Employee benefits are used to retain top talent and recruit employees in a tightened labor market. Read this blog post for the 15 employee benefits that are on the rise in today’s industry.

Employer-sponsored health insurance and retirement plans are always a vital part of the employee benefits conversation. But a number of other benefits — think wellness and perks that promote work-life balance — are becoming table stakes as employers look to attract and retain talent in a tightened labor market. Here are 15 of the employee benefits that are on the rise, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s recently released annual benefits survey.

Health savings accounts

Health savings accounts continue to rise in popularity. The number of employers offering HSAs — which offer triple tax benefits for employees — rose just one percentage point from 2017 to 2018 (from 55% to 56%), but has increased by 11% in the last five years.

Paid parental leave

The availability of paid parental leave increased significantly between 2016 and 2018 for every type of parental leave, according to SHRM. Paid maternity leave increased from 26% in 2016 to 35% in 2018, and paid paternity increased from 21% to 29%. Meanwhile, adoption (20% to 28%), foster child (13% to 21%) and surrogacy (6% to 12%) leave also increased in the last two years.

A number of large employers have added or enhanced paid parental leave programs in the last year. Dollar General, TD Bank and Unum are among the companies that added parental leave benefits for employees, while IBM, TIAA and Walmart are among those that expanded their programs.

Company-organized fitness competitions/challenges

The last year has seen a substantial uptick in employers targeting employee wellness through company-organized fitness competitions and challenges. The percentage of employers offering the perk increased from 28% in 2017 to 38% in 2018.

Standing desks

Standing desks are one of the fastest-growing employee benefits: The percentage of employers offering standing desks to workers increased from 20% in 2014 to 53% in 2018. In the last year alone, the benefit increased 8 percentage points.

Research indicates long hours of sitting are linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, so employers are looking for benefits to help combat the problem.

Critical illness insurance

One in four employers now offer critical illness insurance to their employees, according to SHRM. That’s an 8% increase from 2017 and a 10% increase from 2014. As healthcare costs continue to mount for both employers and employees, voluntary benefits offer workers some additional protections for financial emergencies at a low cost, benefit experts say.

Telecommuting

Flexible working benefits, such as telecommuting, flextime and compressed workweeks, encourage work-life balance and can result in higher productivity and more engaged employees, SHRM reports. That’s likely the reason that more than two-thirds (70%) of organizations offer some type of telecommuting, either on a full-time, part-time or ad-hoc basis, up from 62% last year and 59% in 2014.

CPR/first aid training

A growing number of employers are getting serious about safety: The prevalence of CPR/first aid training increased 7 percentage points (47% to 54%) in the past year.

Acupressure/acupuncture medical coverage

Nearly half of employers (47%) now provide acupressure/acupuncture medical coverage, according to SHRM. The benefit experienced significant growth over just the last year: 38% of employers offered the coverage in 2017.

Onsite stress management programs

A growing number of employees report they are stressed out — and the effects are showing at work. So employers are increasingly taking action. The number of employers offering workplace stress management programs is on the rise, with 12% of companies offering these programs. That’s up from 7% last year, and just 3% in 2014.

Lactation rooms

More employers are offering benefits that help new mothers adjust to getting back to work after having a baby. Nearly half (49%) of organizations now offer onsite lactation rooms, according to SHRM, up seven percentage points since 2017 and almost doubling since 2014 (28%).

Casual dress benefits

Dressing down is going up: More employers are embracing casual dress benefits, according to SHRM statistics. The most common practice is to allow employees to “dress down” one day per week, up six percentage points since 2014 (to 62%) and three percentage points since 2017. Half of employers say they allow casual dress every day, up six percentage points since 2017 and 18 percentage points since 2014. And about one-third (34%) of organizations offer the perk on a seasonal basis, up seven percentage points since 2017 and 15 percentage points since 2014.

Service anniversary awards

The percentage of employers offering service anniversary awards, the most common type of compensation benefit, rose by nine percentage points — to 63% — since 2017, SHRM reports.

Spot bonuses

Nearly half (48%) of employers told SHRM they offer employees spot bonuses/awards. That’s a 3% increase from 2017 and a 7% increase since 2014. A number of employers, including Comerica Bank, Hostess, Lowe’s and McCormick, have announced bonuses for employees in the last six months as a result of financial savings from the GOP tax law.

Life insurance

Company-paid group life insurance is offered by 85% of organizations, and 80% of organizations offer supplemental life insurance for employees, a four-percentage-point increase from 2017, SHRM reports. A substantial increase was seen for life insurance for dependents with more than two-thirds of organizations (70%) offering this benefit in 2018, an increase of 13 percentage points since 2017 and 16 percentage points since 2014.

Paid time off to volunteer

An increasing number of employees are interested in volunteer opportunities — and employers are listening. SHRM reports that 24% of employers now offer employees paid time off to volunteer, up from 22% in 2017 and 16% in 2014.
SOURCE: Mayer, K (6 August 2018) “15 employee benefits on the rise” (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/slideshow/telecommuting-life-insurance-trending-employee-benefits
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