If all employees had access to paid sick days, it could save $1 billion in yearly medical costs, according to a report released by the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Forty-five percent of employers believe educating employees on benefits is a top priority among management, as more senior leaders are taking on advocate roles, according to the Employee Benefits Accountability and Consumerism 2011 survey by WorldatWork.

More than 20 cents of each revenue dollar for employers are going toward health care costs that are undermanaged, according to the nonprofit Center for Health Value Innovations Health Value Accelerator, an online tool that creates a value-based benefit design centering on both engagement and accountability.

According to experts at Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, there are five workplace trends that employers, HR professionals and brokers should be aware of in order to be prepared for 2012.

Despite veterans facing a higher than average unemployment rate, 20 percent of employers say they are actively looking to hire veterans over the next year, and another 14 percent are actively recruiting National Guard members, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive in partnership with CareerBuilder.

Ninety-six percent of millennials feel highly confident about their benefits choices, compared to 66 percent of Generation Xers and 64 percent of baby boomers, according to research from The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, an employee benefits provider.

Global work forces are continuing to see low points of employee satisfaction and engagement, which remains at the lowest level since 2008, according to a new analysis by Aon Hewitt, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing business.

In todays business landscape, organizational change is a constant affair. Between mergers, acquisitions and leadership changes, the days of a stagnant work environment are gone, says John T. Mooney, principal of Consultive Source, a human resources firm in Dallas.