Thanks for sticking with us throughout Benefits Madness! Your votes determined the 2022 Champion: Remote work/telecommuting. The pandemic offered a forced experiment of sorts with remote/hybrid work and it looks like it’s here to stay (in some capacity!)

The final four innovative employee benefits (according to the very official 2022 Benefits Madness) are listed below, along with additional resources on each topic if you’d like to learn more.

1. Remote work/telecommuting
It’s like the Foundation KNEW this would be the champion (p.s. we did not!) and planned a free (PSA: webcasts are always free to members but this one is also free to nonmembers) webcast on this very topic for tomorrow, April 5th at 4 p.m. ET. More info on attending Innovation and the Future of Remote/Hybrid Work.

You can dig into remote work/telecommuting benchmarking survey data from: Employee Benefits Survey: 2020 Survey Results, Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 World—One-Year Update, and Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 World: Six-Month Update Survey Report.

Past blog posts are available on this topic including How to Navigate Remote Work and Help Employees Thrive in 2021, Remote Work Policy Check-in, and Tips for Building High-Performing Remote Teams.

Data from Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 World—One-Year Update

2. Flexible work hours/compressed workweeks
In 2020, half of organizations were offering flexible work hours/compressed workweeks.

Survey data on this topic is available from: Employee Benefits Survey: 2020 Survey Results, Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 World—One-Year Update, Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 World: Six-Month Update Survey Report, and Workplace Wellness Trends: 2019 Survey Report.

Related blog posts include: Best Benefits for Attracting and Retaining Workers and Building (or Reevaluating) a Benefits Package for Today’s and Tomorrow’s Workforce.

3. Paid family/caregiving leave
In 2020, 17% of organizations offered paid family/caregiving leave. Survey data is available from Employee Benefits Survey: 2020 Survey Results and Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 World—One-Year Update.

Information through InfoQuick can be obtained on this topic, and a couple past blog posts might also be helpful, including Why Caregivers Are Likely Your Best Employees, Which Benefits Drive Employee Satisfaction, Encourage Inclusivity and Flexibility With Proactive Employee Benefits.

The Foundation also released a podcast episode on Caregiving and the Workplace.

4. Summer hours
Fifteen percent of organizations reported offering this benefit in 2020. Summer hours is a topic covered in Employee Benefits Survey: 2020 Survey Results. These past blog posts also cover summer hours: 5 Free Perks Employees Will Love This Summer, and 5 Ways to Get Your Workplace Summer-Ready.

Other top innovative benefit offerings included mental health coverage, floating holidays, standing treadmill or stationary bike desks, employer-funded emergency savings accounts, educational assistance plans, child-care subsidies or on-site care.

Guess what benefit came in last, capturing only 5% of the votes for that round? You guessed it, “Take Your Child to Work Day.” Some of you could write entire blogs on this topic but no need to revisit!

Speaking of innovative benefits . . . National Employee Benefits Day is TOMORROW! April 5th. The Foundation will be highlighting strategies for preparing for the future of work, with benefits taking center stage. Benefits Madness provided a few innovative benefit offerings to start thinking about for helping attract, retain and develop talent.

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Anne Patterson

Marketing Communications Manager at the International Foundation

Favorite Foundation Product: Foundation Community. It’s like LinkedIn but only for Foundation members. They can post questions, share best practices, etcall with fellow members who also live and breathe employee benefits.

Benefits-related Topics That Interest Her Most: Workplace wellness (especially mental health), diversity, equity and inclusion, behavioral decision making, family-friendly benefits, payroll audits.

Personal Insight: When she’s not busy analyzing the inner workings of her toddler’s brain (does anyone actually know?!), Anne finds joy in home renovation and décor, haiku writing, watching Jeopardy, creating charcuterie boards, and bicycling.

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