Plan sponsors looking to improve their mental-health benefits should consider offering online psychotherapy treatment programs for members, says Peter Gove, former innovation leader in health management at Green Shield Canada. “Just increasing the amount of coverage is a good thing, but probably insufficient,” he says. “The problem with just increasing the level of coverage is […]
Compared with people who don’t access employer-provided employee assistance programs, Canadians who use the services have increased workplace engagement, as well as reduced presenteeism and distress at work, according to a study published last month in the U.S.-based Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health. The study, which looked at the causal effects of Arete Human Resources Inc.’s EAPs on mental […]
Canada’s national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace provides employers with benchmarks they can measure themselves against. Would making it mandatory improve employer uptake, or impose unnecessary and duplicate regulations? Brian Gottheil, human resource advisor and lawyer at Bernardi Human Resource Law LLP: The national standard helps employers proactively assess and improve their […]
Claims involving mental-health conditions represented 52 per cent of disability insurance claims approved for federal public service employees in 2018, according to a new data from the National Joint Council’s Disability Insurance Plan Board of Management. While mental-health claims have comprised the highest portion of approved disability claims in the past, this is the first time the percentage […]
League Inc. is launching a new digital benefits platform in an effort to give plan members one place to access their health, lifestyle and benefits programs. The platform, called HBX, is aiming to reduce the number of systems employers need to use to manage their various employee programs. Integrating with more than 100 insurance carriers, health-care providers […]
The majority of plan members (77 per cent) and plan sponsors (85 per cent) agreed their workplace culture encourages health and wellness, according to the 2019 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. Among plan members with a workplace wellness culture, 61 per cent said the quality of the health benefits plan is excellent of very good, compared […]
About four in 10 (41 per cent) U.S. employers said they’re making a major effort to reduce absenteeism in 2018, according to a new survey by the Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America. The survey found the number of employers looking to reduce employee absenteeism has significantly increased in the past few years, up from […]
On June 5, Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Chronic Disease at Work conference featured educational presentations around trends and treatments in an effort to help plan sponsors and advisors make the best decisions for their plans and members. Here’s what you missed! Behavioural change a key component to managing chronic disease More than 50 per cent of […]
More than 50 per cent of working-age Canadians are living with one or more chronic disease, up from just 37 per cent in 2007, according to Jonathan Tafler, senior director of Employer Health Solutions at Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. Speaking at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Chronic Disease at Work conference in Toronto on June 5, he […]
Six million Canadians are living with obesity and its prevalence is continuing to rise, said David Macklin, medical director of the weight management program at Medcan, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Chronic Disease at Work conference in Toronto on June 5. While many may consider obesity to be a matter of will power, […]