Family life has evolved a great deal since the stereotypical nuclear family of the 1950s. Social and economic changes have led to a rapid increase in the diversity of living arrangements. Blended families, same-sex couples, and multicultural relationships are all part of modern life, whilst multigenerational households were the fastest growing type of living arrangement in Canada’s 2016 census.
Against this backdrop, it makes sense to ask if your employee benefits package adequately meets the needs of the modern employee and their family. Key questions to ask as an employer:
- Are services inclusive of different languages, identities and cultural backgrounds?
- Does the offering provide employee with the support they need to manage and cope with their caregiver responsibilities?
- Is the solution capable of supporting and navigating mental health challenges for all life stages?
Good For Your Employees
It is difficult to overstate the importance of an appropriate healthcare package for today’s employees. A 2022 survey by Willis Towers Watson (WTW) indicated that 46% of workers would be willing to forgo a pay raise if they received a more generous healthcare package. More than a quarter suggested that they would like to receive help from their employer in managing their mental health, in particular dealing with the effects of stress.
Good For Your Business
Given the value of family benefits to employees, it is easy to see why a good benefits package is crucial to hiring and retaining the best talent. Health benefits are seen as one of the top reasons to move to a new job, whilst workers with a benefits offering that meets their needs are 30% more likely to want to stay in the same post for at least the next two years. Having inclusive family benefits can lead to attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce, which has been shown to increase both a company’s innovation, creativity and overall financial performance.
What Does An Inclusive Benefits Package Look Like?
Gone are the days of a one-size fits all benefits package. Each workplace and each employee (and their family members) have different needs, and family benefits need to be flexible and tailored in response. When assessing your current benefits, important elements to consider include:
- Accessibility: How easy it is to access services offered in a person’s preferred language, understand the context of their cultural background, or specialize in supporting their identity (e.g. gender identity, sexual identity, race etc). Additionally, accessibility means providing options for different modes of delivery such as in-person, video, or phone consultations and appointments.
- Family Support: Specialized services and care options for everyone, including children (e.g. behavioural services, occupational therapy), teens (e.g.g teen mental well-being support), couples (e.g. relationship counselling), and families as a whole.
- Mental Health: Inclusive mental health care matches each person with the personalized support they need for their life stage, clinical needs, identity (cultural, gender, race etc), and specific preferences.
Inclusiveness Begins With Listening
A truly inclusive family benefits offering begins with a conversation. It is only by listening to and understanding your employees’ needs that you can identify a package that will best support and empower your people and your organization.
Explore how you can create the best family benefits offering by connecting with iHealthOX today.
For more information, chat with our iHealthOX Care Team.
Sources:
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/170802/dq170802a-eng.htm
https://www.alight.com/blog/inclusive-employee-benefits-for-families
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048733310002398
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