Time Away From Work: A Rebalancing Act

The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the interconnectedness of work and life. With work and life overlapping, concerns of burnout and employee retention have increased employee demand in time away from work benefits. Employers are looking to leverage time away from work benefits to attract and retain talent, often mixing and matching coverage to accommodate a range of employee’s needs. This can result in challenges for CFOs logistically when redistributing time within plans and calculating costs.

Modern time away from work

“Time Away” policies are evolving to encompass more than just paid vacation and standard holidays. More companies are including paid floating holidays to allow employees to “trade” traditional holidays for days off of their choosing. While other progressive leaders are scrapping the waiting period on vacation time and providing all days up front or offering unlimited time off to be used at the employees discretion. Policies can be mixed and matched to fit employees needs and the more options you have available the easier it is to create a time off package that is not only satisfying for employees but cost effective for employers. Finally, evolving paid leave plans are emerging as a leading indicator for progressive employers. Employers and individual states have been introducing new programs at a record pace.

A rebalancing act

The reality of today’s multi-generational workforce requires you to prepare for numerous life events when designing your firm’s time away from work plans. Employees expect benefits that adapt to various personal and professional needs, prevent burnout while showing empathy for employee’s mental health. By promoting work-life balance with strong time away benefits, you improve employee performance, satisfaction, and retention.

When was the last time your firm reevaluated your time away plans? Do you know how much you’re spending? The best way to generate significant cost savings is to reimagine and rebalancing these benefits, including sick time, vacation, disability, and more.

How I can help

At MMA, we have the unique ability to utilize our team of specialist thought leaders to help develop innovative time off solutions that maximize workforce productivity and reduce cost associated with absenteeism. Our team of ADL consultants can help prominent employers understand and manage the cost of employee absence, disability and life insurance programs.

Have questions about how to best manage your company’s benefits and rebalance for better cost savings? Email me at [email protected].