5 Trends Shaping The Future Of Employee Wellness

by Derek B | Jan 18, 2024 | healthcare, Wellness

Healthcare is constantly evolving, shaping how people view their health and well-being. The complexities of managing rising healthcare costs, the continuous evolution of the modern workplace, and a heightened focus on employee wellbeing highlight the necessity for a broader perspective on the concept of “workplace wellbeing.”

To be successful, organizations must construct a future that works for everyone, including individuals, the workforce, and the organization.

How will employers invest in workplace well-being?

According to a Great Place to Work and Johns Hopkins survey in 2023, employee well-being is a key predictor of employee retention and referrals. It identifies that:

Promoting employee well-being requires consistent listening and regular communication with employees.
Employees who experience high levels of well-being in the workplace are three times more likely to stay with their employer.
Employees who experience high levels of well-being in the workplace are three times more likely to recommend their employer to others.

It’s safe to say that providing a culture of health and well-being within your organization significantly impacts more than just healthcare costs and physical health.

Think about every aspect of your life where support is needed—and how everyone’s list differs. Wellbeing at work should be addressed by supporting the “whole person.” This means employers should support not only physical health but also the following:

Mental health
Digital wellbeing
A work-life balance
Financial wellbeing
Family support services

Although this list is not exhaustive, it highlights the complex and interdependent nature of workplace wellbeing needs.

female employee meditating at work

5 trends that will shape the future of employee wellbeing:

Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing:

Emotional wellbeing has taken center stage in the post-pandemic years. One positive outcome of the pandemic is the awareness and need for greater mental health resources and the de-stigmatization of mental health in the workplace. According to a Gallup poll, 19% of U.S. workers rate their mental health as fair or poor.

Here are some of the things that are being implemented as they relate to mental wellbeing at work:

“Safe Space” communities: Employees can access mental health resources and learn to support others while sharing personal stories.
Manager’s Training: Leaders can access training to learn how to be effective listeners, identify, and respond swiftly to the mental health needs of their teams. These training courses also help inform company policy needs and provide a framework to be developed within all areas of the organization.
Mindfulness Resources: Incorporating relaxation solutions into the workplace with on-the-go apps, online platforms, calm spaces, or meditation rooms involves integrating mindfulness tools into communication platforms.

The Continued Rise of Technology – Driven Solutions

The intersection of convenience, privacy, and adaptability is crucial for digital wellbeing tools. Integrating technology into employee wellbeing programs not only improves accessibility and convenience but also enhances data collection and analysis, which helps organizations gain insight into health trends and potential interventions. Finding a way to tie these different technology systems together will be instrumental when it comes to the interconnectedness of data and programs.

Some solutions are determined to stick around, and ones that you might consider include:

Personalized Wellness Platforms: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is inspired to adapt to individual preferences and circumstances with constantly evolving algorithms that adjust real-time recommendations based on new user data, behavioral patterns, personalized content, and customized plans.
Telehealth Solutions: With multi-modal consultation formats and interactive platforms, integrated health allows individual solutions to be consolidated into more holistic platforms, bringing together everything someone needs in one place.
Wearable Technology: Fitness trackers and smartwatches are being used to monitor physical activity, sleep patterns, and overall health. Wearables that adapt their tracking based on user lifestyle algorithms will be instrumental in personalization and customization.

employee on a telehealth call

Flexibility and Work/Life Balance:

The COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations to adopt remote work arrangements on an unprecedented scale. Whether your office now promotes a worksite that is hybrid, in-office, or remote, having flexible work arrangements helps accommodate employees, enhance work-life balance, and make companies more attractive.

Develop strategies to support employees wherever they are:

Virtual Wellness and Fitness Classes: Allow employees to participate in their health and wellbeing wherever they are.
Telehealth Visits: Offers flexibility to talk with a doctor from the comfort of their home.
Virtual Team-building Activities: Allow employees to connect even though they are not physically together.
Invest in Technology Tools: Facilitating seamless collaboration among remote and in-office teams or multiple locations.

Financial Wellbeing

A recent study by PwC found that 57% of employees say finances are the top cause of stress in their lives. When people have money worries, it impacts morale and productivity, not to mention overall physical and mental health. Businesses have a responsibility to help their employees by investing in financial wellbeing, education, and resources, but also to help retain top talent in this ever-changing job market.

Here are some services to consider offering:

Financial Wellness Coaching: Such as one-on-one coaching, workshops, webinars, and online tools
Financial Education: Literacy opportunities on topics such as budgeting, saving, investing, debt management, and overall financial planning.
Financial Wellness Benefits: Such as tuition reimbursement, employer-sponsored retirement plans, or home-buying assistance programs.

Family Support Services:

Balancing the roles of parent, caregiver, and employee can feel like juggling two full-time jobs. Having a supportive employer makes all the difference. Caregiver responsibilities for both children and aging parents put a strain on mental and physical health. Having programs and support for a range of needs helps employees feel supported.

How do you invest in caregivers?

Financial support, such as childcare subsidies or discounts for daycare centers
Flex spending accounts for dependent care expenses
Backup care services
Eldercare resources
Caregiver leave/paid time off
Maternity and paternity leave
Mental health benefits for caregivers
Return to work programs

mother on laptop and child in high chair

Wellbeing investments in the workplace are retention boosters and help secure top talent. According to another Gallup poll, 63% of workers say that having work-life balance and better personal wellbeing opportunities is very important when considering a new job. Organizations should look to provide more inclusive, equitable benefits and wellbeing programs across their workforce. In the future, organizations will intensify their focus on human-centric wellbeing, aiming to enhance the employee experience and drive concrete business results by evolving from the appearance of personalization to genuine personalization.

The wellness landscape is changing daily. Employers should research the options by seeking guidance with a PEO. We have multiple wellness programs and initiatives that can be implemented and offer comprehensive ACA compliance/reporting services to clients.

Newsletter Sign Up Now

Learn how our PEO Partnership can help your group please contact us at info@360peo.com or (855)667-4621.

Put You & Your Employees in Good Hands

Get Started

Get In Touch

For more information on PEOs or a customized quote please submit your contact. We will be in touch ASAP.

HSA 2024 Dollar Limits

by Alex | May 17, 2023 | healthcare, HSA, Tax

The IRS, yesterday, released the 2024 Health Savings Account (HSA) inflation adjustments. To be eligible to make HSA contributions, an individual must be covered under a high deductible health plan (HDHP) and meet certain other eligibility requirements.

New HSA 2024 limits are as follows:

	2024	2023
HSA Annual Contribution Limit	$4,150; $8,300	$3,850 – Single; $7,750 – Family
HDHP Minimum Annual Deductible	$1,600; $3,200	$1,500 – Single; $3,000 – Family
HDHP Out-of-Pocket Maximum	$8,050; $16,100	$7,500 – Single; $15,000 – Family
Age 55+ Catch-Up Provision	$1,000; $2,000	$1,000- Single; $2,000 – Husband/Wife

Age 55 Catch Up Contribution

As in 401k and IRA contributions, you are allowed to contribute extra if you are above a certain age. If you are age 55 or older by the end of the year, you can contribute an additional $1,000 to your HSA. If you are married, and both of you are age 55, each of you can contribute an additional $1,000. A savvy strategy for high-income earners is to invest the money in your HSA for the long haul. Once you’re 65, you can take out tax-free distributions to cover Medicare premiums. If you withdraw money at that point for non-medical uses, you pay the same tax as you would on withdrawals from a pretax 401(k). But you can also take money out tax-free to reimburse yourself for prior years’ out-of-pocket medical expenses if you have the old receipts.

COVId-19 Update:

You can even use an HSA to save on a typical trip to the CVS. Thanks to a tax relief provision tucked in the last Covid-19 stimulus package, you can use the money you stash in an HSA or FSA (more on those later) for over-the-counter medications like Tylenol or Flonase as well as menstrual products like tampons and pads. That reverses Obamacare restrictions on OTC meds requiring a doctor’s prescription for them to be eligible for reimbursement.

HSA/HDHP Market Growth

HSA holders own the assets in the accounts and can build up substantial sums over time. Enrollment in HSA-compatible insurance plans has increased to 10 million earlier this year, from 1 million in March 2005, according to, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade group.

HSAs were authorized starting in January 2004. Since then, AHIP has conducted a periodic census of health plans participating in the HSA/HDHP market.

The number of people with HSA/HDHP coverage rose to more than 11.4 in January 2011, up from 10.0 million in January 2010, 8.0 million in January 2009, and 6.1 million in January 2008.
30 percent of individuals covered by an HSA plan were in the small-group market, 50 percent were in the large-group market, and the remaining 20 percent were in the individual market.
14% of all workers in the private sector have access to a Health Savings Account acc. to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
States with the highest levels of HSA/HDHP enrollment were California, Ohio, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and Minnesota.

HSA Advantages:

Opportunity to build savings – Unused money stays in your account from year to year and earns tax-free interest. The HSA also gives you an investment opportunity.
Tax-free contributions and earnings – You don’t pay taxes on contributions or earnings.
Tax-Free Money allowed for non-traditional Medical coverage– As per IRS Publication 502, unused money can be used for dental, vision, Lasik eye surgery, acupuncture, yoga, infertility, etc. Popular Examples
Portability – The funds belong to you, so you keep the funds if you change jobs or retire.

Our overall experience with HSAs has been positive when employer funding is at a minimum 50% using either the HSA or an HRA (Health Reimbursement Account-employer keeps unspent money). Traditional plans trend of higher copays and new in-network deductibles has also led to the popularity of an HSA.

Next Steps

Plan sponsors should update payroll and plan administration systems for the 2023 cost-of-living adjustments and should incorporate the new limits in relevant participant communications, such as open enrollment and communication materials, plan documents, and summary plan descriptions.

RESOURCE:

Is your HSA compliant? Which pre-tax qualified HSA, FSA, HRA spending card is right for you? Please contact our team at 360PEO (855)667-4621 for immediate answers. Stay tuned for updates as more information gets released. Sign up for the latest news updates.

AI Could Detect Cancer in Chest X-Rays

by Alex | Mar 15, 2023 | AI, healthcare, Technology

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Artificial intelligence can help spot early signs of cancer in chest x-rays, according to a new study.

Scientists found that a state-of-the-art AI tool can identify normal and abnormal chest x-rays in a clinical setting.

Scientists said that an AI tool could accurately differentiate between normal and abnormal chest x-rays. (Photo via SWNS)

Chest X-rays are used to diagnose several conditions to do with the heart and lungs.

An abnormal chest X-ray can be an indication of a range of conditions, including cancer and chronic lung diseases.

Scientists say that an AI tool that can accurately differentiate between normal and abnormal chest X-rays would greatly reduce the heavy workload of radiologists.

Study co-author Dr. Louis Lind Plesner said: “There is an exponentially growing demand for medical imaging, especially cross-sectional such as CT and MRI.

“Meanwhile, there is a global shortage of trained radiologists.

“Artificial intelligence has shown great promise, but should always be thoroughly tested before any implementation.”

Dr. Plesner and his colleagues wanted to determine the reliability of using an AI tool that can identify normal and abnormal chest X-rays.

They used a commercially available AI tool to analyze the chest X-rays of 1,529 patients from four hospitals in Denmark.

Chest X-rays were included from emergency department patients, in-hospital patients and outpatients.

The X-rays were classified by the AI tool as either “high-confidence normal” or “not high-confidence normal,” as in normal and abnormal, respectively.

Two board-certified radiologists were used as the reference standard. A third radiologist was used in cases of disagreements.

Of the 429 chest X-rays that were classified as normal, 120 (28 percent) were also classified by the AI tool as normal. Those X-rays – 7.8 percent of the total – could be potentially safely automated by an AI tool.

The AI tool identified abnormal chest X-rays with a 99.1 percent of sensitivity.

Dr. Plesner, from the Department of Radiology at the Herlev and Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen, said: “The most surprising finding was just how sensitive this AI tool was for all kinds of chest disease.

“In fact, we could not find a single chest X-ray in our database where the algorithm made a major mistake.

“Furthermore, the AI tool had a sensitivity overall better than the clinical board-certified radiologists.”

He said the AI tool performed particularly well at identifying normal X-rays of the outpatient group at a rate of 11.6 percent.

Dr. Plesener said the findings, published in the journal Radiology, suggest that the AI model would perform especially well in outpatient settings with a high prevalence of normal chest X-rays.

He added: “Chest X-rays are one of the most common imaging examinations performed worldwide.

“Even a small percentage of automatization can lead to saved time for radiologists, which they can prioritize on more complex matters.”

The editorial on the topic praised the potential to take care of 7.8% of all the normal readings for the radiologists, one of the key findings of the study, but suggests that as a labor-saving device, more research is needed to ensure radiologists aren’t putting patients at risk for a mere 7.8% reduction in workload.

Newsletter Sign Up Now

Learn how our PEO Partnership can help your group please contact us at info@medicalsolutionscorp.com or (855)667-4621.

Put You & Your Employees in Good Hands

Get Started

Get In Touch

For more information on PEOs or a customized quote please submit your contact. We will be in touch ASAP.

HSA 2023 Dollar Limits

by Alex | May 5, 2022 | healthcare, HSA

The IRS has released the 2023 Health Savings Account (HSA) inflation adjustments. To be eligible to make HSA contributions, an individual must be covered under a high deductible health plan (HDHP) and meet certain other eligibility requirements.