Why the right benefits can help women stay in the workforce and advance their careers
By: Jennifer Schaefer, MBA, ChFC, CLU, RHU, REBC, SHRM-SCP
Founder & CEO, JS Benefits Group | Forbes Business Council Contributor | Co-Host, Executive Leaders Radio
Women don’t leave the workforce for just one reason.
Sometimes it is childcare. Sometimes it is caring for an aging parent. Sometimes it is the cost of healthcare, a lack of flexibility, burnout or simply reaching a point where the demands of work and life no longer feel manageable.
Employers can’t eliminate all of those pressures. But they can make it easier for employees to stay by offering benefits that recognize the realities of people’s lives.
That is why I believe voluntary employee benefits deserve more attention. The right benefits package can provide employees with additional protection and flexibility without requiring an employer to carry the entire cost of every benefit.
More importantly, benefits can send a message about what an employer values.
Benefits Are About More Than Health Insurance
When people hear “employee benefits,” health insurance is usually the first thing that comes to mind.
It is certainly important. For many employees, it is one of the most valuable parts of their compensation.
But women, like all employees, have financial and personal needs that go well beyond medical insurance.
Disability coverage can become critical if someone cannot work because of an illness or injury. Life insurance can provide protection for a family. Supplemental health benefits can help with unexpected expenses. Retirement benefits can influence long-term financial security.
These benefits may not seem especially important when everything is going well.
They can become extremely important when something changes.
That is why employers should think about benefits as a broader form of financial protection rather than simply an insurance expense.
The Career Impact of Life Outside of Work
One of the challenges women often face is that professional responsibilities don’t exist separately from personal responsibilities.
An employee may be building a career while raising children. She may be managing a demanding job while helping an aging parent. She may be supporting a spouse or dealing with a major change in her own health.
None of those responsibilities necessarily make someone less committed to their career.
But they can make flexibility and support much more important.
Employers that understand this don’t have to lower expectations or create special treatment for individual employees.
They can build policies and benefits that recognize employees have lives outside the office.
That can make a meaningful difference.
Flexibility Can Be a Retention Tool
Flexible work arrangements have become an important part of the conversation around attracting and retaining employees.
But flexibility doesn’t necessarily mean everyone works remotely all the time.
It might mean allowing an employee to adjust their schedule for a medical appointment. It might mean having the ability to work from home occasionally when a family situation requires it. It might mean offering paid time off that employees can actually use without feeling guilty.
The right approach will depend on the business.
A manufacturing company can’t necessarily offer the same flexibility as a technology company. A healthcare organization has different staffing requirements than a professional services firm.
But almost every employer can ask the same question:
Where can we create flexibility without compromising the needs of the business?
That question can lead to better solutions than simply assuming flexibility isn’t possible.
Benefits Can Help During the Years When Employees Have the Most Demands
There are periods in life when employees may be dealing with multiple responsibilities at the same time.
Children may be young and require significant attention. Parents may be getting older and need additional care. Career responsibilities may also be increasing.
For some women, this can be the point where staying in a demanding career becomes much harder.
Employers may not be able to change everything happening in an employee’s personal life.
But they can make the workplace one less source of unnecessary stress.
That can include good health insurance, paid leave, disability coverage, employee assistance resources, wellness programs and flexible work policies.
None of these benefits solves every problem.
But together, they can create a workplace where employees have more support when life becomes complicated.
Wellness Shouldn’t Be Treated as a Perk
Corporate wellness programs are sometimes viewed as an extra perk that sounds good during recruiting but doesn’t have much impact on employees’ daily lives.
That doesn’t have to be the case.
A well-designed corporate wellness program can address areas such as preventive health, stress management, nutrition, physical activity and overall wellbeing.
The important word is “designed.”
A wellness program shouldn’t simply be a collection of challenges or activities that employees are expected to participate in.
It should be connected to what employees actually need.
If employees are overwhelmed, a program focused entirely on fitness may miss the bigger issue. If employees are struggling with financial stress, an employer may need to consider financial wellness alongside physical wellness.
Wellness works better when employers look at the whole person.
Don’t Make Women Choose Between Their Careers and Their Families
One of the most damaging assumptions an employer can make is that an employee who needs flexibility is less ambitious.
The opposite can be true.
An employee may be highly committed to her career and still need flexibility because she has a child at home or a parent who needs help.
Those responsibilities don’t cancel out professional ambition.
In fact, an employer that makes it possible for employees to navigate both may be more likely to retain experienced people who have already invested years in their careers.
The alternative can be expensive.
When a highly experienced employee leaves, the organization loses knowledge, relationships and productivity. Recruiting a replacement takes time, and training someone new takes even longer.
Supporting an employee through a challenging period may be much less expensive than replacing her.
Benefits Should Reflect Different Stages of Life
There is no single benefits package that will appeal equally to every employee.
Someone just starting her career may be focused on health insurance, student debt and building retirement savings.
Someone raising children may care deeply about family healthcare costs, paid leave and flexibility.
Someone caring for an aging parent may place greater value on flexibility, disability protection and resources that help with caregiving.
Someone approaching retirement may be focused on healthcare, retirement planning and financial security.
The needs are different.
That doesn’t mean employers need to offer every possible benefit.
It means they should understand the people they employ.
Employee surveys, benefits utilization data and conversations with HR can help employers determine what employees actually value rather than assuming they know.
Communication Is Part of the Benefit
Even a strong benefits package can lose its value if employees don’t understand it.
This happens more often than employers might think.
Employees receive a benefits guide during open enrollment, make their selections and then may not think about their benefits again until they need them.
By that point, they may not remember what is available or where to get help.
Employers should communicate benefits throughout the year.
That might mean explaining disability coverage before an employee needs it. It might mean reminding employees about wellness resources or making sure they understand how their health plan works.
Good communication also helps employees understand that benefits are part of their total compensation.
If an employer is investing heavily in healthcare and other benefits, employees should understand the value of that investment.
Don’t Forget the Financial Side
Financial stress can affect employees in ways that aren’t always visible to their employers.
Someone may be worried about medical bills, childcare expenses, supporting parents or simply having enough money set aside for an unexpected event.
That stress doesn’t disappear when the employee walks into the office.
Employers don’t have to solve every financial problem their employees face.
But benefits can provide important protections.
Disability insurance, life insurance, retirement plans, health savings accounts and other benefits can help employees build greater financial security.
Voluntary benefits can also give employees opportunities to purchase additional coverage that fits their individual circumstances.
The key is giving employees choices without overwhelming them.
Retention Is About More Than Salary
Salary will always be an important part of the employment equation.
But employees don’t make career decisions based on salary alone.
They consider their manager. Their workload. Their opportunities. Their flexibility. Their culture. Their commute. Their benefits. And increasingly, whether the employer understands that they have a life outside of work.
A company doesn’t need to offer the most generous benefits package in its industry.
It needs to offer a package that makes sense for its workforce and supports the kind of workplace it is trying to create.
That distinction matters.
An employer might spend less on benefits but provide employees with benefits that are more useful and easier to understand.
Another employer might spend substantially more but have a benefits package employees barely understand.
More isn’t always better.
Relevant is better.
The Benefits Conversation Should Include Women at the Table
Employers should also make sure women have a voice in conversations about workplace benefits.
That means listening to female employees and understanding the issues that affect them.
What benefits do they value?
Where are the gaps?
What makes it harder for them to stay?
What would make the workplace more sustainable over the long term?
The answers won’t be identical for every woman.
But asking the questions is important.
Benefits strategy should be based on the actual workforce rather than assumptions about what employees need.
Supporting Women Is Good for Employees and Employers
There is a tendency to talk about employee-friendly benefits as though they are purely an expense for the employer.
That’s an incomplete way to look at it.
A company that retains experienced employees avoids some of the costs associated with turnover. A company that supports employees through difficult periods may preserve valuable institutional knowledge. A company that offers benefits employees understand and appreciate may strengthen the overall employee experience.
There is a business case for treating employees well.
But there is also a human case.
People spend a significant portion of their lives working. They shouldn’t have to pretend the rest of their lives don’t exist.
The best employers understand that.
Benefits Should Support the Whole Person
The future of employee benefits isn’t simply about adding more programs.
It’s about being more thoughtful about what employees actually need.
For women, that can mean benefits that provide financial protection, healthcare support, flexibility and resources during different stages of life.
It can mean recognizing that a woman caring for an aging parent is still ambitious.
It can mean understanding that a new mother can be committed to her career while also needing flexibility.
It can mean creating a workplace where asking for help during a difficult period doesn’t automatically feel like a career setback.
Employers can’t remove every challenge their employees face.
But they can make the workplace more supportive of the lives employees are actually living.
And when companies do that well, the result isn’t simply a better benefits package.
It can be a stronger workforce, greater employee loyalty and more experienced people choosing to stay.
About the Author
Jennifer Schaefer, MBA, ChFC, CLU, RHU, REBC, SHRM-SCP is the Founder and CEO of JS Benefits Group, an employee benefits consulting firm that helps employers develop competitive benefits strategies, manage healthcare costs and create benefits programs that support both their organizations and their employees.
Jennifer works with employers on health plan strategy, cost containment, voluntary benefits, corporate wellness, employee education, benefits technology and compliance. She is a Forbes Business Council Contributor and Co-Host of Executive Leaders Radio, where she discusses employee benefits, leadership, workplace trends and the future of work.
