Nominate your favorite benefit manager for the industry's top award
The winner of our Benefits Professional of the Year award receives a cash reward of $3,000 and $1,000 in travel expenses to attend the Benefits Management Forum & Expo in September.
Each of the other three leadership award winners will receive $1,000 and $750 in travel expenses. Apply today; the deadline is June 15!
Also, read the profiles of last year's Benny winners:
- Mark Gow, HR director at IAP Worldwide Services
- Jeanette Cimino, director of global benefits/HR information systems at AES Corp
- MaryAnn Holbert, director of compensation/ benefits at Legacy Health System
- Tami Graham, global benefits manager at Intel
- Maria Curran, VP of HR at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
Dads say employers can help more with work/life balance
Managing family life is often more challenging than managing a career, say working fathers and mothers in a recent survey by Adecco, an HR staffing company, just in time for Father's Day.
Of the more than 2,000 men and women surveyed, the majority of fathers (64%) and mothers (71%) agreed that managing family priorities posed a greater challenge, compared to professional obligations.
Yet more than half of the dads surveyed (55%) thought that companies should do more to promote work/life balance, Adecco notes. The number of fathers who consider home life to be the bigger priority suggests that modern dads are shouldering an equal share of family responsibilities.
"The perception that the work/life balancing act is mainly a female struggle no longer holds up in today's workplace," says Rich Thompson, vice president of training and development at Adecco. He adds that employers need to be conscious of dads' new levels of shared responsibility when offering work/life balance programs to employees.
Related EBN coverage:
Dealing with Gen Y: Join EBN's Web discussion
What is the best way to deal with Generation Y? How should we help this latest generation climb the corporate ladder and interact with their Gen X and Baby Boomer colleagues?
Tune in for the EBNC/EBN/EBA's first "Friday Fray" lunch speaker series. We've got three great speakers lined up for this event:
- Anna Ivey, Gen Y expert, admissions counselor and author of the blog "The Ivey Files."
- Denise Foster, principal at Milliman and a communication expert.
- Paul Harrietha, principal and communications consultant at Eckler Ltd. in Toronto.
Related EBN coverage:
Obesity yields extra medical costs and lower quality of life
New research published in the journal Obesity shows that a 20-year-old who is obese (at least 30 pounds overweight) can expect to pay over a life time about $5,000 to $22,000 more in medical bills, compared to an average-sized individual.
In addition, depending on factors such as gender and race, those extra medical costs can be as high as $29,000 for the extremely obese, according to the study, USA Today reports.
The one-third of Americans who are obese run a higher risk of heart disease, cancer and Type II diabetes, as well as other costly medical conditions, says Eric Finkelstein, the study's lead researcher. Obese employees tend to miss more days of work and have a lower quality of life.
Related EBN coverage:
Gov't launches Social Security debit cards
Social Security beneficiaries can now receive their payments on a debit card, rather than waiting for a paper check, the Washington Post reports.
The U.S. Treasury Department is trying to persuade the more than 10 million people who still receive a check to switch to a debit card. What's more, nearly four million Social Security or Supplemental Security Income recipients do not have a bank account. An individual does not need a bank account in order to use the card.
The Direct Express card functions like a regular debit card at any ATM, bank or retailer that accepts MasterCard. The card is free to acquire and use, says Judith Tillman, commissioner of the agency's financial management service. (Sign up for a Direct Express card)
Beneficiaries can avoid check-cashing fees, and the government could save about $42 million per year, Treasury officials note.
Related EBN coverage:
New Web site provides salary information
Glassdoor.com, a Web site launched recently by Zillow.com founder Rich Barton, allows employees to view and share reviews and salary information anonymously, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Employees can provide a review of their company or executives, as well as their own compensation. The site is free, and the information is posted anonymously, although Glassdoor fact-checkers can investigate suspicious or important posted information.
The greater transparency between firms, including high-profile companies such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo! and Cisco Systems, could give employees greater leverage in salary negotiations and job research, the WSJ notes.
Although Glassdoor has entered into competition with similar sites, such as Jobster.com, Vault.com and Salary.com, it is unique in that it is not a recruitment site, so a company "can't threaten to not list jobs there if they see bad things," says Henry Harteveldt, an e-business analyst with Forrester Research in San Francisco.
Related EBN coverage:
