Millions of Americans make New Year's resolutions and head into January feeling capable and motivated. Yet, many struggle to sustain progress toward their goals, and nearly 80% give up entirely by mid-February.
As an employer, this provides a unique opportunity for timely benefits education. Your employee's top three goals for the New Year may be aligned with the wellbeing initiatives you already have in place.
The New Year is a great time to communicate with your employees about taking advantage of their valuable workplace benefits to help meet their goals (and avoid that February flop).
Explore employees top three goals and how your organization can align your benefits communication strategy to drive benefits momentum right out of the gate.
1. Get healthy.
Consistently holding the top spot as the most popular New Year's resolution: the commitment to "get healthy." This objective can encompass a range of healthy behavior changes, from exercising more to eating less junk food to kicking harmful habits like smoking or drinking alcohol. And, mental health practices like self-care are also becoming leading wellness priorities, too.
If an employee's goal is to get healthy, it's the perfect time to communicate the physical and mental wellbeing benefits you offer. Highlight your HSA, talk about telemedicine, or provide links to free online yoga, meditations, or therapy offerings.
2. Save more, spend less, and get out of debt.
One in three Americans intend to make a financial resolution for the year ahead. Even for high earners, goals like sticking to a budget, saving up an emergency fund, and paying down debt are the front-runners. This is because 49% of employees report difficulty in meeting household expenses on time each month.
For employees who resolve to save more, spend less, or get out of debt, offer resources that help them build a healthy financial foundation. Many companies provide financial wellbeing as an employee benefit, with guidance around budgeting, cashflow management, credit card debt, and student loans.
To really amp up your support, offer access to unbiased Certified Financial Planner® professionals who can help employees one-on-one.
Programs like LearnLux provide both digital + human guidance to help employees keep their financial resolutions (+ help them hit those long-term goals like retirement readiness, too).
3. Learn a new skill or take up a hobby.
Leadership and Development professionals, this one's for you! The New Year is a time when many employees reflect on what they accomplished in the past 365 days, and how they can invest in their own personal and professional advancement. The recent shift to remote work and technology-heavy career trajectories may bring extra employee uncertainty around the future of work and their skills becoming outdated.
As a result, the first few months of the new year present a great opportunity to upskill staff and expand their capabilities. Professional development is great for morale, leads to less turnover, and can help people professionals identify top performers. Launching a communication campaign around the resources you offer will be well received this time of year, and can create great momentum among your workforce.