Industry Trends
Stay Current with the Latest Research from Industry Experts

American workers are getting less and less healthy. That's the upshot of a new report issued by the Families and Work Institute (FWI). The report, entitled The State of Health in the American Workforce, shares a number of key findings, including:

• The number of employees reporting that their overall health is "excellent" is down (28% today versus 34% six years ago).
• 41% of employees report experiencing three or more indicators of stress sometimes, often or very often.
• One in three employees is experiencing one or more symptoms of clinical depression.
• 49% have not engaged in regular physical exercise in the last 30 days.
• Despite a push in the workplace to stop smoking, one in four workers smokes.

You can read the FWI's press release and download a copy of the full report here.

Elder care in the workplace is an important issue for employers. Recently, the Sloan Work and Family Research Network updated its Effective Workplace Series on Elder Care. If you are looking to build a business case for offering an elder care benefit, you can find valuable information about how elder care concerns impact your employees and why organizations are providing elder care supports by reading the full report here.

How do Americans feel about their jobs … and the American Dream? You can find out by reading the 2009 MetLife Study of the American Dream, which shows that half of all Americans surveyed say they could only meet their financial obligations for one month if they lost their job—and most believe they are already working as hard or harder than ever just to get by. According to the study, job stability is now a primary concern for many American workers and the American Dream is now focused on the desire to end 2009 financially solvent, with jobs and homes intact. Access the study here.

Looking for bold new program ideas? The Families and Work Institute has issued the 2009 Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work, an informative reference guide highlighting some of the most creative workplace programs and practices in the country. It details innovative approaches for creating effective and flexible workplaces that benefit employees while also helping employers achieve business results, address organizational opportunities and challenges and respond to a faltering economy. An electronic version of the 2009 Guide is available free from the Families and Work Institute.

Encourage employees to sign living wills. Recently, Employee Benefit News published an appeal to HR professionals asking them to encourage employees within their organizations to sign living wills. The article stated, "As HR/benefits professionals, you have a unique opportunity to create more awareness about such treatment directives as you communicate with and educate employees about their health care options during annual enrollment." The article went on to say that individuals who don't make their care-related wishes known essentially fail to empower themselves and their loved ones, enabling treatment decisions to be made they may not agree with. Read the EBN piece here.