Six Ways to Lower Rising Health Costs for Companies
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In our always-on, hustle culture, employees never truly clock out. They down power salads over keyboards, take Zoom calls during doctor’s visits, respond to work messages during pillow talk, the dreaded Teams dings dousing any last flickers of romance. As their work and home lives continue to blur, employees become distracted and drained. Their company loyalty quickly wanes; they quiet-quit in droves.
So, what can you do about it? As an HR leader, you may not be able to change these broader social trends on your own, but you can certainly help shape the culture within your organization. Benefits experts steer employees towards smarter, more affordable care decisions. By leveraging health benefits guidance, you can guide your employees towards resources and services that promote work-life balance, bolster employees’ mental well-being, and enhance their overall health and job satisfaction. Below are five key ways benefits guidance can encourage more balanced, focused lives for your employees.
Your first line of action: preventing your employees from ghosting their health providers. With so much on their plate, your employees have likely been putting off doctors’ visits to some distant (or nonexistent) date. This can lead to neglected health issues, ultimately affecting their productivity and performance at work. Benefits navigation can offer a solution by steering your overbooked, overworked employees towards virtual care options.
Virtual care provides a more convenient and efficient alternative to in-person visits, allowing employees to see a doctor during their breaks or between tasks. This flexibility reduces the need for extended time off and minimizes disruptions to their workflow. Through virtual care, employees can seamlessly integrate doctor’s visits into their lives, so they can manage their health without missing a meeting or deadline. It helps set them on a path towards success and satisfaction both at work and in their personal lives.
Likewise, virtual behavioral health provides employees with easy access to mental health professionals, offering support for stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. The anonymity, affordability, and convenience of virtual behavioral health sessions can encourage more employees to seek the help they need.
Benefits navigation can steer employees to the mental health resources and providers that fit their specific needs. With benefits guidance, employees are more likely to engage with these services, leading to improved mental health, reduced absenteeism, and enhanced workplace morale.
FSAs offer employees a tax-advantaged way to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. When used correctly, FSAs can cover everything from gym memberships and wellness programs to dependent and elder care. By guiding employees to maximize their FSA, you can help ease financial stress and create a healthier, more focused workplace. When employees feel supported in balancing work and life, they’re happier, more productive, and infinitely more loyal to their organization–a win-win for everyone.
Promoting a balanced lifestyle for your employees means thinking beyond standard care. Luckily, many health plans offer a range of wellness programs such as nutritional coaching, stress management workshops, and fitness initiatives. Benefits navigation offers personalized recommendations towards wellness providers and programs and ongoing support to help employees make the most of these offerings. When employees are encouraged to engage in healthy eating, stress management, and a regular exercise routine, they tend to experience fewer sick days, greater focus, and higher overall job satisfaction. This translates into a more productive workforce, where employees feel supported and motivated.
Prioritizing holistic care is also key to addressing complex health needs. Holistic health options like chiropractic care, acupuncture, and massage therapy can help manage pain, reduce stress and enhance overall wellness. For many conditions, holistic practices can provide more sustained relief than traditional medications and treatments.
As holistic options are often pricey and out of network, benefits navigation can help employees find holistic providers that are affordable and covered within their plan. This will lead to increased usage of holistic care, which will ultimately lead to a healthier, more focused, and a higher-performing team.
Modern employees are clearly searching for more balance in their lives–and ways they can support it. By guiding your employees towards resources that promote overall wellness and balance, you’re addressing their complex needs with genuine empathy and commitment. This thoughtful approach doesn’t just alleviate immediate stresses; it cultivates a more humane and effective work environment, where everyone thrives.
Believe us, achieving work-life balance isn't some far-off fantasy—it's a practical goal within reach. As an HR leader, there are simple steps you can take to foster a culture of genuine well-being. Begin by assessing the deeper needs of your organization and ensuring your employees utilize benefits that support their whole selves. If gaps exist in their utilization, benefits experts can guide them towards providers who will address their mental, emotional, and physical wellness. Ready to transform your workforce? Get in touch today.