More Employers Addressing Burnout and Needs of a Diverse Workforce -- From Flexibility to Demand for Weight Loss Drugs, Gallagher US Study Finds
- 90% of employers increased support for employee wellbeing, potentially creating stronger organizational attachment
- Emotional wellbeing and mental health training for managers increased
- Employers are investing in clinical care and time off for mental health
- Employers are enhancing medical benefits
- Challenges remain in managing specialty drugs and costs
"Today's workforces consist of multiple generations and people from a variety of backgrounds, and this requires employers to analyze whether their benefit offerings are addressing a wide range of employee needs," said William F. Ziebell, CEO of Gallagher's Benefits & HR Consulting Division. "As organizations continue to focus on recruiting and retention as top operational and HR priorities, it's clear that they're paying closer attention to important issues, such as flexibility, burnout and inclusive medical coverage."
The Gallagher study, which is the second installment of the 2023 US Workforce Trends Report Series, was conducted from December 2022 to March 2023 and sourced data and insights from more than 4,000 organizations across the US. The study presents recent findings on current and emerging trends to help employers optimize their investments in employee physical and emotional wellbeing by covering medical, pharmacy and voluntary benefits, as well as absence management strategies.
Pervasive concerns about stress and burnout spark continued focus on emotional wellbeing.
The focus on emotional wellbeing in the workplace continues its upward trend with more than 7 in 10 employers (
Employers are investing in building morale, addressing these concerns through clinical care and designated time off for mental health. Roughly 7 in 10 employers (
Employers are updating PTO and leave policies that account for life outside of work.
Nearly all employers (
The future of absence management is evolving as employers accommodate an aging workforce, mental health challenges and changing benefit expectations. As such, employers have developed strategies for administering leaves and disabilities (
Employers are increasingly adapting to align paid leaves with family-focused policies. For example, access to new child or parent bonding paid leave has increased 5 points from 2022 to
Balancing demands for specialty drugs and treatments with rising healthcare plan premiums.
Median health plan premium increases at the most recent renewal were
Coverage for infertility, autism or transgender services and other specialty treatments can show support for ranging employee populations. Though most of these benefits don't stabilize or lower costs, they often align with preferences that strengthen cultural inclusivity. However, their availability was uneven — autism (
Challenges remain in managing specialty drugs (e.g., weight loss, gene therapies, biosimilars), and
"It is essential to recruitment, retention and the overall wellbeing of employees to serve diverse needs," said Ziebell. "As such, employers should determine what approaches to coverage and utilization will provide the best results for their employee populations, without driving excessive costs."
ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL WELLBEING REPORT
Gallagher's 2023 Physical & Emotional Wellbeing Report is the second installment of the US Workforce Trends Report Series, covering medical benefits, pharmacy benefit management, voluntary benefits, wellbeing initiatives and absence management. It presents recent findings on current and emerging trends to help employers optimize their investments in physical and emotional wellbeing. Each of the other reports centers on a different aspect of wellbeing. Data and insights highlighted in this report are compiled from Gallagher's 2023 US Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey. Conducted from December 2022 to March 2023, a total of 4,030 organizations across the US participated. Findings are broken out by region, organization size and ownership structure for peer comparison. Each section features core data highlights, contains tables with detailed results and wraps up with key takeaways. The report can be found here.
ABOUT GALLAGHER
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in
Contact:
Mary Schwartz, Gallagher
847.378.5893
mary_schwartz@ajg.com
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FAQ
What percentage of employers increased support for employee wellbeing in 2023?
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