Latest news with #workplacebenefits
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
The caregiving crisis: Why paid leave is becoming a make-or-break workplace benefit
As caregiving duties have increasingly impacted workers of all generations, business owners and company managers are facing a critical moment. A new report from Prudential Financial featured in an HRDive article warns that corporations risk losing valuable talent if they don't offer a paid caregiving leave benefit. According to Prudential's study of nearly 3,000 permanent personnel and 750 U.S. proprietors, paid caregiving leave is swiftly evolving as one of the most sought-after workplace paybacks. Yet, only 52% of companies presently provide it. 'Caregiving isn't a niche issue — it's a workplace reality,' said Michael Estep, president of Prudential Group Insurance. 'Employees across every demographic are asking for paid leave, and employers who don't respond risk losing talent.' While countless businesses have incorporated paid parental leave (89%) and military leave (55%), caregiving and pregnancy loss leave still lag, provided by just more than half of employers. The divide is conspicuous. Notwithstanding 63% of corporations saying they offer paid leave, a third of employees report they wanted free time for family or medical reasons but couldn't take it. Major barriers consist of financial pressures, humiliation, fear of losing impetus in one's career, and guilt for saddling additional work on coworkers. Managers aren't without apprehensions and anxieties of their own. Although 69% admit that paid leave completely influences business results, such as productivity, employee morale, and retention, they remain cautious about probable abuse and usually depend on unpaid leave or short-range disability programs as an alternative. The answer, Prudential suggests, lies in effective and better communication, and a more calculated style of management. Workers say they want clear-cut explanations of their benefits. Simultaneously, employers are seeking direction to effectively steer multifaceted and wide-ranging state leave regulations. 'Embracing paid leave as an essential benefit that supports the well-being of caregivers in the workplace can be a powerful strategy to attract and retain talented workers,' Estep said. 'It also supports them in ways that boost satisfaction, loyalty, and performance.' The caregiving crunch is hitting some groups harder than others. Half of mothers in the purported 'sandwich generation,' those caring for both children and ageing parents, say they were compelled to leave a job due to caregiving demands, according to a different report conducted by Motherly and the University of Phoenix Career Institute. Two-thirds say their employers' benefits don't effectively support their caregiving tasks, whether for children or older dependent relatives. As parental leave becomes more of the norm, specialists believe firms will start developing comprehensive caregiving benefits. Specifically, flexible work arrangements are evolving as a rescue for workers who juggle double caregiving roles. In today's workplaces, paid caregiving leave is no longer an indulgence; it's a requirement. For establishments that want to keep valuable talent, the message is clear — support your caregivers, or you lose them.
National Post
17-06-2025
- Health
- National Post
June Health Launches to Redefine Women's Health as a Strategic Employer Benefit
Article content Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Article content Employers in Canada can now close the care gap for women in the workforce through timely access to expert-led, integrated care and convenient treatment options Article content Article content TORONTO — June Health, a comprehensive virtual care platform built specifically to serve women's health needs, today announced its national launch. June Health offers coordinated, clinically rigorous medical and lifestyle-oriented care tailored to perimenopause and midlife health. The multidisciplinary solution, which is the first to provide benefits navigation and include pharmacy and marketplace integrations, is available to individuals and offered as a modern workplace benefit for progressive employers, insurers, and health provider networks. Article content For employers, June Health offers a ready-to-deploy benefit that complements existing health plans, reduces healthcare costs, and drives measurable workforce ROI. Article content Women over 40 represent the fastest-growing segment of the workforce, yet most health benefit programs still fail to directly address the complex and interconnected health needs of this population. June Health changes this through a convenient digital platform that provides virtual clinical care, on-demand treatment and benefits coordination, AI-powered navigation, a digital pharmacy, expert-vetted health supplements, and women's mental health support – all in one seamless user experience. Article content 'Untreated perimenopause is a silent productivity and retention crisis that hits companies where it hurts – in absenteeism, burnout, and talent attrition. June is purpose-built to solve this clinically, digitally, and operationally at scale,' said Lori Casselman, founder and CEO of June Health. 'The unfortunate reality is that timely access to expert midlife care is out of reach for many women, and employers have a tremendous opportunity to be part of the solution. It's a necessary evolution of healthcare benefits, which are built to support the health needs of an entire workforce.' Article content A Platform Designed for Employers. A Model Built for Real Life. Article content Unlike generic telehealth or symptom-based consumer apps, June Health delivers a full-stack care model centered around managing the common and often debilitating health symptoms associated with perimenopause. The platform combines the convenience of virtual care with the credibility of a multidisciplinary team of health experts, including physicians, nurse practitioners, dietitians, mental health professionals, and naturopaths – trained and credentialed in the science and lived experience of women. Article content For employers, Article content June offers a ready-to-deploy benefit that complements existing health plans, reduces healthcare costs, and drives measurable workforce ROI. With the Canadian economy losing an estimated Article content $3.5 billion annually Article content due to unaddressed menopause symptoms, June Health helps employers tackle one of the last remaining frontiers in inclusive, high-impact benefits design. Article content 'Perimenopause can last up to 10 years, presents with over 40 common symptoms, and affects everything from cognitive function to cardiovascular health,' said Dr. Romy Nitsch, Medical Director at June Health. 'It's time we stopped treating this as a lifestyle issue and started addressing it as the complex medical phase it truly is. Our team delivers evidence-based care that reflects the whole woman – her biology, her stress load, and her full healthcare needs.' Article content How June Works: A Tech-Enabled Ecosystem for Women's Health Article content June isn't just virtual care, it's a connected care ecosystem. The platform's unique service architecture ensures that women receive timely, personalized, empathetic, proactive, and continuous support throughout their health journey. Key features include: Article content Intelligent Triage and Clinical Matching – A proprietary intake system that rapidly assesses symptoms and connects members to the right specialists at the right time. Multidisciplinary Clinical Team – Access to a co-ordinated team of certified women's health experts, including physicians, naturopaths, registered dietitians, mental health professionals, weight management and fitness specialists, and more. Delivered through convenient virtual appointments tailored to busy lives. Dedicated Care Coordinators – Personal care advocates help women navigate coverage, treatment options, and provider referrals, taking the friction out of care. Integrated Pharmacy and Supplement Marketplace – Curated, clinically-backed products delivered to members' doors via seamless in-app ordering. Community and Education Hub – On-demand programs, peer support, and trusted resources designed for the midlife experience. AI-Powered Assistant: Ask June – A 24/7 smart concierge offering real-time guidance, symptom tracking, care navigation, and escalation to human care when needed. Article content 10 million women in Canada Article content are navigating midlife health changes, many in silence and without the support of trained clinicians who understand the issues they face. June Health exists to change that, not only by delivering personalized, expert care to women, but by helping forward-looking employers become part of the solution. Article content June Health was founded by Article content Lori Casselman Article content , an experienced healthcare executive who saw firsthand how the healthcare system and employee benefit models have failed to address the serious health symptoms women navigate through midlife. With leadership experience at Sun Life, Telus Health, and as former Chief Health Officer at League, Lori recognized a pressing opportunity to build a more personalized, clinically rigorous, and scalable solution. Article content To bring this vision to life, she partnered with Dr. Romy Nitsch, MD, MHSc, Medical Director and Deputy Department Head, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Queen's University; and Fazlin Bandali, a seasoned operator with a decade of experience at Shopify, following several early-stage tech startup roles. Together, this multidisciplinary team brings expertise across healthcare and insurance, clinical excellence, and digital product innovation to uniquely position June Health to lead this category. Article content Employers that want to offer June Health as a workplace benefit can contact June Health at support@ or Article content June Health is Canada's first fully integrated virtual care platform dedicated to midlife women's health. Purpose-built to support employers, health plans, and providers, June offers end-to-end clinical support, AI-powered care navigation, pharmacy integration, and a curated digital health marketplace. June is on a mission to close the midlife care gap and make personalized, expert care accessible for every woman — whenever and wherever she needs it. Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media Contact: Article content Article content Article content Article content
CTV News
03-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Think you can't negotiate work benefits? You can if you get creative, experts say
Andrew Ostro, co-founder of PolicyMe, seen in this handout photo, says any workplace benefits plan that covers north of 75 per cent of the health expenses is considered strong. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - PolicyMe Not all workplace benefits plans are created equal. Experts say it's important to understand what's in the plan before signing a contract at a new job, and whether there's room to negotiate some extra perks better tailored to your life. 'Sometimes, benefits programs can seem really bright and shiny on the outside but dig into the details and ask questions,' said Jillian Climie, a compensation expert and co-founder of Vancouver-based consulting company The Thoughtful Co. Generally, Climie said, a core workplace benefits package should include not only health care and dental benefits but also disability coverage and life insurance. However, most of it comes down to a company's compensation philosophy and how it plans on supporting workers, she added. Canadian companies usually opt for structured programs from providers such as Manulife, Sun Life or Canada Life, among others. While those types of plans have less room to negotiate — if any room at all — Climie said it's important to take a closer look and see what's in there for you. 'It's always worth going into the details if you have a certain prescription,' she said. If there are additional medication coverage needs, those should be brought up and negotiated outside of the provided plan. Some companies can also offer a chunk of money as part of a health care spending account that can be used toward health or dental benefits — and can be negotiated, Climie said. 'A lot of people don't think about negotiating them, but they can be negotiated,' she said. Andrew Ostro, co-founder of digital insurance provider PolicyMe, said it's common for new employees to compare their previous workplace package with the new workplace coverage. If the new package falls short, he said people can ask the company for extra annual cash in health spending so they can buy private coverage outside of their work plan. 'The easiest thing to do would be: 'I need additional compensation outside of the benefit package to buy my own private health care,'' he said. 'So maybe, you negotiate and say, 'My expenses are too high, my dental expenses are really high. This plan isn't covering me sufficiently for what I need.'' Usually, any plan that covers north of 75 per cent of the health expenses is considered a strong plan, Ostro said. Looking closely at disability coverage is also important, Ostro said. 'That's one of the biggest risks for an individual that is typically hard or expensive to cover outside of work,' he said. Ostro said a few key terms can dictate the robustness of disability coverage. For instance, some long-term disability plans define occupation as any work — at or outside the main job. If a worker can no longer do the job at work but finds a second lower-skilled job to get by, the insurance company could refuse to provide disability coverage. Ostro said it's also important to look at the length of the disability coverage — whether it's two years or up until the age of 65, for instance. But there's room to be creative beyond what's in those structured packages. Climie said work-life balance sits at the heart of benefits negotiations for many young workers. There are pieces such as negotiating sabbaticals, professional development coaching, parental leave policies and even fertility benefits for both sexes. 'I'm seeing people get really creative on the different things that are important to them and they minimize different friction points in the workplace,' she said. For instance, getting a parking allowance negotiated when driving to downtown Toronto for work every day of the week. 'Those are where it's more individualized to you and you can see what's negotiable based on what you're really looking for,' Climie said. It all comes down to asking the right questions and weeding out any red flags before signing on the dotted line. 'Ask for the benefits package if they haven't provided it to you already. Review it in detail. Take your time. Don't be rushed by them. And make sure you understand how it works,' Climie said. 'It's a huge decision to join a new job, so make sure you have all the information that you need.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025. Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press
