A story on how private payers are implementing preferred pharmacy networks to reduce benefits plan costs was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the past week: 1. More private payers seeking to reduce costs turning to preferred pharmacy networks: expert 2. Chipotle expanding […]
As more insurers turn to preferred pharmacy networks to decrease costs, their efforts are being met with some resistance by plan members who may be finding it difficult and inconvenient to switch pharmacy providers. In January, Manulife Financial Corp.’s move to a preferred pharmacy network with Loblaw Cos. Ltd.’s Shoppers Drug Mart was met with […]
Two-fifths (40 per cent) of U.S. workers with employer-provided health benefits reported delaying care due to cost, which negatively impacted their mental health, workplace culture and productivity, according to a new survey by research group Nonfiction on behalf of health-care provider Paytient. The survey, which polled more than 1,500 U.S. workers with health insurance through […]
Ontario will do away with sick note requirements for short absences as part of a larger effort to ease the administrative burden on doctors. The province will soon introduce legislation that, if passed, will no longer allow employers to require a sick note from a doctor for the provincially protected three days of sick leave […]
More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of U.S. employees say they’d be happier if they had deeper connections with work colleagues, according to a survey by technology company Nectar. The survey, which polled 800 U.S. employees, found while a majority (85 per cent) chat with someone outside of their department regularly, just two-fifths speak with someone […]
While the coronavirus pandemic may be in the rearview mirror for most employers, the Ontario-based Workplace Safety and Insurance Board knows all too well that the shadow pandemic that emerged from the health crisis is still impacting employees in the workplace. At a time when some employers are considering cutting back on mental-health benefits, the […]
While remote and hybrid working arrangements have revolutionized the modern workplace, they’re also fuelling unrealistic expectations for office communications, leading to what some have coined the ‘Great Exhaustion.’ In the pre-coronavirus pandemic office environment, employees understood that it would take a couple of days for colleagues to respond to an email or phone request, says Janet […]
Four years after the coronavirus pandemic fuelled increased usage of employee well-being interventions, some employers are questioning whether these support tools are actually beneficial to workers. A recent study by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Center found little evidence that these interventions actually provide any benefits to workers. Indeed, the study found there was a “small […]
More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of employees say their mental health has stayed the same or worsened in the past year, according to a new survey by Calm.com Inc. The survey polled more than 150 employers and more than 4,000 workers in the U.S., U.K., Germany and India. It also analyzed usage patterns of more […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association has released a critical illness insurance guide to help Canadians better understand the benefits of critical illness insurance and how it works. Critical illness insurance is less well known than other types of insurance, so the guide helps to fill in the blanks for Canadians who may have […]