#1: Health care affordability

In the last decade, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have risen above inflation rates and wage growth. In the 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation Health Benefits Survey, annual individual coverage premiums rose from an average of $5,049 in 2010 to $7,911 in 2022, a 58% increase. Family coverage premiums also rose from $13,770 to $22,463 over the same period, an increase of over 63%. In 2023, employers will focus on improving health care affordability by making telemedicine more accessible and lowering or eradicating employee premiums. According to Mercer's Health & Benefits Strategies for 2023 report, employers will expand traditional telemedicine to include behavioral and primary care services; and 52% of employers will offer virtual behavioral health care and 40% will offer virtual primary care. In addition, 11% of employers will provide free employee-only coverage (no employee premiums) and another 11% are considering it.

#2: Women's health & family-friendly benefits

In addition to making health care more affordable for employees, employers will also pay close attention to the needs of women. As a result of a range of societal and economic pressures, women tend to prioritize the needs of their families over their own preventive health care. They also experience unique challenges accessing high-quality health care targeted toward their specialized needs. In 2023, businesses will look to better support women in the workplace with expanded access to breast cancer screenings, screening and counseling for domestic violence, preconception family planning, pregnancy loss support, and lactation and postpartum support. Employers will also increasingly recognize the importance of supporting their employees through the emotional and financial challenges of family-building and caregiving. We expect employers to place an increased emphasis on fertility benefits, adoption assistance, and expanded parental leave as well as back-up or on-site childcare services, dependent and elder care support, and more flexible work arrangements.

#3: Financial wellness

72% of employees are stressed about their finances and as a result financial wellness is now the number one most desired employee benefit, followed by mental health support and flexible time off. With continued high inflation and ongoing economic uncertainty, this stress will likely only heighten in 2023 and employees will increasingly turn to their employers for help. In fact, 88% of employees expect employers to support them with their finances. Additionally, according to Bank of America's 12th Annual Wellness Benefits Report, 97% of employers feel responsible for employee financial wellness (up from 95% in 2021). Employers can help improve employee financial well-being by offering comprehensive financial wellness benefits that educate and guide their people to achieve their life goals with confidence.

#4: Social responsibility

Employees are deeply concerned about the state of the world and are actively trying to balance the stressors of their everyday lives with their desire to drive societal change. As a result, they're placing increased importance on working for companies that build social responsibility into their values and policies. This is especially true for millennials and Gen Z employees as nearly half state that their personal ethics and beliefs have played a role in their career choices. To empower employees to be more involved in causes that are important to them, in 2023 companies will prioritize social responsibility efforts, including charitable donation funds, providing employees with time off to volunteer and give back, and creating or strengthening partnerships with local philanthropy efforts.

#5: Career development

Current economic conditions and rapidly evolving business needs have redefined the skills employees need to remain agile, successful and achieve business goals. Further, in recent months an increasing number of layoffs has put heightened pressure, workload and responsibilities on many remaining employees who have to take on tasks they may have never done before. In 2023, employers will focus on training and mentoring to close the skills gap and ensure employee capabilities align with current business needs.

#6: Data to enable employee well-being

Data will be critical for employers to address employee wellness in a more holistic manner. Actively listening to employee pain points and needs, curating the right support, tools and benefits in response, driving benefits engagement and utilization, and gauging what's working and what's not, requires real-time data and insights. In 2023, HR teams will rely heavily on this intelligence and the ability to analyze employee behaviors and needs by demographic and location, which will ultimately empower them to better support their people, improve decision-making, drive personalization, and demonstrate ROI.

The year of employee experience & well-being

2023 is the year that employee experience and well-being will become top priorities for both companies and workers alike. Shifting employee needs, rising burnout and ongoing economic uncertainty have created a new paradigm of employee wellness. Employers need to work with their broker and solution provider partners to respond in kind with the resources and support their people need in the moment, and to foster a culture of care and belonging that drives long-term employee and business success.

Neha Mirchandani, CMO & Head of People at BrightPlan.