Long story short: Time to let AI do some of the work

July 9, 2021 11:13 AM

Wouldn’t it be nice to work less?

For HR leaders, artificial intelligence is taking the guesswork and administrative burden out of tasks that take up valuable time. Whether it be helping employees manage their mental and physical health, to finding easier ways to offload departing employees from administrative systems, new technology is stepping in to make utilization simpler than ever.

In this week’s top stories, mental health platform Wysa utilizes an AI-powered chatbot to guide employees to necessary resources to seek support beyond EAP programs. For employees looking to tend to their physical health, DayTwo, a precision medicine company, taps into AI to provide employees with thousands of meal options based on a microbiome screening. The technology helps workers tackle obesity and Type 2 diabetes without relying on medication.

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How AI can ensure every employees’ mental health needs are met

Mental health in the workplace is a sliding scale — some employees are in need of more, some employees need less and some fall in between. But one thing is consistent, and it’s that employers need to be prepared for it all.

Sixty percent of the population falls under the “missing middle,” which refers to a demographic of people who wantmore than mild mental wellness practices from their employers, but aren’t looking for medical help that requires a diagnosis, according to research conducted by AI-powered mental health platform, Wysa. And for employees looking to satiate the “missing middle” within their own organizations, artificial intelligence may be the key.

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How AI can ensure every employees’ mental health needs are met

AI can help employers tackle high costs of obesity and Type 2 diabetes

Employers have a new tool in their arsenal to help employees reach a healthier weight and reduce their healthcare costs. DayTwo, a precision medicine company, has released new outcomes from its employer and health plan nutrition programs, to tackle high-risk and high-cost metabolic conditions, like obesity, Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes. The program provides users with a microbiome screening, which measures how the body digests food, in order to offer AI-powered nutritional plans tailored to their needs.

After one year, employees who used the DayTwo program lost an average of 19 pounds and reduced their body mass index by 3.3 points, according to a release. The program is meant to reduce the reliance on medication and help employees with obesity and Type 2 diabetes lose weight naturally.

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AI can help employers tackle high costs of obesity and Type 2 diabetes

Looking to hire eager young talent? Showcase your job opportunities with a virtual career fair

Despite employers making plans to head back to the workplace as COVID-19 restrictions ease, younger employees are looking to secure their jobs in a virtual setting, according to a report by Handshake, a career platform for college students. Eight-seven percent of new graduates would prefer to interview and network online and 71% believe it’s a less intimidating environment for job hunting.

Fifty-eight percent of Black applicants and 57% of LatinX job seekers thought virtual interviews were more fair than in-person interactions. These applicants said they felt less anxious about experiencing implicit biases and were more likely to move forward in the interview process.

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Looking to hire eager young talent? Showcase your job opportunities with a virtual career fair

Prudential benefit makes offboarding non-medical benefits easy for HR

Offboarding non-medical benefits for transitioning employees — whether that be through retirement or a job change — can be an enormous task for HR administrators and they can use some help to alleviate that burden.

PruPassages from Prudential Group Insurance can help employers reduce this workload, while also helping employees make informed decisions on which benefits to keep as they transition from their current employer.

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Prudential benefit makes offboarding non-medical benefits easy for HR