The importance of comprehensive and personalized employee benefits programs
Today’s employees are no longer satisfied with a paycheck and basic health plan. Increasingly, they are expecting employers to move beyond transactional perks and provide comprehensive benefits that support their total wellbeing — not just physical, but mental health and financial security.
Done right, benefits improve personal wellbeing, save employees money and support long-term goals like retirement readiness. In turn, healthy and financially secure employees are more productive and better positioned to help the organization achieve its goals. However, employers are facing serious headwinds in realizing this vision.
Across the board, employees are struggling with their wellbeing. Just 44% of U.S.-based workers rate their overall wellbeing as “high,” a decline of 7% year-over-year, according to the 2024 Alight International Workforce and Wellbeing Mindset Study. While employee perceptions of their personal wellbeing are underwater across all measures, their financial situation is where they feel the most negative, with just 39% rating their financial wellbeing highly (a decline of 7% compared to the 2023 study). That’s not surprising, considering the barrage of headlines about high prices, stock market volatility and economic uncertainty.
Workers don’t fare much better when it comes to their mental/emotional wellbeing, with just 42% rating themselves highly (a decline of 6%). Over two-thirds (69%) rate their stress level as moderate or high, and 43% say they feel burned out. Mental and physical health are so interwoven that a comparable percentage of employees (44%, a decline of 4%) give themselves high marks. Work-life balance emerges as one of the top drivers of mental health (45%) and physical health (40%).
2024 Alight International Workforce and Wellbeing Mindset Study
The study’s goal is to understand employee perceptions to help employers optimize their employees’ wellbeing and experiences to improve engagement, productivity and performance.
Aware of these challenges — and concerned for their workforce — employers are ramping up their investments in wellbeing programs and resources. However, they are not reaping the desired ROI in the form of increased productivity, recruitment and retention. Often, that’s because employees don’t even know what benefits are available to them or how to use them to their best advantage.
Personalized support is key to employee benefits success
Organizations can overcome these roadblocks by prioritizing personalization to meet an increasingly varied array of employee needs, boosting engagement through always-on education and accessibility, and integrating advanced technology and analytics with high-touch, human support. Leveraging predictive AI and concierge navigation support, employers are able to connect employees to the right guidance and benefits programs where and when they need it most.
Employees value comprehensive, personalized, easy-to-navigate benefits programs built upon the smart application of technology, tools and people. Nearly nine in 10 (86%) say a one-stop website for all their health, wealth and wellbeing benefits is important and it’s equally important to have mobile access to that information. Yet not everyone is getting what they need. Only 42% say they have a personalized website for their benefits, and 40% report having a personalized mobile app.
Mindset study data reveals that employees find the following benefits programs particularly valuable:
- Stress management (67%)
- Telehealth (67%)
- Mental/emotional health apps (67%)
- Personalized support for navigating the health system and costs (66%)
- Personalized financial management (66%)
- Personalized health management (66%)
- Sleep management (65%)
- Caregiver support/resources (64%)
Employers that adopt this holistic approach to benefits see tangible results. Fully supported employees — those with comprehensive, customized and accessible benefits and resources — feel better about themselves and their employer. They are happier, more productive and less likely to leave.
When employees feel fully supported, measures of wellbeing remain high
For a full look at the data, check out the 2024 Alight International Workforce and Wellbeing Mindset Study.
feel they have the power and resources to improve their own health and wellbeing
say they trust their employer to have their back if they have a wellbeing challenge
say they are often productive at work
hardly ever think about leaving to work elsewhere
Organizations that offer comprehensive, personalized benefits, along with a full suite of services and support, not only improve their employees’ total wellbeing, but the employee experience as well.
By going beyond the basics and redefining benefits through personalization, engagement and technology, they create a competitive advantage, driving both employee wellbeing and business success. At Alight, we call this “winning with wellbeing.” Companies that embrace this strategy deliver a true benefits advantage that drives peak performance and levies a positive impact on the bottom line.
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