Employer Strategies

Not only is it painful for an employee to hear the news that their loved one has suffered a heart attack, but the unforeseen costs of health care will soon take a physical, emotional and financial toll if they are not prepared.

Face it: Your employees are distracted. According to IDC Research, 30% to 40% of employee Internet activity is non-work-related, and SexTracker reports that 70% of all Internet porn traffic occurs during the 9-to-5 workday. Such workplace Internet misuse costs U.S. companies $63 billion in lost productivity annually, according to Websense Inc.

Ironic as it may be, despite high unemployment and the perception of a surplus of talent, HR/benefits professionals and hiring managers may be forced to choose from limited quantities of high-skilled workers, a new Deloitte study shows.

This article is the first in a two-part series examining the challenges in achieving true parity for mental health benefits. This article explores the history of mental health parity legislation, while the second installment - scheduled for EBN June 1 - will address barriers to care due to lack of access and provider shortages.

The American Medical Association estimates that every year, $73 billion is lost in unnecessary health care expenditures due to poor "health literacy," the inability of consumers and employees to obtain and understand health care education.

Lyndsey Allen used to work across the street from Zappos' main office in Henderson, Nev. She'd sit in her cube, watching Zappos staffers stage impromptu parades around the parking lot in themed garb. She was perfectly content at her current job, but wanted something different. For six months, she prowled the Zappos job site and when a recruiter position opened, she pounced. A year-and-a-half later, she conducts phone interviews at a desk in the middle of the Zappos office, where those spontaneous parades now play an important part in her daily work.

Employees who feel valued at work are more likely to report better physical and mental health, as well as higher levels of engagement, satisfaction and motivation, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prohibits discrimination on the basis of age and covers employees who are 40 years of age and older, which provides a statutory exception for "reasonable factors other than age." Since the Supreme Court held in Smith v. City of Jackson that employees could bring a disparate impact case under the ADEA, employers have sought guidance from the EEOC on how it would interpret the cryptic phrase "reasonable…

Brokers play a key role in helping plan sponsors establish a healthier workplace, but one main problem still affects employers today — dealing with the lack of resources that are available to improve employee health and productivity at the workplace, according to a white paper from The Standard.

Xavier University, one of the oldest Roman Catholic colleges in the United States, will cut off birth-control coverage for its employees in July, a move that has divided faculty members and students on the Cincinnati campus.