Best of the week: Employers address financial wellness, opioid epidemic

January 22, 2021 11:42 AM

Financial concerns have been top of mind for employees during COVID, and employers are responding with new benefits and even pay raises. PwC is offering all employees a 5% pay bump, in addition to their annual bonus. After fast food chain Noodles & Company began offering an on-demand pay benefit, their employees have managed to save more than $550,000 into their savings accounts.

However, employees are still struggling with other stressors from COVID. Addiction and substance abuse rates are on the rise, and the majority of employees feel afraid to return to the office, with nearly a third willing to quit their jobs if forced to go back.

See how employers are responding to the continuing challenges of the virus in this week’s top stories:

PwC employees to get performance raises amid pandemic

The Big Four accounting firm issued performance-based raises this January, which was a pay bump of up to 5% of employees' salaries. Workers also received their regular annual bonuses, and promotions were awarded on schedule throughout 2020. The company’s HR department says they didn’t want to sacrifice employee retention to the pandemic, and were determined to keep employee benefits and perks a high priority.

“Even amidst the pandemic, the competition for talent remains significant and strong,” says Michael Fenlon, chief people officer at PwC. “This pandemic is not forever, so we’re making short and long-term investments in our workforce.”

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PwC employees to get performance raises amid pandemic

Noodles & Co increased employee retention, financial wellness with on-demand pay

In the fall of 2019, restaurant Noodles & Company teamed up with the financial app Even to provide its more than 8,000 employees with early pay access, which the organization has seen improve retention and employees’ financial wellness. Since then, a quarter of Noodles' workforce is actively saving every month and have collectively deposited more than $550,000 into their Even savings accounts, according to the company.

Currently, on-demand pay is utilized by less than 5% of U.S. employers, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. However, that figure is expected to jump up to 20% by 2023 as the value of such programs becomes more clear.

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Noodles & Co increased employee retention, financial wellness with on-demand pay

Addicted: How employers are confronting the U.S. opioid crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 381,000 Americans, but the isolation and remote work environment caused by the rapidly spreading disease has exacerbated an already terrible opioid epidemic in the country.

Shatterproof, a nonprofit organization founded to help people better understand the nature of addiction, created an educational platform for employers to teach their employees about addiction and the many resources available to them. The goal is to destigmatize addiction so that people who are being negatively affected by it can continue to work and get help for themselves and their families.

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Addicted: How employers are confronting the U.S. opioid crisis

Majority of workers do not feel safe returning to work

More than 70% of workers do not think their offices are safe and almost a third of employees would look for a new job before returning to work, according to a survey by Honeywell, a technology and manufacturing company. Employees are most concerned with air quality and the cleanliness of shared devices and workspaces.

Employers have made efforts to address these safety concerns. The Conference Board found that 82% of employers plan to purchase safety equipment like masks, cleaning supplies and contactless entry devices and 80% will enforce policies like limiting the number of employees allowed in the workplace at a time. But only 60% of employers have surveyed employees about their readiness to the return to work.

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Majority of workers do not feel safe returning to work

Revamped Rising Stars to honor new class of leaders in HR and benefits advising

Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit Adviser has extended the deadline to submit a nominee for our revamped Rising Star Awards. This year, the award will highlight the best young talent in the human resources space and best young benefits advisers addressing the challenges of a new era of work.

If you would like to nominate a Rising Star please fill out this online form by Friday, Feb. 5, 2021.

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Deadline Extended! Revamped Rising Stars to honor new class of leaders in HR and benefits advising