Healthcare

Despite national economic and employment uncertainty, many American workers who identify themselves as top performers are thinking about changing jobs. In line with research showing the recent uptick of voluntary turnover in the workplace, the 2012 Aflac WorkForces Report revealed nearly half of U.S. workers (49%) are at least somewhat likely to look for a job this year. More troubling for employers, a majority of those who say they are extremely or very likely to leave their jobs describe themselves as the kind of workers companies need to retain to remain competitive in a tight economy.

Almost half (49%) of U.S. workers are at least somewhat likely to look for a job this year, but there is undeniable evidence linking benefits offerings and employee loyalty, according to the 2012 Aflac WorkForces report.

Employers believe that the Supreme Court will overturn the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but will allow different provisions to remain in the law, according to a recent survey.

The growing trend among employers to enforce company-wide social media policies has sparked the birth of the Password Protection Act of 2012. The new legislation prevents companies from requiring employees to provide access to their personal social networking accounts. While many companies may create a social media policy to protect their corporate reputation, a new Workplace Options and Public Policy Polling survey of American workers shows that companies who scrutinize their employees' personal accounts and social media activity may be doing more harm than good.

As attention to the importance of creating retirement income grows, a new MetLife study finds that plan sponsors of the largest workplace retirement plans and their recordkeepers have taken the first steps to help participants secure retirement income — but a lot more work needs to be done to pave the way for participants to begin to take action.

Behavioral health, including depression and stress, is an increasing area of concern to employers, according to the Disability Management Employer Coalition 2012 Behavioral Risk Survey of small, mid-sized and large companies. The concerns and costs — including direct medical expenses, lost productivity, workers' compensation and disability payments — are made more challenging due to the uncertain future of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

After years of declining employee engagement levels around the world, a new analysis released this week by Aon Hewitt showed a positive global shift in employee engagement-or emotional and intellectual involvement in the workplace.

Health insurer WellPoint Inc plans to buy contact-lens and eyewear retailer 1-800 Contacts Inc for a transaction value close to $900 million, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Several insurers were recognized with awards for their use of 'plain language’ by the Center for Plain Language, a nonprofit organization that wants government and business documents to be clear and understandable.

Benefits are typically structured to reward and motivate employees who stay at the company for the long haul. For example, retirement rewards and paid time off usually get sweeter as time goes on. Dangling a long-term benefits carrot makes sense for driving retention right? — Perhaps not when it comes to Gen Y workers. As companies focus on attracting and keeping a pipeline of Gen Y employees, I maintain that, when it comes to benefits,…