This week, benefit managers and HR pros are convening in Las Vegas for Employee Benefit News' annual conference, Benefits at Work. Discussions on
Already, top executives from Walmart, Google, SHRM and more have shared their words of wisdom on EBN. Newton Cheng, Google's director of health and performance, is focusing his work on mental health and well-being, an area that became personal to him after his own struggles early on in the pandemic.
"I was in a meeting with my vice president and I started crying, and I said, 'Right now, I'm honestly struggling because the number of days that I'm proud of how I'm showing up as a father is going down, and I don't know how to turn that around," Cheng previously said. He eventually took a leave of absence, and has since transformed how employees at Google talk about their mental health and wellness. He'll be sharing his story as a keynote speaker at this week's event.
"I keep sharing my story, because what I found was that while I worried so much about what people would think of me, it turns out the best I can do is be a mirror for someone else, for them to say, 'Oh, I'm going through that too,'" he says. "When people bring up the topic of mental health, what they're actually trying to indicate to me is to say, 'I'm really struggling and I need help. I need relief.' One of the next bridges that we need to cross is that leaders need to learn how to talk about this in a way that connects them as a human."
Read the full conversation with Google's Cheng right here:
SHRM's commitment to civility
Open communication is a key pillar of a healthy workplace culture. SHRM's CHRO Jim Link, another keynote speaker at this week's event, will be sharing the importance of civility and how leaders can foster an empathetic culture that enables everyone to bring their full selves to work. He previewed his thoughts on our divided culture and how leaders can bridge the gulf.
"With what we've seen in the media, what we've seen socially, what we've seen in our communities, there's been a bit of an enablement factor where employees or organizations believe that that same type of behavior is acceptable in workplaces," Link shared. "It's not, and employers need to
Read more from Link about actionable phrases that can steer uncomfortable conversations back to a respectful place, and why an all-out ban on tricky topics may not be the best approach.
Read the full conversation with SHRM's Jim Link right here:
Hyatt, Walmart commit to wellness
Workplace well-being has always been foundational to a successful workplace — at Golden 1 Credit Union, Tiffany Dennis, senior wellness program manager, built the company's portfolio from scratch. Dennis, one of this year's Excellence in Benefits Award winners, will be speaking on a panel about this topic, and shared her approach to a successful wellness benefits strategy.
"Wellness needs to be front and your other benefits need to support it," she says. "Medical, dental, vision — that all has to be just part of the bigger picture, which is employee wellness as a whole. You need to use surveys or focus groups to really understand what your employee population needs and wants and then build your program out."
Read more about the programs Dennis has implemented to improve workplace wellness:
At Walmart, Lisa Woods, VP of physical and emotional well-being, has spent over three decades supporting millions of employees with their health and well-being, and it's a quest she seeks to offer to the broader public, too. As an Excellence in Benefits Award honoree, Woods shared her healthcare benefits strategy, and why everyone deserves access to top-notch care.
"We really try to think about how we can change healthcare in the country for the better," Woods says. "We are constantly thinking about how we can support our associates and big part of this is making sure that care is available when our associates need it."
Read more about Walmart's approach to wellness right here:
Dawn Beaudin, Hyatt's VP of benefits, has used her leadership role to broaden benefits and policies that give Hyatt's large, diverse workforce well-rounded, lasting support: From improving access to primary care and surgery, to setting up
"These are the things that make me proud and excited to come into work every day, because I know we're making an enormous difference," she says. "Our purpose as a company is to care for people so they can be their best. Based on what we hear from our colleagues, they feel that Hyatt is making an investment in them. They can see it, they can feel it, and it makes them want to stay."
Beaudin is an 2025 Excellence in Benefits Award winner and will be speaking at Benefits at Work this week.
Read more about her strategy to supporting financial well-being:
