America's Benefit Specialist May 2023

NOTEWORTHY

have led to changes in what workers expect. A recent study found that 59% of U.S. employers didn’t feel fully prepared to meet their employees’ changing needs and expectations. However, employers with formal leave and disability manage ment programs felt more prepared to support these shifting employee needs. The study, Keeping Pace with Employee Expectations: The Role of Leave and Disability Management—conducted by an independent research and polling firm on behalf of The Stan dard—used data collected in 2018 and 2022 to measure how employers viewed their efforts to manage leave and disability. The employers with formal programs did see a rise in factors that signal a more satisfied workforce. Those factors included greater employee retention, stronger morale, higher produc tivity and lower absenteeism. Retention improved significantly among employers with formal programs in 2022. The number of employers with formal leave or disability programs report ing greater retention rose more than 25% since 2018. The research also shows that workers’ requests for reason able accommodations rose for most conditions, including chronic illnesses like heart disease and cancer. Time was the most typical adjustment provided by employers, as 75% said they modified a work schedule or granted leave. Bren da Smith, senior director of Workplace Possibilities at The Standard, said, “This finding doesn’t surprise me. During the pandemic, flexibility from employers emerged as key for U.S. workers. People were dealing with kids attending school from home and helping aging parents. Employees no longer view flexibility as a nice-to-have.” On the behavioral health front, the report shows that secre cy and stigma continue to be challenges. The research reveals a 32% increase since 2018 in employers who reported a stigma attached to people with mental health conditions. Seventy percent of employers said their greatest challenge in support ing employees with mental health issues was workers hiding their conditions. This was a slight increase from 2018. The study shows mixed findings on employers’ confidence in their ability to manage leave and disability. While confi dence improved since 2018, less than 50% of employers said they felt very confident about how their company managed absence and disability in 2022. However, employers with for mal programs were better positioned in this area. On average, employers with leave management programs were 31% more likely to report feeling very confident they were handling absence well. Those with programs for managing disability were, on average, 43% more likely to say the same thing about their performance. Return-to-work and stay-at-work programs were a prime source of optimism among employers. In 2022, employers with return-to-work and stay-at-work programs generally reported that these programs were the most successful of the ones they offered. The number of employers reporting this increased 29% since 2018. For more insights, visit www.standard.com/leave-disability- management.

about their expectations for employee financial wellness offerings. The results of the first poll presented in this report paint a positive picture for the future of workers’ financial well-being. Industry specialists were polled about the upcoming evolu tion through 2026 of retirement plans, benefits and financial well-being for employees. They said employers, benefits providers and financial professionals must instill more confi dence in workers that they will have enough money to sustain themselves through retirement. Most respondents agree on many future trends for workplace benefits. Opinions diverge most notably on the prospects for broad employer reliance on financial well-being indexes. The study relies on the median response (from most respondents) to project workplace ben efits coverage by year-end 2026. These research reports focus on current trends and prac tices and uncover emerging market developments that could profoundly affect retirement plans. The vision of the future outlined in the first Transamerica Prescience 2026 poll includes a growing demand for retirement and financial well-being benefits fueled by a continued talent shortage and government mandates for retirement plans. By year-end 2026, these industry professionals foresee: • Retirement plan coverage in the under-100 employee market will have equaled coverage in the 100+ employee market. • Flexible benefits and total rewards programs will have grown in popularity to accommodate an increasingly di verse workforce. • Financial well-being benefits (e.g., mortgage or rent assistance, credit improvement) will be added, and more than 50% of employers will offer student loan repayment programs. • More than 40% of employers will offer an emergency sav ings fund mechanism. • More than two-thirds of employers will offer high-deduct ible health plans and HSAs. • Nearly 40% of employers will offer gap insurance to help employees who lack the means to fund a HSA, which helps cover the risk of unexpected healthcare expenses. • Organizations that offer employment flexibility and mobili ty will have a competitive advantage in the race for talent. • The performance gap will widen between those employers able to offer the flexible total rewards program of the future and those who simply cannot. The report is available at www.transamerica.com. FORMAL LEAVE AND DISABILITY PROGRAMS BETTER PREPARED EMPLOYERS FOR SHIFTING WORKER NEEDS Workforce trends have evolved significantly over the past few years, as COVID-19, social upheaval and economic uncertainty

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