December 03, 2025
The post-COVID-19 work environment is undergoing drastic shifts. Among major change drivers are the sharp rise of remote and hybrid work, disruption from technological advancements, intergenerational differences in the labor force, and global socio-economic issues such as income inequality, as well as diversity and inclusion agendas. Despite these mega-trends, the employee benefits industry has lagged markedly in terms of innovation to keep up with the increasingly changing demands of employees.
This widening gap between traditional employee benefits and benefits that are truly responsive to employee demands is due to the long-standing approach of a product-first mindset where the starting point for industry players and organizations was to develop solutions and then work backward to fit these off-the-shelve generic products to employees’ needs. The consequences of this approach are dire, including high talent attrition and reduced loyalty, low employee engagement, diminishing productivity, damage to the employer brand, and wasted spend on underutilized benefits.