A story on how plan sponsors and insurers are considering covering weight-loss drugs as part of a broader push towards more inclusive benefits was the most-read benefits story on BenefitsCanada.com this year. Here are the 10 most popular benefits news stories of the year: 1. How plan sponsors, insurers are considering coverage of weight-loss drugs amid rising […]
With the end of the year approaching, some employers and health practitioners may feel the need to tell employees to use up their benefits, but Rob Van De Cappelle, national benefits consultant at Cowan Insurance Group, cautions against this approach. “I tell employers and employees the benefits plan is there to keep you healthy and […]
Long before the coronavirus pandemic upended the workplace and impacted absence and disability management, employers have been rethinking these programs by taking a proactive approach. Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s accommodations program supports employee financial well-being and building employer trust by allowing employees to continue working as much as possible, said Jared Fu (pictured right), the apparel […]
About a year before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Algonquin College updated its disability management program. The timing set the Ottawa-based college up for success when the crisis hit, says Jessica Myers, its acting manager of wellness and abilities, allowing her team to focus on proactive supports, knowing case management was well in hand. […]
During Financial Literacy Month, the Royal Bank of Canada is supporting employees’ financial wellness through a new website that provides financial education and support. The My Money Matters website contains more than 1,000 articles on financial well-being and was designed to de-stigmatize conversations about money, says Elvis Wong, the bank’s director of financial well-being. “We […]
The documentation of formal diversity, equity and inclusion policies and approaches is one of the most significant changes to the Canadian workplace over the last decade. Progress of this magnitude seldom comes quickly. Employers are being asked tough questions about their implementation of the goals they’ve laid out — and they’re not always getting great […]
Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s thorough and innovative approach to benefits communications resulted in a win at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 20. The apparel company won in the Benefits plan communications category for its detailed communications strategy — which includes professionally developed benefits overview videos and detailed guides for workers going on leave — and the […]
Flight Centre Travel Group’s holistic approach to employee wellness resulted in a win at Benefits Canada’s 2023 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 20. The company won in the Health/wellness program category for employers with fewer than 1,000 employees for its Healthwise program. This year, Flight Centre focused on several key wellness areas, including relationships and connections, […]
Three-quarters (74 per cent) of U.S. employers say they increased their communications about compensation and benefits in 2023, according to a new survey by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The survey, which polled more than 4,000 U.S. companies, found roughly half (53 per cent) rated their employees’ understanding of compensation and benefits as excellent or good. […]
Half (51 per cent) of Canadian benefits plan members say they understand their plan extremely or very well, down from 65 per cent in 2018, according to the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found plan members’ top sources for information about their benefits plan were websites (69 per cent), followed at some distance by […]