Remote Workers Are Happier
Original post benefitspro.com
People who work remotely are happier, according to a new survey conducted by TinyPulse, an employee engagement firm.
The firm polled 509 U.S. workers who always work remotely about their job satisfaction and compared their responses to those of the roughly 200,000 U.S. employees the firm polls on a monthly basis.
On a scale of 1 to 10, remote workers report an average level of work happiness of 8.1, compared to 7.42 for other employees.
They may rarely see their colleagues and superiors, but remote workers also feel more valued by their employers. On that metric, they have an average score of 7.75, compared to 6.69 for other workers.
The one area in which remote employees come up short, unsurprisingly, is their relationships with colleagues. They rate their co-worker relationships at an average of 7.88, whereas conventional employees rate their ties to officemates 8.47.
The study by TinyPulse suggested strongly that the benefits of allowing employees to work outside of the office outweigh the risks.
Only 27 percent of the remote workers polled said they had experienced a problem due to not being in the same place as fellow employees. And 91 percent said they were more productive in their current arrangement than in an office context.
Another surprising finding: Those who work more days a week are the happiest.
In fact, remote employees who report working seven days a week, but shorter hours, were the most satisfied of all, with an average satisfaction rating of 8.49. The next happiest were those who worked sporadic hours throughout the week, with a rating of 8.12. Those who worked a typical, 9-5 schedule, came in third, at 7.88, just slightly ahead of those who worked consistent but unconventional schedules, such as nights or Sunday-Thursday.
Telecommuting and other flexible work arrangements are all the rage these days, particularly among Silicon Valley firms. Studies have suggested that employers who ease up on attendance and scheduling policies will have happier workers who are just as productive.
Have You Taken Any PTO Lately?
Original post benefitspro.com
Americans might be workaholics, but not necessarily because they’re in love with work. Studies show Americans yearn for vacation time, but some of them can’t bring themselves to take it.
A survey commissioned by Namely, a payroll and benefits company, finds that a majority of U.S. workers intend to take 15 days of vacation per year. It also found that 40 percent of employees have or would be willing to sacrifice pay to gain more paid time off. Similarly, more than two-thirds of workers said that vacation policies were at least somewhat critical when considering a new job.
But as a statement accompanying the survey from the company points out, another recent study found that the average American worker only take 11 days off per year.
The lower average is largely driven by the fact that many employees receive far less than three weeks of vacation a year, but there is some evidence to suggest that some workers who are entitled to generous PTO do not make use of it.
A quarter of workers in the Namely survey cited strict company policies as an obstacle to taking vacation, while a fifth cited “stress at the thought of missing time at work” and 16 percent reported a “negative perception” in their organization of taking time off.
“What this tells us is that despite the best intentions to take large chunks of time away from work and unplug from technology, employees are feeling confined and are using vacation time differently than previous generations,” said Matt Straz, founder and CEO of Namely.
In recent years, a number of major companies have made a point of offering generous vacation benefits. Some offer unlimited vacation, while others have put in place policies to encourage workers to make use of their vacation, including bonuses for taking time off.
6 Tips for Moving Wellness Beyond Biometrics
Original post benefitsnews.com
Employers are increasingly moving from traditional wellness programs to a more comprehensive, total well-being approach.
While this might seem to be unique, it is part of a greater trend — a growing list of employers are moving beyond the standard “one-size-fits all” approach to wellness and toward a more holistic view of total well-being.
In this post-ACA era, employers are facing the reality of ever-increasing medical costs and the need to engage their employees in their personal healthcare decisions. To achieve these goals, more and more are turning to wellness strategies, with over two-thirds of U.S. employers now offering some type of wellness program.
In the past, many implemented turnkey programs that focused purely on physical health. Who among us hasn’t heard about a company that did a 10,000 steps challenge or “Biggest Loser” competition?
Although these programs were a strong first step in the right direction — accepting the critical role that employers can play in improving the health of their employees — the current understanding is that physical health is only one small component of total well-being.
In our drive to promote employee engagement, we are likely missing the mark if we don’t realize that many employees have more urgent needs that divert their attention from focusing on physical health. An employee may have the desire and intent to attend the onsite biometric screening, but it ends up taking a backseat to more urgent needs — financial stress, an aging parent who needs to be cared for, or exhaustion from late nights caring for a sick child.
If our goal is to really move the needle — to increase productivity, enhance engagement, reduce healthcare costs, and position ourselves as employers-of-choice — we must take a more holistic approach to well-being. It is time to move beyond the singular focus on physical health, and begin to address the financial, emotional, spiritual, and social aspects of total well-being.
Luckily, with recent advancements in technology tools, and our greater understanding of employees’ needs, today more than ever employers have the ability to do just that.
Sleep, or lack thereof, has been identified as a major issue for its employees, and organizations are starting to offer sleep programs as an investment in its people. It is believed that this will lead to more productive and mindful employees, and eventually, a better bottom line for the company.
Similarly, companies across the country are implementing other all-encompassing “well-being” programs — such as financial education, yoga and meditation classes, volunteer opportunities, and flex-time — all of which are aimed at helping their employees be more engaged and productive.
Whether your company is already well on your way to developing a comprehensive well-being program or just beginning the journey, many best practices apply to both:
1. Assess your population and offer programs that fit your employees’ unique needs and interests. Just because Google offers a certain program doesn’t mean that it would work well for your company. If you have an older population, a financial education program about saving for retirement will have higher engagement than a program for college loan forgiveness.
2. Ask your employees about the causes of stress that impact them and their families.You can get firsthand feedback about the types of issues that are most relevant in their lives, and then tailor your program to target these high impact areas.
3. Take a multi-year strategic approach. At the outset, determine your desired end-result. Then set goals and implement programs along the way that ensure consistent progress and engagement toward those ends.
4. Use technology to interact with the employees in their preferred social medium. Whether it is a smart phone mobile app, their Fitbit or Apple watch, a Facebook page, or face-to-face contact, employees are more likely to engage if you connect with them through their social channel of choice.
5. Move away from a check-the-box approach in favor of more robust program.Programs with the highest levels of engagement tend to be those that allow employees to personalize their experience and choose from a variety of options and activities.
6. Provide consistent and frequent messaging. Your communication should continue throughout the year and align with your company’s culture and brand.
We’re moving “beyond biometrics” to a more holistic view. Is your company ready to embrace the change?
How to Bridge the Wellness Disconnect
Original post benefitnews.com
HR executives and business leaders are not always aligned about employee well-being or wellness solution buy-in, new research shows, signaling a need for adviser help to bridge the disconnect.
Optum’s seventh annual workplace study surveyed wellness budgets, return on investment (ROI), incentive strategies and challenges in building a culture of health among companies of all sizes.
Seventeen percent of HR executives versus 30% of business leaders think employee well-being is” very good,” according Optum Health’s Seventh Annual Wellness in the Workplace Study, conducted by the Optum Resource Center for Health & Well-Being.
On the other hand, 41% of HR executives versus 32% of business leaders say wellness solutions are important to the benefits mix.
Seth Serxner, chief health officer for Optum says it is important for benefit advisers and consultants to make sure that both HR executives and business leaders are all on the same page when it comes to understanding their wellness programs.
“[Advisers] might think they have everyone on board when speaking to HR executives,” Serxner says. “However, when HR goes to pitch this program to a CFO or members of the C-Suite, they may need to adjust how they present the business case.”
While HR managers view some of the non-financial productivity and moral factors that are important in a wellness program, the non-HR managers are focused on the bottom line, ROI, cost containment and healthcare cost issues, he adds.
“[Non-HR managers] tend to think the population is healthier and more well than the HR folks,” Serxner says. “So they may not think there is as much of a problem as the people who are closer to the data and understand the health risk condition of the population.”
Optum’s survey did find that wellness budgets are not decreasing, but are actually increasing. Twenty-eight percent of employers increased their wellness program budgets, according to the survey, up from 22% last year.
Serxner says advisers should use the data gathered in this study to help ground their clients in respect to what is happening within the client’s respected industry and with their peers.
“Clients will ask, ‘where do I sit in terms of culture of health, how am I doing with how I am investing my money,’ and what we find is it is very helpful to share some of these benchmarks about what other clients are doing and what the trend over time has been,” Serxner says.
Optum’s seventh annual workplace study surveyed wellness budgets, return on investment (ROI), incentive strategies and challenges in building a culture of health among companies of all sizes.
Optum surveyed 554 benefit professionals at U.S. companies across a variety of industries, which offer at least two types of wellness programs to employees. The size of respondent companies ranged from 20% small companies with two to 99 employees, to 38% jumbo employers with 10,000 or more employees.
Why Employers Should Boost Dental Benefits Enrollment
Original post benefitsnews.com
You might eat a balanced diet and squeeze in a mix of cardio and weight-lifting workouts every week to stay healthy. But to be truly healthy, you’ve got to focus on more than just working out and eating well. Believe it or not, you’ve also got to focus on oral health.
The link between oral health and cardiovascular health isn’t new; however, there is new evidence that more closely ties periodontitis, better known as gum disease, to heart attacks and stroke. One study showed that treating oral inflammation caused by gum disease with a topical remedy reduced vascular inflammation, which is a leading risk of hypertension, heart attack and stroke.
Heart disease is a serious problem in the United States — one in four people will die of the malady if it goes untreated. It’s also a major expense for Americans, including employees and employers who sponsor their health plans; heart disease costs nearly $1 billion a day in medical care and lost productivity.
Gum disease can affect more than just the heart. For pregnant women, it can also affect unborn babies. The bacteria caused by periodontitis can get into the blood stream and target the fetus, contributing to premature birth or low birth weight. Not only does prematurity and low birth weight put newborns at risk for issues in the beginning of life and learning, as well as developmental issues later on, it’s also costly for a family. In its first year, a preemie can cost around $49,000 in expenses, compared to just $4,551 for an infant who doesn’t experience complications. The March of Dimes reports that pre-term birth costs more than $12 billion in excess healthcare costs.
Diabetics also need to pay special attention to their oral health. In addition to monitoring their feet, eyes, kidneys and heart for complications, they are more prone to periodontitis. A higher risk of gum disease can make it more difficult to control blood glucose, and can also cause disease and infections in the bones that hold teeth in place, making it more difficult to chew. Gum disease may also lead to tooth loss. Diabetes costs the United States $322 billion in a combination of healthcare fees and lost productivity.
It’s important for employers and employees to understand how oral health plays a part in overall health, and that simple, inexpensive treatment can save businesses and plan participants thousands of dollars and countless hours of pain and suffering.
Analyzing claims data is one way to see how oral health might affect employees. The highest number of claims typically comes from cardiovascular, maternity, diabetes and musculoskeletal claims — all of which are exacerbated by periodontitis.
For years, dental health was given a back seat in health plans, wellness initiatives and employee education. Most initiatives focused on preventing heart disease through diet and exercise, and focused little, if at all, on dental care. Many health plans did not — and still do not — include dental coverage, which is a minimal expense compared to other program costs overall. Consequently, employees may simply write off dental care because they may not have a history of cavities. But dental coverage and consistent employee education and communication can help them understand the risks, develop good habits and begin to take their dental health into their own hands.
Employers can work closely with insurance brokers to understand medical and dental coverage, and what their costs and claims are for both. They’ll likely see that medical claims are far higher than dental claims. They can then work together with benefit consultants to create an affordable dental plan, or bridge the gap between dental and medical for those at higher risk for periodontitis issues so that employees can get the treatment they need.
Finally, employers need a long-term communication strategy to educate employees on the value of benefit offerings and the importance of good oral hygiene. They’ll be happy and healthier, and the employer’s medical costs will decrease.
Everybody wins.
Why Employers Should Consider Mindfulness Training as an Employee Benefit
Original post benefitsnews.com
Some previous blogs have noted the research supporting the benefits of mindfulness for both individual performance and workplace relationships. Research also finds that mindfulness improves employee well-being and resilience.
Resilience gained attention in the 1970s as psychologists and trauma researchers began to articulate the amazing ability of many people to bounce back following a devastating event, crisis or injury. Over time, researchers have identified the characteristics of resilient people, and have identified how to train people to develop skills to increase their resilience. Hence, resilience has evolved to reflect a coping style that allows someone to endure during difficult times and emerge more competent and skillful in dealing with challenges.
A growing body of evidence suggests that mindfulness is particularly important for developing resilience at work, through its effects on employee physical and psychological health, absenteeism, turnover, and in-role performance. Here are some of the findings:
- In workplace samples, mindfulness has been linked to reduced levels of reported burnout, perceived stress, work-family conflict, and negative moods, along with better sleep quality.
- In studies where employees were randomly assigned to a self-directed mindfulness intervention or a control group, those in the mindfulness intervention reported greater job satisfaction and less emotional exhaustion. Similar effects have been found in a range of occupations, including doctors, soldiers and teachers.
- Mindfulness has been linked to increased psychological capital and resilience in managers and entrepreneurs.
- Mindfulness training predicted employee engagement among employees at the Mayo Clinic. Additional studies have further shown that such engagement may be mediated by greater authenticity, positive emotions, hope and optimism.
Developing a formal mindfulness practice is thought to increase resilience in three ways:
1. Flexible cognition. Practicing mindfulness may actually rewire our brain circuitry, improving our ability to think flexibly, more easily perceiving different perspectives and generating novel solutions to problems. This same skill may allow one to observe potentially toxic workplace events while adopting a “decentered perspective,” making perceived stressors appear less threatening.
Imagine an employee witnesses verbal aggression directed at a fellow co-worker, which causes the employee to feel physiological reactivity and psychological stress. Experiencing the event with mindful attention could decouple this automatic link between the toxic experience and emotional reactivity, leaving them feeling less depleted. This reinterpretation of events actually starts to form new habits of thinking, which may involve perception of stressors as challenges that elicit growth, rather than as hindrances. In addition, application of mindfulness skills may elicit compassion for the fellow co-worker.
2. Growth in the face of adversity. Research shows that exposure to a threat without being overcome by that threat can result in higher levels of well-being than not experiencing the threat at all. In other words, experiencing but quickly recovering from workplace stress may indeed make an employee stronger.
So where does mindfulness fit in? Mindful individuals show an ability to perceive stressful and adverse situations from different angles, and demonstrate a willingness to behave more flexibly in response to them. As workers successfully experiment with new coping behaviors, they experience increased confidence and stronger self-efficacy, improving their ability to deal with many types of challenging situations and developing greater resilience.
3. Positive thinking. Positive emotions play a crucial role in one’s ability to recover physically from adverse events, as well to facilitate better emotion and behavior self-regulation. Mindfulness not only enhances regulation of negative emotions, but also cultivates positive emotions. It’s not that resilient people don’t experience negative emotions like anyone else; they do. Resilient people, however, do not dwell on them. Rather, they have learned how to use their attention and other internal resources to notice and amplify pleasant experiences and meaningful events as well.
To summarize, mindfulness may improve employee resilience by training the mind to reinterpret stressors as less personally threatening, empowering workers to take new perspectives and try new behaviors, which may actually result in growth in the face of challenges, and cultivating positive thinking, which is especially important during hardships. A new wave of resilience research is supporting the idea that mindfulness practice may lead to improved workplace outcomes like job satisfaction, retention, and employee health.
There’s the Wage Gap, and Then There’s the Sleep Gap
Original post lifehealthpro.com
More than half of men say worrying about money costs them sleep. Nearly 70 percent of women say the same.
That gap increased eight percentage points over the past year, according to a new survey by CreditCards.com. It makes sense, since women really do have more to worry about when it comes to money. Lower earnings means less in savings and Social Security benefits to fund longer lifespans.
"In general, people tend to lose sleep over things that feel out of their control," said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst for CreditCards.com, part of the Bankrate Online Network. To him, the findings suggest you should "do whatever you can to take more control of your financial situation, whether it's just learning more, being more involved in your family's financial decisions, or starting a side gig."
The survey asked whether saving for retirement, paying for education, paying health-care or insurance bills, making the monthly rent or mortgage, and paying credit card debt were keeping people up at night. The poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, took a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults.
The biggest fear cutting into a good night’s sleep is not having saved enough for retirement. The gender gap is narrower here than overall — 44 percent of women vs. 35 percent of men. All together, some 56 percent of men are losing sleep over money, compared with the 70 percent finding for women. In 2010, women received $12,000, on average, in Social Security benefits, a third less than a man’s average benefit of $17,856. At age 65 and older, women were 80 percent more likely than men to be impoverished, according to a study by the National Institute on Retirement Security.
Yet you can see worrying about retirement savings as a luxury, in a way, if it means you can meet your monthly bills. That's the most common sleep-stealing worry for people 30 or older with a college degree and an annual household income of $75,000 or more. Heath-care and insurance bills are the second-biggest sleep killer for women. For men, it's educational expenses. Those are a particular worry for millennials; 45 percent of people between ages 18 and 29 rank them as their worst anxiety. Among respondents between 30 and 49, a third said they lose sleep over educational costs. One of them is CreditCards.com's Schulz, who is 44 and has a son headed to college in about a decade. "In five years," he said, "you could see educational expenses being No. 1, or very close to No. 1, when we do this survey again."
In Case of: Effective Responses to Workplace Emergencies
Within sixty seconds of its launch on November 14, 1969, the Apollo 12 spacecraft was struck twice by lightning, which caused critical navigation systems and fuel cells to shut down.
A N.A.S.A. engineer who remembered his training for a similar scenario immediately recommended a fix, which saved the entire mission and quite possibly the lives of the Apollo 12 astronauts.
Four months later, those same engineers faced and successfully responded to challenges that they never anticipated with the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.
Emergencies can and do happen in every workplace, but it does not take a rocket scientist to plan for them or to fashion an intelligent response when they do happen.
Emergencies and Violence: The Stats
Workplace emergencies are not limited to high-tech or high-risk operations light rocket launches. Statistics compiled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveal more than 23,000 employee were injured in 2013 solely from workplace assaults.
The latest data available from the BLS show that the annual rate of workplace violence has held steady for more than twenty years, and violence continues to be the second leading cause of employee fatalities after transportation accidents.
This does not even account for injuries or fatalities that result from other workplace emergencies, including fires, natural disasters, chemical spills and contamination, or civil disturbances or terrorism. In 2010, more than three million workers suffered injuries following workplace emergencies. How a business responds to emergencies is typically a function of the nature of the emergency itself.
What Is Categorized as an Emergency?
OSHA defines a workplace emergency as an “unforeseen situation that threatens your employees, customers, or the public; disrupts or shuts down your operations; or causes physical or environmental damage”.
Most individuals might limit their concept of a workplace emergency to newsworthy, large-scale evacuations caused by natural or man-made causes, but lesser-scale emergencies are far more common. One employee might suffer an injury or a sudden medical event.
A small fire might be easily contained by sprinkler systems, but that fire will be no less disruptive of business operations than a larger conflagration. A single disgruntled individual can start an emergency situation that shuts a business down for days. If that individual is armed, the emergency becomes a national tragedy.
OSHA has issued Emergency Action Plan standards for workplace emergencies that are codified in the Federal Regulations. Those standards define, for example, when and where businesses need to have fire extinguishers, building evacuation plans, and medical emergency response protocols.
The New Focus: Armed Shooter Scenarios
Because of high-profile publicity and responses, businesses are also becoming more attuned to armed shooter scenarios. Although not without objection or controversy, some workplaces are training employees in a run/hide/fight protocol that was popularized by a video produced by the City of Houston.
The gist of that protocol is to train employees first to run from an armed assailant. If running is not possible, the employees should hide, and if hiding is impossible, only then should employees attempt to fight the assailant.
Technology can be a boon during a workplace emergency if it is used as a tool and not a solution. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) places a high priority in communication technology in emergencies. Excessive reliance on technology can be a downfall, however, if an emergency removes the option to use technology. Businesses should consider deeper contingency plans in the event that the emergency takes down their communication networks.
A Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) is a notification that is sent to mobile devices in cases of tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis and other serious emergencies. These emergency alerts are complimentary public safety service provided by participating wireless service providers. But, if employees have trouble with cellphone reception inside their workplace, they may or may not receive these alerts.
If workplaces were able to plan for all possible workplace emergencies, then to the extent that they were anticipated those events would not be emergencies. The responses by the NASA engineers in the Apollo program are more instructive in developing an effective workplace emergency response plan.
The Apollo 12 lightning strike shows the efficacy of contingency planning for potential emergencies and trusting an employee to implement his or her training when the emergency happens.
The engineer who recommended the solution after the lightning strike was in his early twenties, but his co-workers and the ship’s crew had developed enough of a cohesive relationship and a sense of trust among themselves that they did not hesitate to implement his solution.
During the Apollo 13 mission, the entire workforce again worked cohesively toward a common purpose to develop an effective response that, almost fifty years later, remains one of NASA’s finest efforts.
A workplace will not always have the luxury of implementing thorough contingency training to prepare for an emergency. A business’s ability to survive a workplace emergency is on a par with the conduct of its regular business operations. As with other aspects of those operations, the most effective emergency response requires mutual employee trust and cohesiveness.
Wellness: Get a Lunchtime Workout, Even if You Can't Leave the Office
Original post washingtonpost.com
It can be one of the most exhilarating things you do during the workday, but nailing the lunchtime workout can be tricky. Should you eat before or after? How much should you pack? Shower? No shower? And most important, how much exercise can you pack in during a lunch hour?
The good news is that there are all sorts of tricks for getting the most out of your midday workout and several products that make it easier to navigate.
The key is to have a plan. The night before, pack a light bag of just the essentials: a change of underwear, travel-size deodorant and wet wipes — if you won’t have time for a shower.
Need to shower no matter what? Consider throwing in a bottle of dry shampoo to cut down the amount of time you spend away from your desk, said Tami DeVitis, an instructor at Vida Fitness in the District. She also recommends (if your hair is long enough) wearing a ponytail that requires no maintenance post-workout.
Another way to stay prepared is to keep a pair of sneakers and toiletries in your desk at work. That way, you can just grab what you need and go. Personal trainer Lee Jordan has noticed clients bringing no more than what can fit into a rolled-up T-shirt. In other words, pack light.
You also should consider arriving at the office a little early just in case it takes you longer than expected to get ready, said DeVitis, who teaches several lunchtime classes.
Scarfing down a hoagie right before a run might not be the best idea, but you should eat something, said Nancy Clark, author of “Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook.”
“The goal is to enter into your workout with a normal blood sugar level,” Clark said. “If you’re exercising at a pace you can maintain for a half-hour, your body can digest the food and use it during the workout. You could eat five minutes beforehand; it all depends on your tolerance level.”
If you’re planning a high-intensity workout of burpees or jump squats, she recommends eating a hearty breakfast. For less strenuous exercise, Clark said, it’s perfectly fine to eat a banana or half of your lunch before getting started.
What you eat post-workout is also very important. To recover from a tough routine, Clark says, down a smoothie, peanut butter sandwich, chocolate milk or any other mini-meals with a balance of carbohydrates and protein.
“Protein builds and repairs muscles, but it does not refuel muscles. Carbs fuel, so you actually want three times more carbs than protein,” Clark said. “The mistake people make these days is just having a protein shake after the workout, but you’d be better off having a fruit smoothie to get carbs andprotein.”
If you’re lucky enough to work near a park or somewhere with good trails, going for a run outdoors is a great way to break up the workday. Too cold? Hit the treadmill at the gym and add in some intervals — one minute of sprints followed by a 30-second jog for several rounds could help you get the most out of your run.
Circuit training is another option for burning calories that could also build muscle if you throw some weights into the mix. Jordan recommends four to five sets of compound exercises, the kind that work two or more parts of the body. You could, for instance, grab a pair of dumbbells for a squat with a bicep curl or lunges with a lateral raise.
“You can either time your reps, say 45 seconds or a minute, or do a set number, say 10 or 15 squats with a curl,” said Jordan, an American Council on Exercise-certified health coach.
If designing your own routine is a lot to ask, there are apps for that. Nike Training Club, Sworkit, Spitfire Athlete and a host of other apps have cardio and strength-training routines that you can do in 30 minutes.
Even Fitbit, the wearable fitness monitor, is getting in on the act. This month, the company released Fitbit Blaze, a touch-screen tracker that comes with access to the workout app FitStar. The app offers diagrams that show you how to execute the moves in each routine.
Game for a class? Just about every gym has a variety of 45-minute classes, allowing you enough time to get in, get to it and get going.
“Consider classes where you don’t get as sweaty, a barre class. You’re going to sweat, but you can clean yourself off and go,” DeVitis said.
Leaving the office in the middle of the day is a no-go for some folks. In that case, Jordan recommends heading to a stairwell, one without traffic, for a quick workout. All you need is a pair of sneakers, if that much, to do a few sets of calf raises on the stairs. Or you could do high-knee runs or squats or sprint up two flights for eight-to-10 minute intervals.
How to Navigate a Consolidating Wellness Market
Original post benefitnews.com
The corporate wellness industry is growing up. And with maturity comes mergers, acquisitions and a flurry of opportunities that can lead to advances in technology and innovation.
Eventually.
Today, the landscape is confusing. Especially for HR and benefits buyers charged with navigating it. Here’s why:
● Large wellness providers are merging with each other to get bigger.
● Aggressive funding rounds are pressuring companies to innovate and grow quickly to meet investor expectations.
● Large wellness providers are acquiring niche solutions to market.
● Providers are building functionalities that go beyond traditional wellness program capabilities.
Corporate wellness certainly isn’t the first HR category to see wild fluctuation periods. All technology markets move through cyclical waves of change, which follow a surprisingly consistent cadence:
● A period of initial growth. Companies launch to compete with one another with similar solution sets, vying for popularity and mind- and market-share.
● A period of growth stymies. Growth hits a standstill due to economic conditions or market saturation.
● A period of consolidation. Larger players acquire market-share and technology enhancements through partnerships and mergers.
The HR world saw this cycle play out with integrated talent management systems in the early 2000s.
Back then, many different providers sold recruiting, performance management and learning technologies. Hundreds in each category competed with one another, and dozens attracted significant funding to try to dominate the market.
In 2007, the talent management market hit its peak. Companies consolidated, some went out of business, and eventually, we were left with a few dominant providers — SAP, Oracle and IBM.
What did these leaders do right during the industry’s tremendous growth cycle? They mastered their core platform capability before moving on to the next stage of an integrated platform.
So SuccessFactors, now a part of SAP, hitched its wagon to performance management and built a complete vision before expanding its talent management offering. Taleo (now with Oracle) and Kenexa (now with IBM) did the same with recruiting and learning, respectively.
Other talent management providers jumped on the integration bandwagon too early. They tried to cover everything ─ but weren’t good at anything. They couldn’t differentiate themselves in a crowded, shrinking market. Most were shut down or acquired.
I don’t know if corporate wellness will follow this exact path. But the history of enterprise technology indicates an inevitable tipping point. Here are my predictions for what’s to come:
1. Consolidation isn’t going away. It’s clear we’re in a phase of consolidation. Larger companies and private equity buyout firms are acquiring smaller companies, and we expect even more mergers and acquisitions to close the capabilities gap across wellness solutions.
2. The pressure’s on for heavily venture-capital-backed firms. Investors see a ticking clock in front of them. Many want their payoff, and they want it fast. The period of market consolidation doesn’t last forever — and the opportunity to quickly expand to get bought is often made at the expense of product stability, support and internal innovation. Exit pressure increases later in the life of a venture fund as well (for all but the most long-term investors).
3. Providers will jump into unfamiliar waters. Companies with niche offerings will try new things. Recognition providers might add well-being and learning services, and performance companies might try to add analytics tools. But merging different companies, cultures, customer-facing teams and approaches can be difficult and time-consuming, and potentially confusing for employees. Even when providers acquire companies that already specialize in purely complementary capabilities, the devil is in the details. Every acquisition takes time to integrate, and every new feature set takes time to develop.
4. Buyers will be frustrated with all of it. If you’re looking for stability and measured outcomes, then the wrong provider can be a nightmare of new account representatives, technology change and product difficulties. Corporate wellness as a category has room to grow into solutions that embrace the whole employee. Choose wisely.
Three things to focus on
It’s not an easy time to choose a long-term wellness partner. But buyers can take precautions to avoid getting swept into the carnage of acquisitions and consolidations. Here are some best practices to follow when you’re purchasing technology in an unsteady environment:
1. Prioritize your needs as an organization. What major issue is your organization trying to solve? In a crowded market, many challenges and solutions exist ─ but you need to prioritize what’s critical to your success. What is your company trying to achieve in the market? What key capabilities do you need to meet your overarching business goals? What features aren’t as important?
2. Address those needs. This seems obvious, but broader platforms often lure buyers into making decisions that compromise on critical areas. The solution you choose should have excellent bench strength in your highest priority area. For instance, if your main goal is improving employee well-being (and related outcomes), look for a partner that specializes in it ─ not a benefits provider with one small well-being feature.
3. Consider integration capabilities instead of a one-size-fits-all. One positive development of the consolidation phase? Companies want to make it easy for you to connect with different services. This means you don’t need a provider that does everything. Choose the (integration-ready) one you love ─ and tailor it to meet your own unique needs.
Choose technologies that meet your core needs rather than finding a provider that claims to do it all. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Focus on what’s important to your organization:
● What’s going to improve your employee experience the most?
● Who has the capabilities and people to guide you to your desired outcomes?
● What do you need right now, and what can you wait a few years for?
You are the only one who can answer these questions for your organization. When you do, you’ll find the corporate wellness provider that aligns best with your business strategy – and your employees’ needs.