacation, sick
or personal days and only 5% offer unlimited PTO.
The future of absence management is evolving as employers
accommodate an aging workforce, mental health challenges and
changing benefit expectations. As such, employers have developed
strategies for administering leaves and disabilities (49%) or
expect to do so in the next two years (15%).
Employers are increasingly adapting to align paid leaves with
family-focused policies. For example, access to new child or parent
bonding paid leave has increased 5 points from 2022 to 41%. And
while just 13% of employers offer paid caregiver leave, of
those who offer caregiver leave, the majority provide 11–12 weeks
(40%).
Balancing demands for specialty drugs and treatments with
rising healthcare plan premiums.
Median health plan premium increases at the most recent renewal
were 5%–5.9%, up from 4%–4.9% in 2022, and nearly 4 in 5 employers
(78%) believe a moderate or significant rise in healthcare costs is
likely this year. Nevertheless, nearly 2 in 5 employers (39%)
enhanced their medical benefits in 2023, up 6 points from 2022.
After base salary and variable compensation, medical benefits
received the most attention from employers (39%), up 6 points from
2022. As a result, the use of employee cost sharing and other
cost-management tactics is likely to grow.
Coverage for infertility, autism or transgender services and
other specialty treatments can show support for ranging employee
populations. Though most of these benefits don't stabilize or lower
costs, they often align with preferences that strengthen cultural
inclusivity. However, their availability was uneven — autism (53%)
and fertility services (46%) are offered by nearly half of
employers, voluntary pregnancy termination by one-third (34%) and
gender reassignment surgery by one-quarter (25%).
Challenges remain in managing specialty drugs (e.g., weight
loss, gene therapies, biosimilars), and 48% of employers don't know
or don't use tactics to manage their use and costs. Given the
accelerating interest in weight loss drugs specifically, and the
high costs associated, employers could quickly absorb expenses that
exceed their budget limit and impose other strains on their
pharmacy benefit plans.
"It is essential to recruitment, retention and the overall
wellbeing of employees to serve diverse needs," said Ziebell. "As
such, employers should determine what approaches to coverage and
utilization will provide the best results for their employee
populations, without driving excessive costs."
ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL WELLBEING REPORT
Gallagher's 2023
Physical & Emotional Wellbeing Report is the second installment
of the US Workforce Trends Report Series, covering medical
benefits, pharmacy benefit management, voluntary benefits,
wellbeing initiatives and absence management. It presents recent
findings on current and emerging trends to help employers optimize
their investments in physical and emotional wellbeing. Each of the
other reports centers on a different aspect of wellbeing. Data
and insights highlighted in this report are compiled from
Gallagher's 2023 US Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey.
Conducted from December 2022 to
March 2023, a total of 4,030
organizations across the US participated. Findings are broken
out by region, organization size and ownership structure for peer
comparison. Each section features core data highlights, contains
tables with detailed results and wraps up with key
takeaways. The report can be found here.
ABOUT GALLAGHER
Arthur J.
Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG), a global insurance
brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is
headquartered in Rolling Meadows,
Illinois. Gallagher provides these services in approximately
130 countries around the world through its owned operations and a
network of correspondent brokers and consultants.
Contact:
Mary Schwartz, Gallagher
847.378.5893
mary_schwartz@ajg.com
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