Smart Benefits: 5 Ways COVID-19 Could Change Benefits

Monday, May 11, 2020

Sam Slade, Contributor

 

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Sam Slade, Hilb

While the current impacts of COVID-19 on the workplace are obvious, another possible effect could emerge in the next open enrollment season. Here are five ways the pandemic could change employee benefits going forward.

Telemedicine: With the shift to virtual visits during COVID-19, the increasing use could lead to a greater desire among employees for telehealth services even when the pandemic subsides. A recent survey reported that two-thirds of respondents said that the crisis has increased their willingness to try telehealth in the future. With this growing interest among employees, it’s likely telemedicine could become a more common benefit.

Wellness: For years, employee well-being has been a priority at most companies, who have invested in wellness programs to help workers stay healthy and manage potential health risk. Many of these offerings encourage fitness in one form or another, including on site. But post-COVID-19, employers may need to revisit and rethink their program designs and incentives to accommodate the new social distancing environment.

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Mental Health: Rising rates of negative emotional effects from COVID-19 – evident in numbers like a 891% rise in calls to the federal Disaster Distress Helpline in March compares to last year – are highlighting the urgent need for better coverage of mental health care as well as added benefits. And more and more companies may respond. For example, starting in April, Starbucks began offering 20 free therapy sessions a year.

Flexibility: COVID-19 has altered the way people work – perhaps forever. Flexibility was already on the rise due to worker interest in a better work-life balance, with over 40% of organizations offering part-time telecommuting according to the 2019 SHRM Employee Benefits survey. Since the pandemic has enabled employers to see how employees can continue to do their best work from home, more may offer telework benefits that give employees the freedom to sign in from anywhere, as long as they get their work done.  

Child Care: The need to provide accommodations to help employees balance family and career have never been more apparent than during COVID-19, when supervisors and manages have watched as employees juggle life’s demands. That’s why child care benefits could increase as an employee perk after the pandemic, from on-site options to subsidizing the costs of child care or striking discounts with area providers.  

Sam Slade is Managing Director, Employee Benefits, at The Hilb Group of New England, where he delivers consultative advice and services. He is an industry veteran with extensive experience in all aspects of employee benefits, including underwriting, plan design, communications, compliance, and analytics, with a particular focus on alternative funding and self-insurance. Most recently, Sam served as Vice President of the Employer Segment at BCBSRI, where he worked to help the company evolve its self-insured capabilities. Previously, he was the Employee Benefits Practice Leader for USI in Rhode Island after selling his own firm, Bluff Head Enterprises, to the company in 2011. Sam’s career started with The Travelers.

 

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