Benefits Think

It's rare that a company could combine two things I truly love -- coffee and promoting greener living -- but it seems Mars drinks has done it.

Haven't listened to the podcast yet, but I'm really interested in how an event like this could put a sharp point on the whole presenteeism issue. It seems employers like to talk out of both sides of their mouth about curbing presenteeism. Sure spreading illness at the worksite will sink productivity,...

In light of the swine flu outbreak, it's a good idea for employers to review and perhaps update their disaster preparedness/response plans to specifically address what individual employees and your company as a whole will do in case of a pandemic.

Okay, full disclosure: This data comes from a company that sells prepaid benefit cards, but still -- if you're looking to implement an HSA, HRA or FSA, a survey from Evolution Benefits shows that a benefit card could make all the difference.

I received this week from Mercer citing alternatives to layoffs, furloughs and suspending 401(k) matches, while still cutting costs. About halfway through, I saw this nugget:

Time to get in with the in-crowd? A new study looking at the performance of group purchasing organizations (GPOs) shows the organizations can save billions in annual health care and related costs savings. And let's be honest: Who doesn't want to save every dollar they can?

We've all heard the saying, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it." Benefits communications experts certainly know this to be the case, but it appears that it's also true of consumers and annuities.

This sounded like potato po-tah-to to me, but in an exclusive to BenefitNews.com, the folks from yourSABBATICAL make their case for not only why an unpaid sabbatical isn't a euphemism for layoff, but also why implementing a sabbatical program could help employers prevent conducting actual layoffs.

Oh, just when you thought HIPAA couldn't get any more complicated, along comes HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ), which amends notification procedures when a breach has occurred in protected health information.

I recently read news from MetLife that many Gen Y workers lack disability and life insurance and thought, "There go those youngsters thinking they're invincible again."