Quality of life benefits

Commentary: Meditation is not just some quirky, hippy philosophy; it is actually grounded in physiology. Some companies have taken these benefits so seriously that they have dedicated quiet rooms within the office so employees can meditate.

Employees across the country can expect to see an average increase of 3% in base salaries in the coming year, and some experts are advising employers to remember that if budgets are tight, there are other means to keep employees happy.

More than two-thirds of state and local public employees feel confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement.

Over the next decade, the number of cancer survivors is expected to increase by 30%, and improvements in both detection and treatment have led cancer to become, in some cases, more of a chronic condition than a terminal illness.

Employers are spending more money to keep their employees healthy, even if it means sacrificing other benefits.

The president of the ESOP Association calls the Supreme Court’s decision in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer a “mish-mash” and says he doesn’t consider it to be a big victory for employers.

In contradictory fashion, paying off debt was cited as the top reason for taking out a loan from retirement plan savings (46%), yet only 26% of respondents said paying off debt was a good reason to take out a loan.

As business leaders and government officials cope with surging health care costs, one global think tank is estimating that up to $303 billion can be saved through a healthier workforce should chronic disease prevention efforts in the workplace become the norm.

For almost half the country, retirement might not be all golf games and trips to see grandkids, as many will be partially working in or through their golden years.

Starbucks is helping its full- and part-time employees earn college degrees through a partnership with Arizona State University's online program beginning this fall.

Search engine giant Google will soon introduce Google Fit, a new mobile platform service to collect, aggregate and analyze data from wearable health fitness tracking products and health care apps. Google's service will enter a competitive market that got larger on June 16 when WebMD launched a program to make biometric data understandable and actionable on iPhones.

As more than a quarter of American workers report that they have experienced abusive conduct at work, it’s important for employers to develop an effective anti-bullying policy that respects past decisions by the National Labor Relations Board and the courts.

People managers should not underestimate the impact of coaching their people to success around individual and shared goals. It’s one of the rare benefits that accrues to the organization as much as its employees.

Employers in Southeast Michigan have projected an increase in health care costs this year. Still, to retain talent, businesses say they intend to continue offering health benefits to full-time employees, despite price increases resulting from the ACA.

Instead of looking outside to increase workforce diversity, companies should first look inside and develop an internal labor map of their own workforce. But, experts caution, analytics alone won’t create greater diversity and should be used in conjunction with other tools.

As employers face growing challenges with employee disengagement, many are looking toward wellness programs as the surest route to improve morale and workplace culture. And while the Affordable Care Act offers improved incentives to support workplace wellness programs, employers aren’t rushing to take advantage of them.

Baby boomers are redefining retirement, with many saying their ideal retirement will include working – often in new, more flexible and fulfilling ways. As a result, employers should be preparing for a new battle to keep their older workers engaged as they near retirement.

Business and education leaders are emphasizing an even greater need for immigration reform in the U.S. as highly skilled employees are being lost due to visa restrictions.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is bringing its personnel management system into the 21st century to remain competitive and efficient – a tactic that HR consultants say is being replicated by other higher learning institutions across the nation.

Despite its attempts to create a diverse workforce, even a superstar of the high-tech world admits its shortcomings. The overall makeup of Google’s workforce is still 70% male and 61% white, according to facts the company released Wednesday.