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2023 was a year of transformation in health care and the employee benefits space. From improving health equity to expanding behavioral health solutions and reigning in rising costs, benefits consultants and employers continued to be more purposeful in their benefits design.
Benefits advisors continue to work closely with partners across the nation to balance cost-saving strategies with cutting-edge benefits design, while keeping a close eye on outside disruptors and regulatory news out of Washington D.C.
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Meanwhile, employees looked to employers to throw them a lifeline in the form of financial wellness programs and resources. With record-high inflation, employers stepped up to provide employees with a financial safety net.
And while some workplaces have returned to the office, others have adopted full-time remote or hybrid schedules, indicating that remote work is here to stay. Still, there's been a struggle to find a peaceful coexistence between remote workers and those who come into the office.
Mid-year, a small but growing list of big-name companies started taking return-to-office mandates up a notch, calling employees back in four days a week. It's a form of RTO creep, as companies test what has emerged as the post-pandemic norm of 2-3 days in the office. It's also a sign of employers gaining more power in the labor market. However, by year-end, retention levels were high and a growing number of employees were pushing back on RTO mandates.
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Lynn Cavanaugh
Lynn Varacalli Cavanaugh is Senior Editor, Retirement at BenefitsPRO. Prior, she was editor-in-chief of the What's New in Benefits & Compensation newsletter. She has worked for major firms in the employee benefits space, Vanguard and Willis Towers Watson, as well as top media companies, including Condé Nast and American Media.
