Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS, Author at Word on Benefits

How to Support Workforce Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

03 Mar 202102 Mar 2021

Isolation and loneliness. Fear that you or a loved one will be infected with a deadly virus. Anxiety about finances. Stress over child care and school arrangements. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most people in the United States have experienced at least one—if […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Defined Benefit (DB) Plans Defined Contribution (DC) Plans Dependent Care Employee Benefits Health Care Multiemployer Paid Leave U.S.

Employee Benefits and COVID-19: Changing the Future of Benefits Today

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

17 Feb 202116 Feb 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to bring long-lasting changes to life in the United States, and those changes will be reflected in employee benefits. How COVID-19 could affect health, retirement and other benefits even after the pandemic is over is discussed in […]

Communication Diversity and Inclusion Employee Benefits Global Benefits Health Care U.S.

Cultural Humility: What is it and How to Practice it in Employee Benefits

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

02 Feb 202102 Feb 2021

Employers and benefit plan sponsors can play a bigger role in addressing the disparities in access to adequate health care among minority populations—an issue that has received increasing attention in the last year as the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted African Americans […]

Apprenticeship Programs Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Multiemployer U.S.

Virtual Instruction Strategies for Apprenticeship Programs

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

09 Dec 202008 Dec 2020

Although the COVID-19 pandemic caught many off guard, the experience has provided opportunities for apprenticeship programs and training funds to adapt training methods that will meet educational needs far into the future. In their article “Staying Connected: Virtual Instruction Strategies for Apprenticeship […]

Canada Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Multiemployer U.S.

Time to Update Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

23 Nov 202023 Nov 2020

Many say it would have been nearly impossible for multiemployer benefit funds to prepare for a pandemic as serious and widespread as COVID-19. However, having a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that addressed infectious disease in place prior to the pandemic would have […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Health Care U.S.

Responding to the COVID-19 Environment: Nine Actions for Health Plan Sponsors

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

05 Nov 202003 Nov 2020

The changes to the health care system brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are creating a new set of risks and opportunities for health care purchasers and plan sponsors, some of which are not yet fully known. In their article “Charting a […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Multiemployer U.S.

Five Steps for Moving to Paperless Benefit Fund Administration

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

21 Oct 202019 Oct 2020

The COVID-19 global pandemic has added urgency to the case for paperless employee benefit fund administration. In her article “A Virus Makes Paperless Fund Administration Go Viral” in the September issue of Benefits Magazine, Jenny Morgan discusses the advantages and considerations involved […]

Communication Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Health Care U.S.

Communication Is Key to Open Enrollment During COVID-19

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

01 Oct 202030 Sep 2020

This year’s annual benefits enrollment process presents new challenges for benefits professionals as they find themselves in the middle of a pandemic with workers nervous about their financial security as well as their health and safety. In her article “Communication Is Key […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits U.S. Work Life Balance

Back to School . . . Virtually—Helping Employees-Turned-Teachers

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

02 Sep 202003 Nov 2020

At the end of a typical summer, many parents of school-aged children would be breathing a sigh of relief, knowing the struggle to keep kids busy and to cobble together child-care arrangements during the summer is over because their kids are back […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Financial Education Financial Education (U.S.) Financial Wellness U.S.

COVID-19 Highlights the Need for Workplace Emergency Savings Programs

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

20 Aug 202017 Feb 2023

About 31% of people in the United States have faced negative economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent report from the Commonwealth Fund. Those economic effects include being unable to pay for basic necessities like food, heat or rent, […]