The Great Resignation?

The Great Resignation was a rumbling that began amid the pandemic and has grown exponentially. With millions of people resigning from their jobs and opting into the gig economy, where they can work from home, have more say over their worth, and be in control of their work-life balance. I sat with our co-founder Christian Stearns to discuss this phenomenon and what it means for business owners and employers.

Christian explained that he considers the great resignation a misnomer and that he feels this phenomenon should be called the Great Realignment, as it’s more than people just leaving their jobs. Its employees realizing and acting upon what they need to have a high quality of life. Amidst the pandemic, we as a society discovered we can measurably work from home, and in eliminating the time of a commute and the physical distance between the office and your family, it’s not surprising many do not want to go back to the old way of business, in the office, 9-5. Thus employees left in search of employers willing to provide them with the lifestyles they became accustomed to during the pandemic. 

Many of you experienced this first hand, so I asked Christian how we could take this sour realignment and make sweet lemonade. His response was for business owners and employers to take a step back, recognize the need to give to get, the need for flexibility and that employment is not the one-way street it may have once been. More than flexibility, employers need to provide value to their employees. In this new wave with a booming gig economy where many work multiple part-time gigs or freelance for many companies providing access to benefits can be the differentiator. 

As much as the move to the gig economy has given employees a new kind of freedom, in many ways, it has also created a massive vulnerability as part-time, and contract workers seldom qualify for benefits and insurance coverage. Filling this gap and covering this vulnerability can make all the difference when retaining talent, whether in the form of contract workers or even your full-time staff. The workforce is full of under-benefitted, and downright un benefited workers. The truth is that health workers lead to a healthy business, and we help make employees HealthEE. 

Preventive screenings

You never know what life is going to throw your way. The unknown can make life exciting, but when it comes to your health, don’t live your life not knowing what’s happening under the surface. It’s easy to think, you know, to say you know your body and you would know if something was wrong. But, unfortunately, assuming you know and proactively checking are two very different practices. As much as we think we know our bodies, Sometimes they are loud when something is wrong (like when your stomach grumbles when you’re hungry or you feel pain when you fall), and sometimes our bodies are eerily quiet, and you don’t know there is an issue until it’s too late. 

That is why it is essential to get preventive screenings consistently. Preventive screenings are an excellent tool for knowing what’s happening inside your body. If you are at high risk for a condition, knowing so can help you to take steps to protect your health and delay or, in a perfect world, alleviate the situation altogether. A prime example of using preventive screenings as a tool to better your health is by getting a carotid artery screening. Strokes are often called the silent killer as they have no symptoms, but by getting a carotid artery screening, you can take proactive steps to know whether or not you have the possibility of a stroke. Preventive screenings are all about giving you the power to know your body. 

October is always a good reminder to get screenings done especially considering the length we discuss and remember all who we have lost to breast cancer. But preventive screenings are not limited to testing for cancers such as breast cancer. Health professionals most commonly screen for the following conditions:

  • High blood pressure
  • Breast cancer and cervical cancer in women
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Osteoporosis
  • Obesity
  • Lung cancer
  • Abdominal aortic aneurysm

Our mission here at HealthEE by HBG is to give you power over your health through access and education. Still, another vital aspect of utilizing that power is getting tested. Please don’t put this off. Our medical plans cover preventive care. Get screened today.