Welcoming a newborn into your family is a joyous occasion. It also comes with significant responsibilities, such as ensuring your infant’s health and properly using your health care benefits. Securing health insurance for your newborn is a crucial step toward making sure they receive the medical treatment they need, safeguarding their health, and providing you and your family financial protection against unexpected medical expenses.

Currently, health care costs in the United States are high and rising, outpacing inflation and wage increases. While many employers had relatively lower claim costs during the COVID-19 pandemic, medical plan costs are approaching pre-pandemic levels as health care utilization rebounds.

The war for talent has been putting stress on many organizations. As employers continue to struggle to retain workers, they must simultaneously deal with talent shortages. As workers resign, there seems to be a lack of qualified candidates to fill open roles. Compounding employers’ labor struggles is the fact that many workers are currently disengaged. According to a 2022 Gallop report, the current level of disengaged workers is the highest in over 10 years.

As small businesses compete amid ongoing talent shortages, often with fewer resources than large companies, they may need to get creative in their attraction and hiring efforts. As such, employee referral programs are growing as a popular strategy. They are generally successful because employees put their names on the line by endorsing someone else.

Workplace harassment has significant negative consequences for an organization and its employees. It can damage employee morale and company culture, decrease productivity, and cause heightened employee turnover. It’s also illegal.

The concept of a four-day workweek isn’t new, but it’s gained traction as the COVID-19 pandemic caused increasing numbers of employees to work remotely some or all the time. A 2022 survey by professional services company Ernst & Young found that nearly half (40%) of surveyed companies had or were in the process of implementing a four-day workweek.

The ubiquitous presence of microplastics raises numerous concerns for the environment and human health. As scientific studies document microplastics’ harmful effects, liability issues for businesses contributing to such pollution may arise.

According to IBM’s annual Data Breach report, the average cost of a data breach reached an all-time global high of $4.45 million, up 2.3% from 2022 and 15.3% since 2020. While $4.45 million is the average across the 16 countries included in IBM’s survey of 553 organizations, breaches in the United States cost far more than the average. The 2023 average hit $9.48 million, according to the report.

Stop-loss provider Sun Life released its 2022 list of high-cost claims, revealing the COVID-19 pandemic’s widespread impact on Americans’ medical care, mental health and infant care. Sun Life analyzes its claims data annually to help self-funded employers understand trends and potential impacts of the highest-cost medical and injectable drug claims. According to the report, 71% of all stop-loss claims in 2022 came from the following top 10 conditions, diseases or disorders:

Work environments can significantly impact the mental health of employees. In fact, research by the American Psychological Association found that 2 in 5 employees report that work negatively affects their mental health. Workers’ poor mental health can, in turn, negatively impact employee communication, performance, morale and productivity. According to a recent report by Mental Health America, employees in mentally unhealthy workplaces were also more likely to leave their jobs.

Due to rising health care costs, small businesses often struggle to provide employees with affordable, high-quality benefits. In fact, many small businesses choose not to offer employee benefits because of cost constraints. Failing to offer health benefits can place small businesses at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting and retaining key talent compared to their larger counterparts.

“Quiet quitting” is not a new concept new to employers. It occurs when employees become less invested or engaged in their work and only perform their core job duties without going above and beyond. While these employees continue to perform their primary responsibilities, they’re less invested overall. Quiet quitting can be a sign that a worker is unhappy in their role or is feeling burned out. In fact, many workers engage in quiet quitting to help alleviate work-related stress and burnout.

A study by the American Institute of Stress found that more than half (55%) of Americans feel stress daily. Persistent stress can cause headaches, depression, insomnia, a weak immune system, fertility problems, and other mental and physical health issues. Given these side effects, you may be exploring ways to effectively manage your stress. One way to do so is with mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), an eight-week course designed to improve daily mindfulness.

The popularity of weight loss drugs has reached a fever pitch in the United States. This trend has made its way into the workplace, with employees increasingly asking their employers about coverage for popular drugs used for weight loss, such as Wegovy. Other drugs intended to treat Type 2 diabetes, such as Ozempic or Mounjaro, are also in high demand for off-label weight-loss use. As a result, employers are presented with the decision of whether to cover these expensive drugs or face potential negative attraction and retention repercussions in the coming years, if not already.

Imposter syndrome, a pervasive psychological phenomenon, affects individuals across various professions. Despite their accomplishments and competence, those experiencing imposter syndrome doubt their abilities constantly and fear being exposed as frauds. This internal struggle can undermine productivity, hinder career growth, and contribute to feelings of stress and inadequacy.

Workers in the United States are hesitant to use their paid sick leave, even when they are truly sick, according to a new study by HR software company BambooHR. In fact, 9 in 10 people worked while sick during the past year, while nearly half said they shouldn’t have.

In the pursuit of a fulfilling life, happiness is a goal for many. However, happiness is not an isolated concept; it’s complex and connected to your overall physical and mental health. By understanding and nurturing the links between your health and happiness, you can be on your way to an enriched and balanced life.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides minimum wage and overtime pay protections to nearly all workers in the United States. Under the FLSA, all employees must be classified as either “exempt” or “nonexempt” from minimum wage and overtime provisions. Misclassification of employees occurs when employers classify nonexempt workers as exempt and fail to provide workers FLSA protections such as overtime. This is a common problem that many employers face. In fact, employee misclassification is one of the most common violations of the FLSA.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the consumer price index increased 3% year over year in June, falling to its lowest rate in more than two years. The latest reading marked inflation’s deceleration for the 12th consecutive month, an encouraging sign for Americans and the Federal Reserve (Fed).

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found in its June jobs report that U.S. employers added 209,000 nonfarm jobs in June, below the Dow Jones’ estimate of a net gain of 225,000 jobs. This is the first time in 15 months that reported nonfarm jobs have not met or exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. June’s number of added jobs was nearly 100,000 below May’s revised gains of 306,000. June’s job growth is the lowest monthly gain since December 2020.