Health Tips for Shift Workers

For shift workers, unconventional schedules can take a toll on health and safety. In fact, research shows that people who sleep during the day often struggle with getting an adequate amount of rest.

Wellness Wednesday: Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States, causing about 647,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That means that 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease

Benefits Insights: Dental Benefits

Although long insulated from employers’ cost-cutting efforts because of their low price, the rising cost of health coverage is now affecting dental benefits, according to industry experts. Troubled by high rates of inflation in their medical plans, some employers are scaling back on dental benefits. This is not necessarily the best move for employers, as workers tend to see the value in solid dental care. Many people make a positive connection between overall good health and maintaining their oral health. In addition, those with dental benefits may have a brighter view of their health and well-being in general. Dental benefits may seem like just another expense, but the risks of not providing dental benefits could be more costly—including significant medical expenses that could have been avoided and difficulty hiring premium talent due to a lacking benefits package.

Helping Employees Embrace Workplace Change

Workplace changes are common across all organizations. Although some employees may embrace various changes to company systems or procedures, most individuals find workplace changes to be confusing, stressful and overwhelming. In fact, a recent study found that 71% of employees who experienced a large company change within the last year were less satisfied with their job than those who experienced little to no change. 

HHS Increases Civil Penalties for HIPAA Violations

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published a final rule increasing the civil monetary penalties for violations of laws enforced by HHS, including the HIPAA privacy and security rules.

Supreme Court Declines to Expedite ACA Case

The United States Supreme Court denied motions to expedite consideration of Texas v. Azar, the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate.

Prioritizing wellness with FSA funds

It may be early in the year, but now is as good a time as any to start planning ahead so that you're not scrambling to use it all at the last minute. And if you're looking for a good way to utilize FSA funds, wellness is a good place to start. Keep in mind that your FSA funds can be used for your spouse and dependents too, so you can prioritize wellness for the whole family.

Stay Interviews

Employers are always seeking ways to retain their valuable employees. Unfortunately, it can be difficult figuring out exactly why workers jump ship. Instead of waiting for a two weeks’ notice, many employers are conducting stay interviews as a way to head off potential departures.

What Are Stay Interviews?

Stay interviews are usually once-a-year meetings conducted with each employee and their supervisor. Unlike performance reviews, these meetings focus on an existing employee’s attitude toward an organization.

Specifically, stay interviews attempt to discover the following:

·         What makes an employee want to work for the organization

·         What makes an employee want to stop working for the organization

·         What aspects of the organization need to be addressed to make working there more attractive to employees

Why Are Stay Interviews Important?

Stay interviews help employers discover issues before they manifest into employee departures. Moreover, they help employees feel heard by their employers—showing them that the employer cares enough about retaining them to improve workplace operations.

Giving employees this level of attention is critical, considering the tight labor market. Even if an employee is resolved to leave, understanding their motivations for doing so can help you retain other employees who may feel similarly. Stay interviews enable you to learn this information sooner and address those issues head-on.

What Do Stay Interviews Look Like?

Typically, managers or direct supervisors would conduct stay interviews with each of their employees. However, if the manager-employee relationship isn’t great, having another person—potentially from HR—conduct the interview would be better, as its results hinge on transparency from both parties.

Since the intent is to have a frank discussion about the employee’s disposition, whoever handles the interview must position it properly. Prior to and during the meeting, employees should understand they’re being interviewed because the employer wants them to be happy with their work environment—not to punish them for any qualms they may have with it.

The meetings do not need to be long, but they should all happen around the same time period. This way, managers can quickly assess all the feedback and implement changes as needed. To that end, consider holding stay interviews each year when your business cycle typically slows.

Sample Stay Interview Questions

What managers ask during a stay interview will differ depending on the organization and the employee, but here are a sample of questions that could be asked, sorted by category:

Questions About Motivations for Staying

·         What motivates you to work here?

·         What do you like most about your role?

·         What’s your favorite part of the workday?

·         If you had to rate how happy you are with your job, what would you give it on a 10-point scale?

·         Can you tell me about a good day at work you had recently?

·         If a close friend asked you why you work here, what would you tell them?

Questions About Motivations for Leaving

·         What demotivates you when working?

·         Can you describe a bad day you recently had at work?

·         What aspects of your day make your work life harder?

·         If you could choose, what aspect of your job would you change?

·         What are your thoughts in the morning on your way to work?

·         What do you like least about your job?

General Probing Questions

·         Do you feel appreciated?

·         If you could change any aspect of the organization or your job, what would it be?

·         What would cause you to consider leaving the organization?

·         Where do you see yourself in five years?

·         How do you prefer to receive recognition for hard work?

Addressing Feedback

After all the stay interviews are complete, managers should compile feedback and determine aspects to focus on. It’s important to take swift action, even if it’s just starting a longer process. If managers sit on the feedback too long, employees may feel like their voices were not heard and may not speak up in the future about how their feeling. 

If your organization cannot implement changes for whatever reason, be sure to communicate that to employees. Do your best to offer alternative solutions so employees know that their feedback was seriously considered.

Conclusion

Stay interviews are a way to show employees that you value their work and are committed to improving their work lives whenever possible. It’s important to reaffirm the purpose of the interviews so employees feel welcome to share their feedback, regardless of how negative it may be. Keep in mind that it’s better to hear tough feedback before an employee leaves than when they’re out the door. 

Speak with Better Business Planning, Inc. to learn about other workplace strategies that can help you retain valuable employees.

Source: Zywave, 2020. 

When a new job is part of your new year

If that's the case, I bet you're wondering what happens to your HSA. Don't worry — that money is rightfully yours. If you did switch employers, there are a few options for your HSA. However, figuring out what to do with the HSA funds can get complicated because it can depend on a variety of factors, such as if you have your HSA funds invested, or if you're no longer on a high-deductible health plan (HDHP).

Rolling it over or leaving it be?

It's up to you on what you want to do, but if your new employer offers a better HSA than the one you currently have, consider moving your money. If not, you can maintain your current HSA as long as the HSA plan allows it If you no longer have access to a plan which allows for active HSA contributions going forward, you'll still have access to any leftover HSA money if you need it (we'll discuss this later in the article).

If you do decide to transfer your funds to a new HSA you have two choices:

• Request a trustee to trustee transfer
• Complete an HSA roll over

The IRS allows you to roll over your HSA funds every 12 months and still maintain the tax-free status. After you request a rollover, your current HSA provider will either send you the money via bank transfer or by mailing a check. Once you receive the funds, you'll need to deposit that money into your new health savings account ASAP.

Okay, you technically have 60 days from when you receive the funds to deposit it into the new account, but you'll want to make sure you get it deposited within that deadline. Otherwise, the IRS will count the money as a taxable contribution, meaning you'll need to pay taxes on it. You'll also face a 20% penalty.

A trustee to trustee transfer doesn't require you to touch the funds nor is there a limit on how many times you can do this each year. What happens is that you request a transfer of funds from your current HSA provider and fill out the necessary paperwork.

Afterwards, the provider will take care of the rest. The funds should land in your new HSA provider without you doing anything else and you avoid any tax and penalties.

What if I don't have an HDHP anymore?

If you no longer have an HDHP with your new employer, you can't make any more contributions to the HSA. If you have access to an HSA-qualified HDHP at your new job, your employer may or may not offer you the option of a new HSA, so it's best to check on all of your options to find out what you should do. The good news is that, regardless of your situation, you can still use the money in your past HSA for qualified expenses tax-free, even if you are no longer eligible or able to contribute.

Here's the caveat: if you've already maxed out your HSA contributions and you no longer have an HDHP in the same calendar year, you may need to withdraw some of your contributions and pay taxes on the amount you take out. HSA annual maximums apply on a 12-month basis, so if you don't participate in an HSA-eligible plan for the full year, you may need to prorate the maximum. This only counts for money you've contributed in the same year you switched jobs.

And the cost?

Something else to consider is that rolling over or transferring your HSA funds can cost you money. Before making your decision, checking with your current HSA provider to see if there are any fees and what else you need to know.

At the end of the day, your HSA funds are still available to use for qualified medical expenses and you can keep it in there as long as you need to if you're intended on treating your HSA as an investment account.

Even better news? There are lots of highly qualified financial and tax professionals out there to help guide your through these complicated changed if you need.

Want to purchase guaranteed HSA-eligible items? Click here!

Source: Sarah Li Cain of HSAStore.com

Can I use my FSA for friends if they live with me?

If you have an FSA, you probably already know that you can benefit by using your pre-tax money to pay for qualified medical expenses. But many people who have an FSA also find themselves wondering if the funds can be used on other people, especially if their good friends might be facing some steep medical expenses.

Cyber Risks & Liabilities: Doxxing

In this day and age, the amount of information being stored online is constantly increasing. Some of this information may be confidential, and some may be so sensitive that a data breach could threaten the future of your business.

Are you done with your 2020 HSA budgeting?

The dreaded b-word — budgeting — isn't exactly exciting to think about. January is a time for renewal and it's a good idea to look back at how you used your HSA funds so that you can use the information to help you moving forward.