BENEFITS STRATEGIES
Disability Benefits Support Employees During Challenging Times
Now more than ever, employees are struggling with their holistic wellness, as well as work-life boundaries, and believe employers have a responsibility to help. And they’re looking to their employers to provide benefits and programs that support all aspects of their holistic well-being.
In fact, a significant number of employees rank disability insurance or absence-related programs as one of the most supportive benefits during COVID-19 . MetLife’s new disability survey fielded in April 2020 found that half (50 percent) of employees point to disability insurance (i.e., short-term, long-term) and 47 percent note family caregiver leave when asked what employer-offered benefits or programs would best support them or a loved one if they or a family member was unable to work due to a serious illness or injury during COVID-19 or a future pandemic.
However, many employees don’t currently feel like they have adequate coverage to feel protected through the pandemic. Approximately one-third of employees say they don’t feel like they have adequate disability insurance or family caregiver leave to feel protected through the pandemic (30 percent, 33 percent, respectively).
Disability insurance can help cover an employees’ expenses if they’re out of work due to illness or injury, and other return-to-work and wellness programs (i.e., flexible working hours, training programs, financial wellness programs) can provide support when employees are returning after an absence or illness.
48 percent of employees agree or strongly agree that the pandemic will increase their likelihood to enroll in these types of benefits and programs.
Employers, now more than ever, have an opportunity to increase communications to ensure employees understand how much they should have, and to provide a mix of benefits and stay-at-home/back-to-work programs to help alleviate employees’ concerns and support their holistic well-being and navigate work-life boundaries. This holistic support should also include stay-at-work and return-to-work programs (i.e., remote work options, flexible work schedules, reimbursement of home-based work tools and equipment) that help employees better navigate work-life blend in this challenging time.
Learn what employees are saying about disability insurance programs to better support them now and in the future.