Even before the coronavirus pandemic, technology was blurring the lines between work and home life. An unhealthy attachment to our mobile phones made it easy to get lured back into our work worlds when we were supposed to be on vacation, socializing with family and friends or just enjoying some downtime. During the pandemic, millions […]
Nearly half (45 per cent) of U.S. employers see investments in health and well-being as an integral part of their workplace strategy, compared to 36 per cent that said the same in 2019 and 27 per cent in 2018, according to an annual survey by Business Group on Health. The survey, which polled 122 large employers with […]
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, more than half of Canadian employers (53 per cent) are enhancing their well-being programs, while 27 per cent are planning to make changes to improve health benefits, according to a new survey by Willis Towers Watson. The survey, which polled nearly 150 Canadian employers with more than 800,000 employees, […]
Alberta Blue Cross is sharing exercise videos and tips on social media to help its employees and all Albertans make fitness a part of their work-from-home lives. Before the pandemic, the benefits provider encouraged its employees to take 15-minute wellness breaks led by Terry Skidnuk, a workplace wellness specialist. With the majority of people now working from home, it’s making […]
Benefits Canada is proud to announce the finalists of the 2020 Workplace Benefits Awards. While this year’s entry and judging process occurred during the coronavirus pandemic, almost 100 leading employers embraced the opportunity to share their organization’s innovative initiatives and strategies. In fact, Benefits Canada even introduced a new category — Coronavirus and benefits — which received the most entries, so we divided […]
Plan sponsors have to move beyond benefits plan reporting and dig into analytics to better understand medication non-adherence and the top disease states affecting their workforces. “Leveraging plan-specific data can help answer the fundamental questions needed to manage your benefits program,” said Shawn O’Brien, Telus Health’s principal of data enablement and drug, health, dental product roadmaps, during a session at Benefits […]
With almost 100,000 employees in 30 countries, Scotiabank’s approach to global benefits provision is more about aligning philosophy or guiding principles than it is around aligning specific tactics of the benefits plan. “No surprise, every country, every region has its own set of legislation, social norms, priorities, different health-care infrastructure and different maturity in terms […]
Plan members living with insomnia or sleep problems could benefit from sleep-specific cognitive behavioural therapy programs accessible through their benefits plans. “One of the key things I’m going to say is benefits plans should offer some sort of online cognitive therapy for sleep,” said Atul Khullar, medical director of the Northern Alberta Sleep Clinic, in a session during Benefits […]
The Empire Life Insurance Co. is adding telemedicine services to its group benefits plans. Beginning Sept. 1, 2020, all employees whose plan sponsors offer Empire Life’s group benefits will automatically have access to the new service, provided by Teladoc Health. “Nearly two in five Canadians say they have faced COVID-related barriers to medical care,” said […]
Toronto-based disease prevention technology company Newtopia Inc. is introducing a product suite aimed at preventing, reversing and slowing the progression of three chronic conditions. Targeting plan members of employer-sponsored health plans, the tools aim to assist users with hypertension, type 2 diabetes and weight management. They combine human interaction, virtual care, digital tools and data science to deliver personalized […]