Employers are now expecting an increased level of demanded support from their employees across a variety of issues, including in fertility, addiction, gender identity and neurodiversity.
Although traditional areas of heath and wellbeing support are still expected to see a rise in demand, the new research from Towergate Health & Protection is foreseeing an increased focus now on much wider and diverse needs.
“The areas in which employees want or need support have reached a level where employers themselves need help in managing the options.” says Debra Clark, head of wellbeing at Towergate Health & Protection.
This research has highlighted that the issue for today’s employers lies with sourcing out the most appropriate and suitable support.
Thankfully, an increasing number of healthcare providers now offer a wider range of specialist support, including gender-specific care, fertility and menopause support. Dedicated eldercare providers are available to help navigate the often-difficult caring system, and specialist companies can provide support for neurodiversity.
In Towergate’s survey, the answer to the question, ‘in the coming year, which of the following areas, if any, do you think you will see an increased demand for support?’, highlighted many areas of struggle for employees.
Mental health ranked first (41%). The list also featured many health-related and caring issues, such as health screening (30%), serious illness such as cancer and heart disease (19%), and female (20%) and male (16%) gender-specific support.
Clark continues, “today’s employer is supporting employees through situations that are outside of the traditional employee benefits sphere, and what is perhaps most staggering is the sheer range of areas that an employer may now be expected to assist. Employers should remember that they are not alone and that there are experts available to help them through the process of supporting their employees.”
While interesting research for employers to be aware of, this new data also suggests that employees are personally experiencing insufficient support in these areas, or are facing more health-related concerns that are impacting their work.