Benefits Think

I know you don’t need anyone to tell you – least of all, me – that your employees still are feeling the stresses and strains of the sluggish economy, at work and likely at home as well.

I’m pretty sure if I said, “Some folks at the IRS have a few questions they’d like to ask you about your 401(k) plan,” you’d start getting nervous.

I’m the proud relative of two army veterans, so Memorial Day always has had a special meaning for me. Although like many of us, I happily partake in the cookouts and celebrations the holiday brings each year, I always try to keep the reason for the holiday close to heart. …

To say today was a technology nightmare is an understatement. It was as if Murphy's Law applied solely and specifically to anything I attempted involving my computer.

Of all the things employers have to worry about since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—and there are quite a few — it’s understandably the Cadillac tax on high-cost health benefit plans that has them the most concerned, according to new survey results from Mercer.

As a manager, I judge myself by several markers: whether my staff feels empowered and respected; whether I’ve offered them the tools, support and guidance to produce their best work; the quality of our staff’s overall output as a team; and honestly (though perhaps selfishly), whether or not they like me.

Remember that sweet, adorable poem, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”? It warms my heart just thinking about it — a simple manifesto on living a best life.

There’s a saying that the only constant in this life is change. And while that may be true — and certainly makes life more interesting — I certainly can’t blame the band of employer groups that are saying there is such as thing as too much change … at least all at once.

So yesterday, guest blogger Karrie Andes was honest enough to help sort through the part emotions can play when selecting a broker. Now, a new survey shows that the importance trust may have in the employer-broker relationship as well.

Let me say, right off the bat, that I enjoy working with insurance brokers. Although, some of the brokers I’ve worked with in the past might tell you a different story.