Employee well-being status more accurate measure of job productivity than incidence of chronic disease
Originally posted March 27th, 2014 on https://hr.blr.com
Findings from a new study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine showed that the level of employees’ well-being is a more important contributor to on-the-job productivity than their chronic disease status.
The study, “Comparing the Contributions of Well-Being and Disease Status to Employee Productivity,” is the first to challenge the common belief that physical health is the primary contributor to employee productivity levels. It is also the first study to specifically show that well-being improvement can increase productivity in both healthy populations and those with disease, says a press release.
Well-being considers the important role of physical health while also factoring in a person’s sense of purpose, social relationships, financial security, and community attachment. Achieving the benefits of improved well-being—lower healthcare costs and increased performance—requires employers to look beyond physical health alone in designing wellness programs for their employees.
“As individuals, we intuitively know that we are not at our best when we are stressed about anything that is important to our well-being,” said James E. Pope MD, chief science officer at Healthways and coauthor of the article. “What this research has shown is how these elements of well-being interact to drive decreased productivity. Equally exciting is the discovery that programs designed to help improve the overall well-being can improve the productivity of both healthy and chronically ill individuals alike.
“Measuring employee well-being and understanding the unique aspects of their populations will help employers achieve more successful outcomes with their programs. Higher well-being manifests in greater degrees of creativity, innovation and employee engagement, all of which can improve value for employers by shifting the focus from productivity loss to productivity gain.”
According to Patrick D. Bogart, director of client service for Gallup, “The most successful, forward-thinking leaders understand that they are in the business of boosting their employees’ well-being, and they use this as a competitive advantage to recruit and retain employees. They know they will attract top talent if they can prove to a prospective employee that working for the organization will generate better relationships, more financial security, improved physical health, and more involvement in and attachment to the community in which they live.”
Researchers tracked the well-being of employees at three different companies using the Healthways Well-Being Assessment, a tool for measuring an individual’s overall well-being and providing insights into his or her physical, emotional and social health.
The study included more than 2,600 employees that either had no chronic conditions or had been diagnosed as having diabetes. Diabetes was the focus chronic condition due to its prevalence and demonstrated impact on productivity; those in the diabetes group may also have had comorbid conditions.
Analysis of 2 consecutive years of survey data revealed that survey participants with higher well-being demonstrated greater workplace productivity, regardless of whether they suffered from chronic conditions.
In addition, well-being was more important than chronic disease or demographic factors in defining how productive a person would be in any given year. Over time, changes in well-being contributed significantly to shifts in productivity beyond what could be explained by any individual characteristic, such as disease status, age, gender, or socioeconomic status.
Employer Tips For Managing FMLA Compliance
Source: Mondaq Business Briefing https://www6.lexisnexis.com
By A. Kevin Troutman
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, about a year ago the U.S. Department of Labor trumpeted a survey concluding that the law "continues to make a positive impact on the lives of workers without imposing an undue burden on employers." According to the DOL, 85 percent of employers reported that FMLA compliance was easy or had no noticeable effect on their administrative processes - fewer than two percent of employees taking intermittent leave were off work for a day or less and, perhaps most striking, less than three percent of covered worksites reported they suspected FMLA abuse.
A year later, those statistics still seem to fly in the face of reality, particularly from the perspective of the very people who are responsible for ensuring that employers are in compliance. For example, before military leave provisions were even added or the DOL issued several hundred more pages of "clarifying" regulations addressing the existing law, human resources professionals reported numerous headaches related to FMLA compliance.
In a survey commissioned by the Society for Human Resource Management ("SHRM"), the world's largest organization for human resources professionals, 63 percent of respondents described FMLA compliance as somewhat or very difficult overall. They also reported concerns over difficulty tracking intermittent leave (73 percent); chronic abuse of intermittent leave (66 percent); vague documentation in medical certifications received from health care professionals (57 percent); and uncertainty about the legitimacy of leave requests (57 percent). In fact, 39 percent said that due to DOL interpretations, they had granted what they considered illegitimate requests for FMLA leave.
Anecdotal evidence, informal surveys and practical experience show that the management of FMLA leave - particularly intermittent leave - still present very significant challenges. It also shows that about half of covered employers actually provide more benefits and protections than the FMLA requires.
Among the thorny scenarios that frequently arise, it is not unusual for an employee on intermittent leave to become predictably absent on Mondays or Fridays, hence the touch-in-cheek "Friday-Monday Leave Act" moniker sometimes used to describe the law.
Likewise, it is not unusual for a poor job performer to suddenly request FMLA leave, based upon a vague diagnosis of a stress-induced disorder. And, of course, there are garden-variety malingerers who seize every opportunity to exploit covered leave by prolonging it.
The FMLA aspires to the noble goal of permitting eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family or medical reasons, with continuation of health insurance under the same terms and as if the employee had not taken leave.
Eligible employees may generally take up to 12 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period for a qualifying reason. Additionally, the spouse, child, parent or next of kin of a covered servicemember may take up to 26 weeks of leave during a 12-month period to care for the servicemember's serious injury or illness. So for human resources professionals and supervisors, the challenge is how to comply with the law's intent and specific provisions without allowing significant numbers of employees to game the system. Experience shows that the following tips can go along way toward helping employers meet these goals.
Tip No. 1: Ensure That Your Polices and Practices are Up-to-Date and Compliant
For good reason, current regulations make employers responsible for detailed, ongoing communication with employees requesting or taking FMLA leave. This helps confirm employee eligibility and the employee's understanding of her rights and responsibilities while taking leave.
Among other things, the regulations require designation of FMLA and explanations of what information the employee is required to provide throughout the process. Among the most important document is the certification form, to be completed by the health professional caring for the employee or family member with a serious health condition.
The certification form literally provides a roadmap for the employee and employer, including the expected duration of the leave and, especially important for intermittent leave, the circumstances under which time off will be covered. Despite the importance of this form, and employers' rights to ensure that it is complete and clear, it is surprising how many times leaves are approved based on late, incomplete or ambiguous certification forms. So it is critical to require complete forms to be submitted - failure to do so can legally result in delay or denial of FMLA leave.
It is important to ensure that the health care practitioner's documentation is clear and complete. For example, a leave request for follow-up physical therapy appointments does not give an employee carte blanche to miss work. The employee must still follow established call-in procedures and, to be covered by the FMLA, the employee's absence must be for the reason certified.
It is of course critical to ensure that policies, practices and communications with the employee are clear. Equally important, supervisors must treat all policy violations consistently, whether or not they are covered by the FMLA. Beyond the specific requirements of the FMLA itself, employees taking FMLA leave have no more, or fewer, rights than employees taking non-FMLA leave.
If an employee appears to be abusing an approved leave, employers can and should seek clarification of the certification. This could occur, for example, if a medical certification states that an employee may need intermittent leave two-to-three times a month, but the actual frequency of leave turns out to be substantially greater.
In that case, the employer may ask the health care provider to clarify the certification or whether the employee's circumstances have changed. Used properly, clarification can be an extremely effective tool in curbing FMLA abuse. Under appropriate circumstances, when abuse is suspected, employers can consider using even more creative tools, such as surveillance of a suspected abuser. Whatever techniques the employer chooses, the key is often consistent, even-handled application of them.
Tip No. 2: Train Supervisors to Spot and Respond to Situations Potentially Involving the FMLA
Although it is clear that employees need not explicitly mention the FMLA or use particular magic words to invoke FMLA protections, supervisors still frequently fail to notify their human resources department of potential covered situations. This creates tremendous headaches because the threshold for triggering an employer's legal duty to make further inquiry is very low. In fact, all an employee must do is provide enough information to suggest that FMLA leave may be needed. Supervisors should develop a standard practice of timely reporting such situations to their human resources representative. And, of course, the human resource or a designated employee health representative - not the supervisor - should make further inquiry when warranted.
Supervisors should not question employees about their medical condition or contact the employee's medical provider. They certainly should not discipline or terminate an employee for any absence that may be covered by the FMLA.
To avoid misunderstandings or worse, supervisors should also minimize email communications regarding employee's possible leave. If email communication is necessary, it should be objective and succinct, completely free of conjecture and opinion. Too often, rapidly-composed or speculative communications can be present in a manner that supports a claim of FMLA interference or retaliation (e.g., "John is absent from work again. How long is this going to go on?")
So the focus of supervisor training should actually be on spotting and timely reporting to human resources when a potential FMLA situation arises. Such training can save employers considerable time and money.
Tip No. 3: Destigmatize the FMLA
More than one commentator has astutely observed that employees too often shy away from having time off classified under the FMLA, apparently fearing that the designation somehow reflects negatively on them. Such misperceptions can lead to misunderstandings or even hard feelings. It is therefore important to use new employee orientation, follow-up training, policies and other communications to make it clear that certification and tracking of the FMLA is simply a routine part of doing business. Employees must understand that these activities are merely part of their employer's overall compliance with the law. However, postings, letters and other communications should not only reflect the company's commitment to, but also its pride in complying with these laws.
Along this line, it should go without saying that employers must never tolerate even the appearance of retaliation or a suggestion that it frowns upon any employee who exercises these rights. As the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or state workers' compensation issues often arise in connection with FMLA leave, regular refresher training on all three of these topics will help managers effectively navigate these potentially tricky scenarios. And it will help engrain the concept that doing so is just a regular exercise of management's duties.
To support the employer's compliance efforts, it can be very helpful to publish occasional reminders about employee rights in these areas and off course to ensure that employees know where and how to obtain answers to related questions. As more employers are recognizing each year, employee hotlines or similar tools can effectively support compliance in these and other areas. Such tools also promote positive employee relations.
Tip No. 4: Investigate Before Taking Action
It is becoming increasingly common for questions to arise about the activities of employees while they are on FMLA leave, with varying and sometimes disastrous results. For example, when an employer legitimately received photos of an employee on FMLA leave apparently enjoying herself in Las Vegas, it made the mistake of terminating her employment before finishing a complete investigation. The company wound up losing a lawsuit when it turned out that the employee was providing care for her terminally-ill mother, who was in fact in Las Vegas on a last wish trip.
Other courts have similarly concluded that it does not matter where an employee is providing care or support for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, only that the employee was indeed providing such care pursuant to a medically-certified reason. These cases are very fact-specific and the results can vary, but they illustrate the importance of a thoughtful, case-by-case investigation before drawing conclusions.
These situations further illustrate the importance of destigmatizing, or perhaps "de-mystifying," the FMLA. Once again, it is helpful for all employees - not just those taking FMLA leave - to understand the fundamentals of the law. And they should be reminded periodically that each employee's medical and/or personal circumstances are private, and therefore not to be addressed in gossip or speculation. In other words, while the employer welcomes good faith questions and reports of possible misconduct, it will carefully investigate before reaching any conclusions - and those conclusions will remain private.
Conclusion
Notwithstanding the DOL's rosy report regarding the ease of FMLA compliance, the law exists for good reasons and its requirements are the law of the land. Hundreds of pages of regulations aside, compliance does not require companies to allow malingerers or abusers to game the system either. Effectively managing the FMLA, however, requires employers to ensure that their policies are up-to-date, that their practices match those policies and that they periodically remind supervisors and all other employees of their practical application.
This article appeared on March 13, 2014 on Law360.com.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
HR leaders rate ACA concerns as a lower-tier issue
Originally posted by Michael Giardina on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
New research from a North American sample of HR leaders finds that the Affordable Care Act is not a primary concern among employers, even as the landmark health care law continues to worry the masses.
Roughly half of the 358 individuals surveyed in the Human Capital Institute’s new report disclose being “very much prepared” or “quite a bit prepared” to take on the unknown future environment being forged by the ACA. The participants surveyed include human resource professionals, executive management or those working in a recruiting function.
Forty percent of the sample highlight that they are neutral or cannot judge the ACA, according to HCI’s Talent Pulse, a quarterly research e-book that tracks new talent management trends.
“We found that most HR professionals express neutral attitudes about Obamacare, suggesting that they need more information or time to better understand its impact,” says Jenna Filipkowski, PhD, a senior research analyst at HCI.
Even more peculiar is that only 15% of organizations are worried about cutting employee hours. Previously, the industry was reeling over the most recent employer mandate delay, as many pointed to shifting employee hours could alleviate the law’s restrictions but limit recruitment of needed talent. Other options have been to delay the stiff individual penalties through legislation.
The Talent Pulse report finds that 88% of the surveyed population understands the law, while 91.5% are adhering to compliance and regulations and 88.6% have communicated these changes to employees. However, HCI mandates that HR executives are concerned with the impending excise tax, or Cadillac tax, which will roll out in 2018.
In order to address additional concerns, participants’ surveyed state that they are looking to increase their communication and education, utilize external expert consultations and adding or adjusting their benefits package.
The strategic talent management organization finds that tracking employee hours has been confusing for some and others even question whether the law will be around for the long term.
“What is nerve racking to some extent is the unforeseen,” says one respondent. “Will the Act still be around next year or after the next election?”
IRS Simplifies Employer Reporting Requirements in Final Rules
Originally posted on https://www.the-alliance.org
The IRS has issued final regulations to implement Sections 6056 and 6055 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that require employers to report information to the IRS about whether they provide coverage to employees and to whom they offer minimum essential coverage. These reporting requirements that were scheduled to take effect in 2014 have been delayed until 2015 under IRS Notice 2013-45.
Self-funded employers with more than 50 employees must begin reporting under both sections in 2015, although the IRS will now provide a single, consolidated form that employers can use to report both to the IRS and to employees regarding the coverage that is available. The top half of the new form will satisfy Section 6056 reporting, which includes information required to be given to the IRS and to employees about the health care coverage employers have or have not offered to workers. The data elements requested are intended to help the IRS enforce employer "pay or play" penalties and help the IRS verify information provided by consumers as to whether they are eligible for premium tax credits under the ACA.
The bottom half of the form would satisfy 6055 reporting that requires certain information on individuals that are provided minimum essential coverage in order to help the IRS enforce individual mandate penalties and determine an individual's eligibility for premium tax credits. Data elements employers will be required to report include:
- Name, address and TIN of the employer
- The name and telephone number of a contact person at the company
- Certification as to whether the employer offered a group health plan to employees and dependents, by calendar month
- The number of full-time employees, by month
- For each full-time employee, the months that the employee was offered coverage
- For each full-time employee, the employee's share of the lowest cost monthly premium for self-only coverage providing minimum value, by month
- For each full-time employee, the name, address and TIN of each full-time employee during the calendar year, and the months in which each employee was covered under an employer sponsored plan.
Related statements to employees must be provided to workers on or before Jan. 31 of each year (although the first required statement in 2016 will be due Feb. 1 due to Jan. 31 falling on a Sunday). These statements are intended to help employees determine for which months during the preceding year, if any, they can claim a premium tax credit on their tax returns for coverage purchased through the exchange.
In the final rule, the IRS outlines some simplified alternatives for reporting data in certain circumstances, as follows
- Employers can file a shorter form in relation to employees that are offered coverage that meets the 60 percent "minimum value" test where the employee contribution for self-only coverage does not exceed 9.5 percent of the federal poverty line (about $1,100 per year in 2015). The form would require the names, addresses and TINs for employees who receive qualifying offers for all 12 months of the year. For employees that receive a qualifying offer of fewer than all 12 months of the year, employers will be able to enter a code indicating months that the qualifying offer was made.
- In 2015 only, an employer that can certify that it has made a qualifying offer to at least 95 percent of its full-time employees and their spouses and dependents can provide a simplified notice to employees describing the coverage provided;
- An employer that can certify that it has made an offer of minimum value and affordable coverage to at least 98 percent of its employees and dependents does not have to determine whether each employee is a full-time employee or report the number of full-time employees.
Additional Resources:
- Final Rules governing Section 6056 can be found here.
- Final rules governing Section 6055 can be found here.
The Alliance does not provide legal advice. If you have questions about your plan's compliance with these requirements or how to implement them, please contact your attorney.
Final Employer Responsibility Regulations Released
Originally posted by Melissa Duffy on https://www.the-alliance.org
The federal government has released final rules governing the Affordable Care Act's Employer Responsibility (aka Pay or Play) provisions that will take effect in 2015 for many Alliance members. Once in effect, the ACA will impose penalties on employers that do not offer "affordable" and "minimum value" coverage to certain full-time workers, currently defined as an average of 30 hours or more per week.
The IRS has posted Frequently Asked Questions to help employers understand the new guidelines and the safe harbors that were created to help employers avoid penalties. Penalties are triggered only when one or more of a company’s full-time workers accesses tax credits to purchase coverage on the public exchange.
The final regulations include some changes to the proposed regulation that were released more than a year ago. Key changes include:
- An exemption from penalties for employers in 2015 that have 50-99 workers as long as they certify that they have not reduced their workforce to fall under the 100 employee threshold. Employers of this size would be subject to penalties in 2016 if their regulations are not changed once again.
- More wiggle room for employers that do not offer all employees coverage. Under the new rules, an employer with 100 or more workers will not be subject to the "4980H(a)" penalty ($2,000 X all FT employees minus 30) as long as they offer coverage to at least 70 percent of employees in 2015. This threshold increases to 95 percent in 2016. However, employers will still be subject to "4980H(b)" penalties equaling $3,000 per year for any full-time employee that is able to access exchange tax credits or cost sharing reductions.
- A new definition for "seasonal employees" to apply to those positions for which customary annual employment is six months or less. For these individuals, the offer of coverage can wait until the end of a measurement period. This is not to be confused with the term “seasonal worker” used for the purposes of determining whether an employer is large enough to be subject to penalties.
Congress Considers Changing the Definition of Full-Time
In a related note, a Congressional committee has approved one of several bills introduced this session to modify the Employer Responsibility provisions in the Affordable Care Act. The bill, which would define full-time as 40 hours for the purposes of the ACA, passed the House Ways and Means Committee on a party-line vote with Republicans on the committee supporting the measure and Democrats opposing it. Similar bills have gained bipartisan support but are stalled in the Senate.
Click here to view testimony from the public hearing held on this issue.
Financial fears have many workers planning to delay retirement
Originally posted by Melissa A. Winn on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
Although U.S. workers on a whole are more satisfied with their current financial situation than in years past, most (58%) remain concerned about financial stability in retirement and say they plan to continue working until age 70 or later, a new Towers Watson survey shows.
With many workers expecting to fall short on their retirement savings, nearly four in 10 plan on working longer, an increase of 9% since 2009. A large majority of these employees expect to delay retirement by three or more years and 44% plan on a delay of five years or more, the Global Benefit Attitudes Survey finds.
In 2009, 31% of workers planned on retiring before 65, and 41% planned on retiring after 65. According to the 2013 survey, only 25% plan on retiring before 65 and half expect to retire after 65. One in three employees either does not expect to retire until after 70 or doesn’t plan to retire at all.
The nationwide survey of 5,070 full-time employees found that nearly half of respondents (46%) are satisfied with their current finances, a sharp increase from 26% in 2009. Still, nearly six in 10 remain worried about their financial future.
Employees’ confidence in their ability to retire has also climbed steadily since the financial crisis, with nearly a quarter (23%) very confident of their income sufficiency for the first 15 years of retirement. However, only 8% are very confident they’ll have adequate income 25 years into retirement.
“Employees might be on firmer financial footing now than they were five years ago, but many remain nervous about their finances and prospects for a secure retirement,” says Shane Bartling, senior consultant at Towers Watson. “This is especially true for older workers who are likely better positioned to assess their retirement income than workers overall. The financial crisis hit workers age 50 and above particularly hard, with the stock market fall creating a huge dent in their retirement savings and their confidence levels.”
The survey also finds that employees of all ages are especially worried about health care costs and public programs. Only two in five employees believe they can afford any medical expenses that arise in the next 12 months and more than half of all employees (53%) are concerned they will not be able to afford health care in retirement. Most employees (83%) also believe Social Security will be less valuable in the future and 88% have similar fears about Medicare.
More than half of employees (56%) say they are spending less and postponing big purchases as a way to pay down debt and start saving for retirement, the study says. Just over half (51%) of employees say they review their retirement plans frequently.
Saving for retirement is cited as the No. 1 financial priority for all employees age 40 and older, the study notes.
“Employers and employees are both facing increasing retirement pressures. Employers understand that they have a role to play in helping their workers plan and save for a secure retirement. Today’s employees are considerably more engaged, and are looking to their employers for more information about health care costs and the value of their retirement programs,” says Bartling. The increased use of tools, including mobile apps, also represents an opportunity “for employers to help their employees plan for a successful retirement.”
12 ways to beat workplace stress
Originally posted March 20, 2014 by Dan Cook on https://www.benefitspro.com
Work life today is hectic, to an extent that might have been hard to imagine just a generation ago. Stress levels are through the roof, and many workers struggle to stay engaged, let alone productive.
Author, lecturer and motivation coach Andy Core addresses these issues in his new book, “Change Your Day, Not Your Life,” offering advice on how to move from “striver” to “thriver.”
“To start reclaiming the goals that once inspired and excited you, you’ll have to change the way you approach your day,” he says. “Instead of a worker whose actions are dictated by supervisors and to-do lists, you’ll need to begin acting like the CEO of your own life.”
To get there, Core offers a 12-step Inner CEO program. (Yes, you can still drink on this 12-step path.)
1. Figure out what’s doable in a day.
To Core, it’s all about balance, not focusing in laser-like fashion on one or two goals or trying to get 50 different thing done with no focus at all. Working with a client he calls “Janet” whose life was way out of balance, he told her to start by trying to change what she set out to do one day at a time.
“Janet was disappointed when I told her that changing her life was just too hard. But I explained that turning your whole life around is too big a goal. I simply wanted her to change her day. Our whole strategy was to make small, doable changes that would, over time, create an unstoppable momentum.
“You must do the same. You must set realistic boundaries. You must create goals that can be accomplished in the space of a day. Remember, nearly all problems, challenges, and needs are best faced if they are brought down to the scale of ‘what can be done right now’ by taking on ‘one small piece’ of a difficult situation.”
2. Get big things done before 9 a.m.
Impossible, you may think. My third latte hasn’t even kicked in! But Core insists that any normal person can put several achievement notches on their gun belt before the dreaded staff meeting.
“Ever notice how your morning sets the tone for your whole day? If you get a groggy, frustrating start, you’ll probably feel sluggish and behind the eight-ball all day long. However, if you start your day with positive and productive ideas, actions, thoughts, and feelings, you’re likely to gain momentum throughout the day.”
This time he cites “Barry,” a real early bird who gets the worms. His “daily pattern involves getting up early, exercising, eating breakfast, spending time with family, and accomplishing several meetings or other work activities before 9 a.m. The point here isn’t how early Barry’s alarm rings — it’s that he makes the most of the first several hours of his day instead of snoozing and procrastinating, as so many of us do. The truth is this: What you do first matters.”
3. DO first, then KNOW (not the other way around).
Core is one of those folks who believes that, once you put on your running shorts and shoes, you will get your butt out the door at 6 a.m., regardless the weather. Thinking about how something would be good for you doesn’t help. Thinking about how good it was for you after the jog — now that’s using your noggin!
“Most people believe that the knowledge that something is important should make you want to do it,” he said. “But in reality, that’s not the case. Study after study shows that knowledge alone usually isn’t enough to impact our desires. In fact, the opposite is true. First, you must do something — like bite the bullet and put on your workout clothes! If you experience positive feelings, attitudes, and results because of your action, you will learn that whatever you just did is good, and you’ll want to do it again, and again and again. Over time, you’ll develop a new habit, and you’ll become an evolved person.
“In other words, you must do in order to know in order to be different. Remember, nothing in your life gets better until your daily patterns get better.”
4. Own up to your junk hours.
“Junk hours” are those minutes we spend doing nothing to avoid doing something, Core says. You know them: checking your stock portfolio four times a day. Reliving the big game’s highlights with your cubicle buddy. Checking out the latest fashion posts on Pinterest. And on and on.
“In order to maximize each day, you need to own up to your junk hours,” he says. “You need to identify when you’re going through the motions of work, versus when real work is being done. Don’t be ashamed that your junk hours exist, because everybody needs to take breaks and shift gears. Your task now is to exchange your low-value ‘junk’ activities for ones that build greater health and value into your workday.”
5. Instead of adding to your to-do list, build a new pattern.
Make tough, priority-driven decisions, not longer check lists. That’s what this is about. Decide what matters to you in your life today, and build steps to pursue those goals.
“To build a productive new pattern into your life, you usually won’t have to add new tasks to your day. Instead, you’ll simply do what you are already doing, or want to do, in a way that becomes habitual,” he advises. “For instance, if you want to wake up an hour earlier so that you can jump-start the day, you simply have to change the time your alarm rings and the time you go to bed. It isn’t sufficient to simply trigger the start of a new behavior. You need to make sure that you have a motivating reason to make this change, as well as the confidence and energy to sustain it so that it becomes a pattern.”
6. Start with one thing. Then add another. Then another.
Referencing the No. 1 New Year’s resolution — I’m gonna lose weight — Core explains that the reason this rarely works out for people is that the goal should not be to lose weight, but to make healthy lifestyle choices. If we eat well, get rest, exercise and engage in activities that gratify needs other than hunger, the weight will disappear.
“Don’t take on more than you can handle. Break each goal down to its smallest components, then pick one of them to tackle. Pursue this change until it becomes a habit, then move on to the next one. Start with one thing and don’t add another until you’re ready. Positive motion creates positive emotion,” he says.
7. Make a big-box checklist.
Core’s a checklist guy. He just thinks most of us go about them all wrong. Here’s his advice:
“Make an actual, on-paper checklist each afternoon for the following day or each morning. Put a box by each task — the more important that task is for you to complete that day, the bigger its box should be.
“I focus first on my big-box tasks. At the end of the day, if most of them have checkmarks, it’s generally been a good day! Yes, prioritizing my daily list by the size of the boxes on it may sound simplistic, but it has made me feel much more accomplished and satisfied with my day. It also has helped me relax in the evenings because it is easier to remember the big boxes I’ve checked off, thereby making it easier to leave work at work.”
8. Think about it so you don’t have to think about it.
This is about focusing on what slows you down so you can speed up those particular processes or activities. He uses the example of preparing a meal. If you have trouble doing it, then plan meals ahead of time, maybe several days or even a week’s worth. Get the ingredients, know how long it will take, and maybe do some prep before you leave in the morning.
“Figure out where these areas are for you and commit to learning a new pattern. Yes, learning new patterns can initially be tedious and laborious. But once they’ve taken hold — often in three weeks or less — they’ll speed up your performance, streamline your effort, and lower your stress. By putting in some thought about ‘problem areas’ now, you’ll save yourself from having to think about them later. Eventually, this method changes once-tedious tasks into automatic behaviors.”
9. Infuse meaning into your work.
Let’s get this straight from the horse’s mouth: “First, let’s get one thing straight: Doing meaningful work does not mean that you will ‘love’ every second of it. ‘Meaning’ can simply be a recognition of what you enjoy about your work. With that understanding, though, you’ll be more motivated, productive, and satisfied. I recommend completing the following exercise:
• Focus on what gives you the greatest joy and meaning at work — be able to define it.
• Reflect on how you are making a difference at work and through your work — be able to give examples.
• Reflect on the meaning of your work as it relates to your core values.
• And then … seek to increase what you enjoy!
“You’ll come to find that the ‘administrivia,’ the mundane and routine chores required of you, and the not-so-exciting aspects of your work become easier to do and get completed more quickly if you have a strong focus on what you do find exciting, rewarding, or fulfilling.”
10. Seek to serve, not shine.
This one’s a little touchy-feely. Core urges us to put aside our ambitions and egos and approach life from the viewpoint of service to others. You Type A characters may have trouble with this one, but here’s what he recommends:
“To some extent, it’s human nature to look out for Number One. We all want to rack up accomplishments, receive accolades, and garner recognition. But in many situations, the desire to shine can cause you to get in your own way.
“Ironically, the key to shining is putting others first. People who channel their efforts toward making others’ lives easier are nearly always respected, included, and considered valuable. When you help others reach their goals and become their best, you’ll usually find that the same things happen to you.”
11. Fill up your energy bank account so you can make withdrawals when you need them.
In other words, don’t expose yourself to a lot of negativity. Don’t expend a lot of emotional coinage on projects or people who drain and frustrate you. Watch more romantic comedies and attend high school basketball games where kids play for glory only.
Says Core: “Know your needs and capacities and try not to exceed them on a regular basis. In other words, get enough sleep. Eat nutritiously. Exercise when time permits. That way, when you do find yourself needing to push the limits, you’ll have a healthy margin of energy, motivation, or whatever to draw on. Manage what you can manage as often as possible in order to compensate for what you cannot manage.”
And he advises us to stay present, in the present, and stop spinning our lives into a future over which we have no control.
“The future can be an inspiring thing… but it can also be a scary and misleading one. Awfulizing, what-ifs, and doomsday thinking can plunge you into paralyzing anxiety. And making incorrect assumptions can send you down the wrong path. That’s why, aside from setting goals for yourself, you should try not to let your mind wander into future outcomes. The only thing a person truly can do is to focus on the processes of today — and live them out to the max. Enjoy the process and take great joy in the rewards!”
12. Forgive yesterday so you can work on today.
As with the future, so with the past, Core tells us. Once we decide to stop projecting into the future, don’t replace that by getting stuck in a past we cannot change. Accept it, forgive yourself and others for what needs to be forgiven, hang on to the sweet moments for sustenance, and get your mind and body back into the now.
“Treat yourself with the same compassion and generosity you’d extend to another person who’d messed up or fallen short of a goal. If it helps, follow the two-hour rule I learned from one of my past coaches: When you have a bad performance or make a mistake, you have two hours to pout, scream, cry, wallow, or do whatever you think will help you deal with the disappointment. But when 120 minutes have passed, it’s time to start moving forward again.
Remember, nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. What sets thrivers apart is the fact that after a fall, they forgive themselves faster, get back up, and continue the journey forward.”
U.S. corporate pension plans improve financial health in 2013
Originally posted March 20, 2014 by Michael Giardina on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
A new analysis of the 100 largest corporate pension plans finds that retirement coffers bounced back in 2013, reaching record funded-status levels and cutting away at pension deficits that have plagued them since 2008’s financial collapse.
In a new Towers Watson study, the year-end analysis finds that plan sponsors for the U.S. publicly traded companies reported significant gains through rising interest rates and beneficial investment returns.
With a nearly $170 billion drop in the group’s pension deficit, the Towers Watson report states that the overall funded status increased by 13 percentage points to 91%. That is the best funding level since the end of 2007, when the average stood at 103%. Additionally, the number of plan sponsors with fully funded plans surged from five at the end of 2012 to 22 at the end of 2013. At the end of 2007, half of these 100 plans were fully funded.
The average discount rate increased by 83 basis points to 4.85% in 2013, while investment returns averaged 10.8%.
According to the analysis, companies continued to contribute relatively large amounts to their plans during 2013, with sponsors’ median contribution being 60% more than the value of benefits accruing during the year. However, the contribution levels were much lower than in prior years. For 2013, plan sponsors contributed $27.8 billion, down from $45.2 billion in 2012. That’s the smallest contribution since 2008, when companies added $16.8 billion to their plans. After many years of making large contributions, some sponsors took contribution holidays or decided to contribute significantly less in 2013. Six of the 10 largest cash contributors in 2012 pumped $11.3 billion into their plans, compared with $0.8 billion in 2013.
“Plan sponsors made great strides to shore up the financial condition of their pension plans last year,” says Dave Suchsland, senior consultant at Towers Watson. “…This is good news for employers, as stronger pension fund balance sheets will reduce required cash contributions in the near term while lower pension costs will improve corporate earnings.”
Even with these benefits, Towers Watson expects that additional pension de-risking measures will be seen among corporate pension plan sponsors as they prepare themselves for the next downturn.
“The improved funded position, combined with recent increases in Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premiums and a newly released Society of Actuaries mortality study, will make de-risking actions very attractive in 2014,” says Alan Glickstein, senior retirement consultant at Towers Watson.
Previously, the PBGC premium increases, along with longer living retirees, were discussed by industry pension consultants. Mercer stated that plan sponsors need to consider investment policies and liability-driven investments, purchasing annuities for some or all plan participants and offering former employees lump-sum buyouts.
According to the PBGC, premium rates jumped up by $6 per participant in 2014 and $5 per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits for single-employer plans. The single-employer rate increase was previously laid out in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, the PBGC says.
Mercer estimates that new mortality projections point to pension liability increases between 2% and 8% over the next few years. Gordon Fletcher, a partner in Mercer’s financial strategy group, stated earlier this month that new estimates point to individuals living to 87-years-old or slightly longer in some cases.
401(k) contribution remittance: What’s an employer to do?
Originally posted March 19, 2014 by Kerri Norment on https://eba.benefitnews.com
Over the past several years the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has identified delinquent employee contributions as an ongoing national policy priority. With assets in 401(k)-type plans reaching $2.8 trillion on behalf of more than 50 million active participants, protecting employee contributions has become more important for the government, particularly since employees have been forced to take more responsibility for their retirement savings.
On the other hand, employers and sponsors of 401(k) plans are responsible for ensuring plans comply with federal law. But ever-changing interpretations of government regulations have resulted in employers being out of compliance with certain rules and not even knowing it.
One particular regulation that has been a source of confusion for employers — and in some cases, has landed them in hot water with the DOL — is the timely deposit of employee contributions into 401(k) plans. The regulation states employers should remit employee contributions on the earliest date they can reasonably be segregated from the employer’s general assets, but no later than the 15th business day of the following month. While this has come to be known as the "15 day rule," the reality is that deposits — for small and large plans — are expected to be made much sooner.
In fact, the DOL issued an amendment to the regulation in January 2010 to create a safe harbor rule under which small plans — classified as plans with fewer than 100 participants — would be considered in compliance if employee contributions were deposited within seven business days. The DOL has not issued a similar safe harbor rule for large plans. However, most in the industry believe larger plans will be held to an equal, if not higher, standard, meaning deposits should be made within two to three business days.
If you are scratching your head on this one, you’re not alone. When the regulation was implemented, there were no automated payroll processing systems that allowed for contributions to be easily segregated from general assets. With advancements in technology, this process is essentially instantaneous. And because of it, the DOL has changed its expectations on remittance, despite not rewriting the rule.
So what’s an employer to do? The best advice is to be consistent. If an employer demonstrates the ability to remit contributions within one business day, the employer better make sure all remittances happen within one business day each pay period — no exceptions! The second best advice, don’t rely on safe harbor rules to protect you.
If you find your plan is not in compliance with the new interpretation of the regulation, it is recommended you self-correct the plan. The DOL website provides a guide for correcting under the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program that even includes a user-friendly online calculator for lost earnings.
As in most cases, knowledge is power. Whether that knowledge is obtained through the use of a reputable service provider, consultant, or HR expert, employers and plan sponsors must stay on top of changes in government regulations and rules.
Big “I” Applauds Senate Passage Of Flood Insurance Legislation
Originally posted March 19, 2014 on https://www.insurancebroadcasting.com
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 13, 2014 — The Big “I” applauds the U.S. Senate for passing H.R. 3370, the “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2013,” by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.).
The bipartisan bill would make changes to the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters) in order to help with the “sticker shock” some consumers are facing as a result of two provisions that create drastic premium increases in many parts of the country. The House passed H.R. 3370 on March 4, 2014 in a 306 – 91 vote.
“The Big ‘I’ would like to particularly commend Senators Menendez and Isakson and Representatives Grimm and Waters for their tireless work on fixing some of the unintended effects of Biggert-Waters,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “This bill was a top priority for the Big ‘I’ as it will reduce some of the harmful effects of Biggert-Waters without undoing the numerous positive provisions within the law.”
In addition to other revisions to Biggert-Waters, the bill would repeal the entirety of Section 207 and would therefore reinstate the “grandfathering” of policies located in communities with a new or redrawn map. H.R. 3370 would also stop the elimination of subsidies for pre-FIRM properties that are bought and sold, which is an extremely problematic provision in Section 205 of Biggert-Waters.
“Today’s Senate vote represents a major victory for independent insurance agents, as Section 207 and the bought/sold provision of Section 205 were the two specific items that the Big ‘I’ has been asking Congress to revisit,” says Charles Symington, Big “I” senior vice president for external and government affairs. “The startling pace with which Congress acted in order to fix the unintended effects of these two provisions in Biggert-Waters, itself less than two years old, should be commended.”
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than a quarter of a million agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.