Labor Day is more than a day off; supported employees improve business

These days, Labor Day is the unofficial bookend of summer, hallmarked by backyard cookouts, sun-soaked road trips and bargain shopping. But its original purpose was to honor the country’s labor force and celebrate its production, innovation and achievements.

In that spirit, employers can do more than grant employees an additional paid holiday per year. WorkLife Partnership, a one-of-a-kind employee benefit program, asks business leaders to reflect on how they’re meeting the needs of their workers, and what more they can do to help workers be more present physically and mentally at work. Right now, the country’s labor force faces an abundance of challenges both in and outside the workplace, from rising housing costs to medical debt to feeling burnt out on the job. At the same time, employers are trying to re-engage workers who are struggling more and more with mental health issues.

“Employers who start investing in the ‘whole person’ will gain the competitive advantage by creating a thriving workforce who are capable of fully showing up to work and delivering upon the business promise to consumers,” said Liddy Romero, founder and CEO of WorkLife Partnership. “When employees are supported with life’s challenges and opportunities, they can better meet their potential at work.” 

Goodwill of Northwest Oklahoma, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK employes nearly 1000 workers. It incorporated WorkLife Partnership into its employee support programming in 2022 when it noticed it was missing a critical piece in supporting its employees. 

“Before our partnership, we thought we knew what our employees were facing. In truth we did not realize the number of employees (and their family members) who need assistance with various day-to-day concerns,” commented Traci Moses, Chief People Officer at Goodwill. Goodwill’s partnership with WorkLife furthers the organization’s commitment to help their employees overcome barriers to financial stability and opportunity. 

WorkLife Partnership allows employers to take their commitment to their workers further by supporting their financial, physical, social and mental health needs across our range of employee support services. 

Resource Navigators – WorkLife Resource Navigators support employees one-on-one for as long as they need with issues that traditional benefits can’t meet like safe housing, affordable childcare, debt, and goal setting. They help employees come up with a plan, connect them to the right community resources and encourage their progress along the way. The Resource Navigator program has proven to minimize work disruptions, decrease absenteeism, improve workers’ financial stability and, ultimately increase employee retention and engagement.

Health Benefits Navigation – WorkLife’s Health Benefits Navigaionr helps workers optimize their health insurance plans, navigate the healthcare system and manage costly medical bills so employees can live a healthier life. This service saved workers more than 150 hours of time last year that would have been spent trying to navigate the system on their own. By supporting workers in choosing and understanding their insurance plan, more employees take advantage of the company’s benefit offerings, fewer employees are distracted by the stress of medical bills and debt, and employees lower claims usage by making more informed choices.

Small Dollar Loans* – An unexpected emergency expense can create a ripple effect long after the emergency is past. And when nearly 50% of Americans report not having $500 saved to weather an emergency expense the likelihood of that ripple is pretty great. WorkLife’s Small Dollar Loans program was designed to offer an alternative to predatory pay day lending which can compound financial issues. Easy, quick access to moderate interest loans not only helps your employees weather an emergency but potentially build or improve credit unlocking access to more traditional lending options in the future. 

*Small Dollar Loans program available in Colorado only.