Texas-based Insurance Zebra is stepping up for employee wellness by helping them welcome furry friends into their lives. The insurer has added a $300 annual benefit for employees adopting a new dog or cat and encouraging staff to take paid time off for “paw-ternity” leave. “There was a time a while ago when I took my […]
The coronavirus pandemic is fundamentally changing the future of work and, very likely, the nature of employer-sponsored benefits and pension plans. Looking to the end of the crisis, Canadian consultants see an array of major changes on the horizon, from more flexible benefits plans and mental-health care to an outsourcing of pension administration and the […]
The pandemic changed our world and our jobs overnight and stretched compassion, empathy and flexibility to the limit. There has never been a better time to reconsider everything about employee benefits. For me as a benefits consultant, the crisis has highlighted how unprepared the typical benefits plan is to truly support the needs of employees in […]
Even as Canada begins to reopen from coronavirus lockdown, uncertainty remains high and Canadians need employer mental-health supports more than ever. According to Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s latest mental-health index, Canadians’ mental-health score sat at negative 11 in June. The index measures the score based on a pre-2020 benchmark of 75. While June’s score was one […]
Employers across Canada were forced to adjust their Pride celebrations in June as the coronavirus pandemic necessitated social distancing and most traditional parades and events were cancelled. “[The coronavirus] forced us to think about how to still create these communities we’re trying to build,” says Meryem Benslimane, equity education advisor at McGill University in Montreal. This year, the university took […]
For many employers, the newly digital office environment necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic can be awkward, especially for recent graduates entering career-track jobs for the firm time. “Personally, I’m saddened by the situation for a number of reasons, but certainly for those students that are graduating and looking for summer internships, . . . hiring […]
While nearly half (47 per cent) of Canadian employees described their health benefits plan as excellent or very good, this number is at the low end of results gathered since 2006, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. Over the 15-year period in which the survey has been conducted, results have ranged between 47 […]
The majority (95 per cent) of global employers said they include emotional and mental-health programs in their corporate well-being platforms, according to a new survey by Business Group on Health and Fidelity Investments Inc. The survey, which was fielded last fall and prior to the coronavirus pandemic, found the most common mental-health and well-being offerings […]
More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of Canadian benefits plan members agree their workplace culture or environment encourages health and wellness, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. “We want to maintain and build on that,” said Andrea Frankel, national private payer lead at Sanofi Canada, during a webinar highlighting the annual survey on Thursday. […]
While 72 per cent of Canadian employers said they’ll make minimal or no changes to their benefits coverage in 2021, 21 per cent are planning some plan design changes around health coverage, according to a new survey by Arther J. Gallagher & Co. Eight per cent said they’re looking at plan design and contribution structure […]