Supporting Employees During the 2023-24 School Year
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
As summer comes to an end and fall begins, employees with school-age children may have increased caretaking responsibilities as their kids begin a new academic year. In addition to other day-to-day challenges, parents are now dealing with school pick-up and drop-off, unexpected sick days and other occurrences that could affect their work-life balance.
Employers can support employees during this transition into the school year by acknowledging these changes and offering flexibility. This article explores considerations for acknowledging and responding during the back-to-school season.
Supportive Leave Policies
As Americans continue to live with COVID-19 circulating just like the common cold and flu, illnesses are inevitable. Therefore, employers may want to review their leave policies. While an organization’s policies may accommodate employees who become ill, family members could also become sick. Employers should consider offering workplace flexibility that allows them to leave and care for their family members if needed. Some employers have leave policies that allow employees to take time off when they or their family members are sick or when they need to receive vaccines for these illnesses. With the back-to-school season approaching, employers may be reevaluating their current leave offerings to ensure they reflect these realistic needs.
Flexible Working Arrangements
Remember that life happens, and unexpected circumstances will arise. Employers can consider providing remote and hybrid work models when possible or as needed. Even when remote and hybrid work is not feasible, flexible scheduling can allow employees time for other tasks, such as dropping off or picking up their children from school.
Furthermore, the workplace could implement core hours that allow employees some leniency in when they can start and stop their days. Whichever accommodations an employer chooses, it’s important to communicate to employees that the company is willing to work around events that may arise in their lives. This assurance may reduce stress during the back-to-school transition and could positively impact employee retention. However, it’s important to note that accountability should come with flexibility, so employees must work out any arrangements with their managers and teams.
Resources for Caretakers
Family caregivers account for an estimated 18% to 22% of the U.S. labor force, according to the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers. Furthermore, nearly one-third of caregiver employees have voluntarily left a job at some point during their careers because of their caregiving responsibilities.
While it may not be feasible for all employers to directly provide caretaking services, they can help ensure their employees have access to such resources.
Employers may consider hosting a workshop, distributing a handout or otherwise providing information regarding caretaking resources. Even if there are no specific caregiving benefits available at an organization, managers or supervisors could simply ask working employees how they are doing during the back-to-school season. This kicks off an open dialogue, demonstrating an interest in how they’re doing as a person and helping reduce guilt about juggling personal and work responsibilities.
Many schools end between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., which means working parents might need child care for several hours or leave to handle it themselves. When school is closed due to holidays or professional development, working parents may have to find a secondary plan for those days while they’re still working. Helping employees feel supported during their search for caretakers or after-school programs for their children can go a long way in making them feel supported and may boost overall employee retention.
Takeaway
The back-to-school transition may initially seem misplaced to the workplace, but the reality is that many employees have school-age children and associated caretaking responsibilities. As a result, employers should prepare to be flexible, accommodate employees during this transition and provide relevant resources. These efforts can help make a difference and ultimately assist in appealing to and keeping workers during a time when attraction and retention are significant challenges for organizations.
Contact us for additional workplace resources.
- Published in Blog
Assessing the Viability of AI as a Self-diagnosis Tool
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has created revolutionary advances across many industries. Now, it’s paving its way as a tool to self-diagnosis medical conditions or get answers to health-related questions. Self-diagnosis is a growing practice, as people’s primary access point for health care information has shifted from professionals to the internet. Especially when you’re having trouble getting an appointment, the internet has proven itself as a fast, easily accessible and free source of information. Given the internet’s popularity in answering some of your most urgent health-related questions, you may wonder how AI can help. Keep in mind that while AI is new and exciting, it’s not a replacement for professional health care.
This article explores the use of generative AI for medical self-diagnosis and its benefits, limitations and viability.
Generative AI for Health Care
Generative AI is a type of technology that produces text, images, audio or other content. With the introduction of AI chatbots, more people may be turning to them to answer their health-related questions. Some common tools used for this purpose include OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Med-PaLM. These types of large language model (LLM) chatbots can predict the next word in a sequence to answer questions in a human-like style.
Amid a shortage of health care workers, bots could help answer your questions. Initial tests by researchers so far suggest these AI programs are more accurate than a standard Google search.
The Pros
AI tools can potentially reduce medical costs for patients and health care providers. Here are some more potential benefits of using generative AI for medical self-diagnosis:
- Increased accessibility
- Quicker triaging
- Boosted health literacy
- Preserved anonymity
All of these factors contribute to an enhanced patient experience and improved engagement. Chatbots are also considered easier to use than online symptom checkers.
The Cons
While generative AI has great potential, it’s important to understand that there are also some limitations and pitfalls, including the following:
- False information
- Misinterpretation of information
- Ethical concerns (e.g., data privacy and bias)
- Risk of ignoring medical advice
Due to these risks, some LLM chatbots include disclaimers that they shouldn’t be used to diagnose serious conditions, provide instructions for curing conditions or manage life-threatening issues.
Using Generative AI in Medical Self-diagnosis
While generative AI tools may help you quickly answer health-related questions and self-diagnosis conditions, relying solely on them could be unsafe. Similar to their use in other applications, AI tools are meant to be complimentary and an additional source of information. They are great sources for general information and help simplify it so you can be an educated health care consumer.
Generative AI is not a replacement for medical advice from a professional, but it can be used to supplement professional medical advice. If you plan to use AI to answer your nonurgent health-related questions, consider the following best practices:
- Be aware of the potential ethical concerns of AI-driven health care, such as data privacy.
- Verify the AI information with trusted medical sources.
- Consult a health care professional for conclusive diagnoses and treatment plans.
The Future of AI-assisted Self-diagnosis
According to data from business consultant Accenture, health care AI applications could save up to $150 billion annually for the U.S. health care economy by 2026. AI offers numerous potential benefits, but it’s important to recognize the limitations and concerns associated with medical self-diagnosis. Health care providers will likely strive to harness AI’s power instead of solely relying on it. By layering AI into health care systems and making them user-friendly, providers can gain access to insights to provide better care.
AI is in the early stages of its development. However, as it advances, the future of medical self-diagnosis will likely involve even greater collaboration between AI developers and health care providers.
Summary
In today’s digital world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed when researching health-related information. Obtaining accurate health advice and information comes down to using all available sources but understanding their limitations. LLM chatbots could take provider-AI collaboration and diagnosis to the next level, but it has yet to be seen.
While generative AI is not meant to replace professional health care, it can be a good supplementary source and help you increase your health literacy and get answers quicker. Contact your doctor for the most accurate and personalized health care information and guidance.
- Published in Blog
Educating Young Employees on Open Enrollment
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Many employees need help with open enrollment. This is particularly true among younger workers, who typically have less experience selecting benefits than older generations that have been in the workforce longer. A study by insurance and employee benefits provider MetLife found that 26% of Generation Z (Gen Z) employees are insecure about making benefits decisions.
Employers who successfully educate young employees about open enrollment are likely to find that workers are more satisfied with their benefits packages, make better financial decisions and are more likely to recommend their organization to other people. Such positive outcomes can significantly influence an organization’s overall financial performance.
To this end, employers can implement several strategies for educating young employees to help them navigate open enrollment.
Educating Young Employees
Clear communication is crucial to ensure workers understand the open enrollment process and the benefits they’re signing up for. Employers should consider the following strategies for educating younger employees on open enrollment:
- Prioritize internal communications. Young employees may be unfamiliar with the open enrollment process. Inform employees about the upcoming open enrollment through multiple channels (e.g., emails, flyers and meetings). Ensure every employee knows when open enrollment begins, the last day to complete enrollment and the consequences of failing to enroll in time.
- Create multiple avenues for communication. Ensure young workers know how to ask questions about open enrollment and feel comfortable speaking to HR and their managers about the upcoming enrollment. Encourage these employees to discuss their benefits plans with their friends, family and more experienced coworkers.
- Provide educational resources. Give workers the information they need to make informed benefits decisions during open enrollment. To target young workers, employers should provide digital resources such as online webinars, videos, social media posts and articles.
- Explain benefits options. Employees are likely to think primarily of health insurance during open enrollment and may overlook voluntary benefits that could be useful to them. Employers should provide information about employee benefits choices (e.g., pet insurance, student loan repayment assistance and employee assistance programs) so that young employees don’t forgo benefits they may want later in the year.
- Cater to employee needs. Young generations of workers have different benefits needs than older generations. For example, they’re more likely to prioritize mental health resources and student loan assistance over life insurance or financial planning for retirement. Employers should capitalize on the wants and needs of younger generations to educate them on benefits they care about.
- Encourage young employees to take their time. Rushing through open enrollment can cause workers to forgo crucial benefits. This is especially true of young workers, who may feel stressed or unsure of the open enrollment process. Give employees ample time to research and select their benefits and encourage them to ask questions.
- Communicate all year round. Benefits education should be more than a flurry of activity during the open enrollment window. Employers should provide employees with the resources they need to understand and maximize their benefits all year round, highlighting the direct financial impact benefits decisions can have on employees. This can help young workers understand the importance of open enrollment and the impact that rushing through the process can have on their financial well-being, increasing the likelihood that they’ll make informed benefits decisions when the time comes.
Conclusion
Open enrollment can be a nerve-wracking period for all employees. The stress of selecting benefits is often most keenly felt by younger workers with less experience selecting benefits. Employers can use open enrollment as an opportunity to increase communication and trust with young workers by educating them on the process and their benefits choices. This may increase younger generations’ satisfaction with their benefits packages and jobs, improving organizations’ employee attraction and retention and ultimately their bottom lines.
Contact us today for more information.
- Published in Blog
Learn Long and Prosper
By Ashley Snodgrass, Employee Benefits Analyst
Lifelong learning can be a topic so over discussed that the mere mention will cause eyes to roll. The phrase “lifelong learning” can take on a trite flavor, especially this time of year. With the month of May holding the flurry of end-of-school year celebrations, we may be reminded of our own past educational endeavors or hear rousing graduation speeches that signal the days of learning in the past. However, I encourage you to set aside your preconceived notions and open your mind to the possibilities if you were to incorporate intentional learning in your day-to-day life.
What’s the point? What is the reason some people are obsessed with lifelong learning? Let’s approach this from an academic perspective. The PEW Charitable Trusts published an article in 2020 questioning, “Lifelong Learning Will Be the New Normal – But Are We Ready?”. The article explains how as humans live longer lives, our work lives could be extended beyond the typical retirement age of 65. Further, the author discusses the impacts of the increasing presence of technology. The need for “T-Shaped Individuals” will increase, as workers will need a combination of “technical knowledge + human skills”. While this article dives deep into these ideas, my goal is to make some suggestions for ways to incorporate learning as a habit into daily life.
In the digital world, the stream of content can be overwhelming. I would suggest choosing a specific area of study that you are interested in, then choose a medium that best can fit into your life. Topics to study could range from a technical topic to help in your work life, to parenting, current events, history, productivity, nutrition, latest scientific advances, and more.
As for how to consume all this great information; the choices can be overwhelming. Here are some suggestions for platforms to help you add more learning to your life every day:
For the LISTENERS
- Audible for audiobooks.
- Libby to rent audiobooks from your local library.
- Podcasts (Many platforms like Apple, Spotify, Overcast, Podbeam, etc.) to learn about science, history, politics, and so much more. A fantastic podcast dedicated to lifelong learning is Ologies.
For the READERS
- Blinkist to read or listen to book summaries if you’re short on time (or attention).
For the WATCHERS
- YouTube look up TedTalks or content on any subject that interests you. Some great educational channels for adults are Smarter Every Day, Veritasium, and Kurzgesagt.
- Skillshare is a platform where you can learn anything from plant care to cookie photography tips to Excel best practices.
- Masterclass is another platform with classes taught by celebrities and well-known professionals, such as cooking with Gordon Ramsey or writing with Judy Blume.
I’ll end with one final thought. It was Henry Ford who famously said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”
- Published in Blog