The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) took effect in 1989 to protect workers, their families and communities by ensuring workers receive advance notice about qualified plant closings and mass layoffs. With sufficient notice, workers can better plan for and adjust to a loss of employment, and communities are better able to cope with large-scale job loss.

On Nov. 15, 2022, Amazon launched Amazon Clinic, an online telehealth service. The service connects individuals with medical professionals through a secure, message-based portal. It’s currently available in 32 states, but Amazon plans to expand to additional states in the coming months.

The National Safety Council (NSC) found that 1 in 12 workers is dealing with an untreated “substance use disorder” (SUD). Even if employers don’t see it, which is more likely with remote and hybrid work arrangements, substance use, misuse and addiction likely remain prevalent among their workforce.

Mental health is a growing concern in the workplace. Over the past few years, many employees have experienced mental health issues, such as burnout, depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Employers have responded by expanding mental health benefits, including adding mental health programs, increasing schedule flexibility, offering telemedicine options for mental health and providing more mental health education.

Microcultures are the specialized subgroups in which the participants of that group develop their own expectations, communication methods and values. These exist within a larger macroculture—the dominant culture within the organization. Microcultures can, have and continue to develop in on-site working arrangements. But, with more employers supporting remote or hybrid work models, many large-company macrocultures that were nurtured by in-person connection have fallen to the wayside.

Ahead of this winter season, experts warn of a threat of a “tripledemic” that would affect children around the nation. Hospitals nationwide are under threat of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza (flu) and COVID-19. In the last couple of years, both the flu and COVID-19 have been prominent in the United States, but with the addition of RSV this year, there are new risks when catching any of these illnesses.

Organizations sometimes lay off employees to cut costs, reduce headcount, reskill their workforce or adjust to existing economic conditions. While this is a practice all employers may need to exercise at times, some organizations may want to offset the impact of laying off employees. Voluntary separation and early retirement programs are two examples of voluntary reduction-in-force programs, which have the same goals as traditional layoffs but are designed to benefit both the employer and the employee.

Influenza (flu) hospitalizations have significantly risen across the United States in recent weeks. According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hospitalizations have reached levels that are generally not seen until later in the flu season, around December.

There's no denying that employees' needs have changed over the past few years. As such, employers can offer benefits to meet evolving worker needs shaped by lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a tight labor market and rising inflation. Many workers are paying more attention to their benefits and wondering how to stretch their dollars further.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in its quarterly Employment Cost Index (ECI) that wages and salaries for private sector employees increased 5.2% for the year ending in September, up from a 4.6% increase the year prior. In the first quarter of 2022, the private sector wage and salary increase had been 5% and 5.7% in the second quarter. Experts view this report as evidence that U.S. wage growth is slowing.

When an organization’s financial outlook becomes uncertain, its immediate impulse may be to reduce costs through layoffs. However, organizations should consider layoffs as a last resort since they can create risks, such as legal liabilities, lower morale and employee distrust, and negatively impact business operations by decreasing productivity and proficiency. Instead, organizations may be able to minimize the need for layoffs by choosing to slow hiring or pause it entirely.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its September Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary. The month’s reported number of job openings increased by 437,000 to 10.7 million, surpassing what economists had forecasted. The September report follows several months of record-high job openings and quit rates.

In today’s competitive and fast-moving employment landscape, employers may struggle with attraction and retention. In fact, according to Zywave’s 2022 Attraction and Retention Benchmarking Overview, 75% of employers consider this a top-five business challenge.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1 and continues through Nov. 30. In recent years, hurricane season has become increasingly severe and devastating. During hurricanes, heavy rains and winds pass through coastal areas, often damaging homes and businesses surrounding the impacted areas.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) recommends that adults under the age of 65 get regularly screened for anxiety. The draft recommendation applies to adults 19 and older who don’t have a diagnosed mental health disorder. It’s meant to help primary care clinicians identify early signs of anxiety, which can go undetected for years.

Deciding to terminate an employee is never easy, and it only becomes more difficult and complex when organizations must eliminate multiple employees. Mass layoffs are common when organizations downsize. Organizations downsize for many reasons, but it’s most common during times of market volatility or poor financial performance. Whatever the reason, successfully downsizing can be challenging and is rarely risk-free.

As 2022’s Election Day approaches on Tuesday, Nov. 8, employers may be curious about how to best prepare. While federal law does not require employers to provide their employees time off to vote, many states have voting leave laws that allow employees to take time off to vote in certain circumstances. Further, employees may desire their employers to offer leave regardless of the applicable laws, so employers may choose to proactively plan for how to handle Election Day.

In 2022, customer satisfaction with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) reached a three-year low, according to a recent report from the Pharmaceutical Strategies Group (PSG). This year’s PBM customer satisfaction score was 7.8 out of 10, compared with 8.2 in 2021 and 8 in 2020. Analysts believe this drop may be linked to rising drug prices and negative public sentiment since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employers are becoming increasingly concerned about inflation’s impact on their employees, especially as the U.S economy faces the very real prospect of an upcoming recession. Many employers are searching for creative solutions to better support employees while navigating a competitive labor market. Many employers are building inflation-proof benefits packages to help employees counter inflation’s impact and address their attraction and retention struggles.

The employee onboarding process is crucial for retaining employees after the first 90 days. During the first three months at a job, about 1 in 3 workers would leave it without having another job lined up, according to recruiting firm Jobvite. However, an effective onboarding process can help employees be excited and engaged, which helps prevent turnover.