The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® recently released the 5th Annual Workplace Benefits Study, “Small Business, Big Benefits. The study provides insight into how small businesses (50 employees or less) are evolving their benefits experience to enhance employee well-being, including:
- Work-Life Balance: Over the past five years, more small businesses have established flexible work schedules, telecommuting and wellness programs to help employees improve their work-life balance. For small businesses already applying these practices in the workplace, the study confirms it makes a difference – 55 percent of workers who feel their employer cares about their well-being want to stay at their company for 10 years or more compared to 33 percent who don’t believe their company cares.
- Supplemental Coverage: Many employees feel their benefits are important to their household’s financial security and higher out-of-pocket medical costs are directly impacting their workforce well. Small businesses are responding by filling the gap and increasing their supplemental health insurance offerings: 38 percent offering accident insurance (up 15 percent since 2015), 25 percent offering critical illness insurance (up 14 percent since 2015), and 21 percent offering hospital indemnity insurance (up 24 percent since 2015).
- Benefits Technology: Cloud-based software has made human resources and benefits technology more accessible to small businesses. The Guardian study found more than 50 percent of small businesses have digitalized a majority of their benefits process.