Tag: freelancers

More and more of the workforce is becoming independent

We all seek freedom and independence at one time or another throughout our lifetime. Whether it be the freedom to make your own decisions when you first live on your own or to get yourself from point A to B when you get your license, we typically associate this desire for freedom with youth, but seeking control of our lives is a desire that continues with us throughout our entire lives. The Covid-19 pandemic was a reckoning for many to finally take a leap and reclaim their sense of control regarding work-life balance. A new National Bureau of Economic Research study found that about 15% of the workforce are now independent contractors. We say this because informal work and side hustles continue to make complex data hard to tape down as the gig economy rises. The report’s synopsis describes the contractor workforce as “elusive” due to a myriad of factors, including the miscoding of contract workers who work on multiple projects for a company. The findings of this study have implications for the economy and the demographic profile typically associated with contract workers. The study found millions more Americans are self-employed than previously estimated by reports like the 2022 survey from the freelancing platform Upwork. More than impacting the work culture, economy, and overall data, this trend has become the new norm, not seeming to be going anywhere for awhile. What can you do with this information? 

Start including independent contractors in your book of business. Consider what you can offer contractors to incentivize them to work for you, not the competition. For example, separate benefits with no employer sponsor and no open enrollment periods offer the flexibility contract workers need regarding benefits. 

Source

https://www.benefitnews.com/articles/15-percent-of-the-labor-force-may-be-independent-contractors

Why you should take this opportunity to offer your part time employees benefits!

Since the re-acclimation of society following the Covid-19 pandemic, the workforce’s trend of playing hot potato with their jobs has become even more prevalent. Seemingly gone are the days of long tenure and climbing the corporate ladder as the primary goal of employees. For many, the ideology has shifted to prioritizing mental health and personal life over career advancement. Gold stars, promises of promotions, and free bagels don’t cut it anymore. If retention is essential to your company, you must offer tangible incentives that improve employee life authentically. Especially for the employees entrusted with being the human touch point between the brand and the customer, your sales associates, servers, desk attendants, and the traditionally part-time workers need to feel appreciated and motivated to put the company’s best foot forward. 

What do absolute and tangible retention techniques look like? They look like they are providing securities like access to benefits. Providing part-time employees with low-cost and flexible benefits can actively endorse retention while improving productivity as employees will be less stressed.

New research shows stress caused by concerns regarding recurring payments can lead to poor health

Traditional 9-5 jobs come with various stressors that cause many, especially following the pandemic. Many have left the commute, the office, and the corporate games for the freedom of being their boss. However, the grass always looks greener on the other side. For all the stress, gig workers and freelancers left their traditional jobs to commit to a job based on hustle comes with its stressors. New research shows that workers whose income fluctuates and unpredictable pay tend to have a night of poorer sleep, more stress, and miserable physical symptoms that affect their work and home life. 

The primary stressor is the unknown of future profits to commit to recurring payments. For instance, you may have ten clients in September but only 2 in October. The difference in the income you experience during those two months can make paying for benefits, your phone, and rent hard to know for sure. For as much control as freelancing provides you, there are specific areas where you want consistency, especially regarding your health. Many freelancers, gig workers, and other workers with commission-based pay fall into a scarcity mindset which entails a deep financial worry about having enough to make ends meet and a concern about being able to cope with unexpected bills, etc. This worry can be debilitating, causing people to not register for recurring necessities like health benefits.

Remedying this sense of scarcity is more than just a one-and-done solution. But if you are experiencing this, let us be the first to tell you that you should be doing something other than sacrificing necessities like your health benefits because you feel you can’t afford coverage. Freelancers, part-time employees, gig workers, and anyone suffering from feelings of scarcity have access to low-cost coverage options when they shop at gethealthee.com. Now listen because this is the most critical part. You pay monthly or quarterly, so if your client load differs monthly, you can control your coverage to match your needs. You can also save on your phone coverage because when you get phone protection with gethealthee.com, you can cover 25 additional items, so if you’re a freelancer, cover your laptop and camera as well as your headphones on top of your phone. Finally, think about how much less stress you would feel knowing all the tools you need for success are protected, and it’s only $15 a month. 

You deserve to enjoy the sense of freedom deciding to be a freelancer or gig worker grants you. No one can rain on that parade. You are more likely to have more time to spend with loved ones and on hobbies and should be able to enjoy those moments free of stress.

Schedule a call with our benefits to help resource the free and friendly HealthEE support team to learn more about available options. 

Gig workers need a hand protecting their health

There are many benefits to choosing the freelancer lifestyle. From flexibility over your hours, work environment, and even client choice, only a few other professions allow such control. However, control inevitably means a lack of dependability; it’s all on you; there is no one to fall back on and no stability in terms of a yearly salary, employer-sponsored benefits, or workout stipends. This lack of stability can lead to financial insecurity, poor sleep, stress, and miserable physical symptoms that affect work and home life.   

Gig workers and freelancers are traditionally excluded from a broker’s books of business. Still, it is clear that these communities need coverage, and there are options for them. So we need to get the word out. Freelancers, gig workers, part-time workers all those lacking the stability of a traditional 9-5 can access low-cost coverage with benefits from Healthee by HBG. With no employer sponsorship and no open enrollment, freelancers can enjoy the same flexibility and control they have in their work life and their health. 

No one deserves to have their health suffer when there are options available. What could potentially stop this could be having more freelancers, part-time workers, and gig workers aware that opportunities are available, as many may not know.

 

source: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-12-12/gig-economy-could-be-harming-workers-health

So you’ve purchased a healthcare plan, now what?

HealthEE by HBG prides itself on our support team being genuine advisors looking to assist you on your benefits buying journey. But did you know that once you purchase your healthcare plan, HealthEE support passes the torch to Rightway, the clinically driven care navigation solution? 

Simply put, Rightway equips you with a dedicated health team to be there with you every step of the way. You begin by asking Rightway to curate a care plan based on your needs. Then, you can ask your guide to find a doctor in the network in your zip code, and they will produce a list of doctors where you can see user reviews from other Rightway users. . Once you choose a doctor, Rightway will ask for your availability, the reason for the visit, the time frame you would like to see a doctor, and other specifics before making an appointment request! Its seamless experience makes finding doctors and booking appointments more straightforward than ever. 

But scheduling appointments is just the tip of the Rightway iceberg. Using the Rightway guides, you can have a second pair of eyes on your bills to ensure you are charged correctly and help you obtain any reimbursement you are owed. 

Taking care of your health can be stressful. So let’s face it between finding a friendly doctor to make you feel comfortable to feel confident you are only paying for what you need to when it comes to bills to even the stress and time of making an appointment, Rightway is a big part of how HealthEE by HBG is taking the stress out of healthcare. 

Where HealthEE by HBG is your knowledgeable friend who introduces you to the right plan for your needs, Rightway is that older sibling or parental figure available to do the often overwhelming heavy lifting for you so that all that is left is for you to benefit!

Should you go freelance?

With industries announcing hiring freezes and the work-from-home movement in full swing working in the gig economy is hotter than ever. However, if you consider taking on freelance work either full-time or as a side gig, you may need help with where to start.
First of all, you must take a step back and consider how you work and whether your preexisting work habits would coincide with the freelance culture:
Ask Yourself these questions.

If you concluded that yes, you are the correct type of person to go solo, then read on the freelancer starter checklist.
Before taking the plunge, you should get your finances in order. Start by making a budget to ensure you put money aside as a safety net when you first start. You will also need to set up a financial bookkeeping system to have a strategy for organization from the outset, which goes hand in hand with opening a business bank account to keep track of incoming and outgoing payments specific to your business.

To prepare yourself for success, create a schedule and stick to it. Rookie mistakes include burning out from working too much or sidetracked by less important tasks.

A social presence is vital for any freelancer as it’s how you promote yourself. Use social media as a tool to promote your work as well as build connections. Having potential clients lined up will make the transition easier, so along with Instagram, make sure your Upwork and other gig sites are up and running and you have begun reaching out. For Networking, Linkedin is a no-brainer.

Fill your toolbox with everything you need to succeed. Freelancing is a one-person show, so you must cover all your bases. Do you need Adobe Creative Suite? Canva? Whatever programming it is, get your ducks in a row.

Create yourself a workspace or decide upon a public one. In metropolitan areas, you can throw a rock and hit a WeWork. Since the pandemic, several other options for co-working spaces have arisen, but if you plan to work from home, creating a quiet, organized, designated area for you to be productive will be critical to your success.

Lastly, When you decide to leave your corporate 9-5, you’re also preceding your employer-sponsored benefits. With gethealthee.com, you can access affordable health benefits with no employer sponsor and no open enrollment, meaning you pay on a monthly or quarterly basis and can hop on or off anytime, making it the ideal platform for freelancers to shop for coverage. Before becoming a full-time freelancer, you should schedule a call with a HealthEE advisor to deduce the best range.

Sources:

Thinking of going freelance? Here’s 8 things you should consider

 

 

Are you presenting HealthEE by HBG as a retain and attract tool? You should be.

The workforce is reshuffling. There is no doubt about it. Our new normal has sparked change in every industry universally. Employees want more, more flexibility, more balance, more control, just more. Whether they find that sense of more in another role or as a gig worker or freelancer, many are still trying to find the answer to their employment desires. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, the food and hospitality industries are among the most struggling industries to retain workers. In these sectors, the bulk of sales happen to the end consumer through the part-time workers, so they must be trained and controlled, armed with the knowledge to close the deal. No one can deny the importance of the customer experience. It is a heavyweight, especially considering those expected to hold it often feel the least appreciated. Traditionally the part-time worker is provided a different cachet than the corporate counterparts, no PTO, no benefits, and poor hours during the holidays while the rest of us are home with our families. While this model has worked in the past, the post covid employee isn’t biting in the same way anymore to attract and retain the necessary talent to close the sales in the store and behind the counter.
You can find the usual retention techniques across this platform and several others, including the shared working community; WeWork posted an article highlighting that retention means work-life balance, hiring good leaders, and building good teams, but how does one attract good leaders and sound teams? Businesses must convey a value matching the ideals of the potential hires they seek. Now while the most obvious of the bunch is providing employees with the ability to work from home, this is only an option for some industries. An employee can’t show a guest to their room or take a customer’s order from their home. However, there are other ways employers can give potential employees a sense of control and empowerment. Research from job boards Indeed and Glassdoor finds benefits and flexibility remain essential to attract talent. For the businesses that can’t afford to offer higher pay and can’t provide their employees a work-from-home option, how does offering the part-time workforce affordable benefits at no cost to the employer sound? Here is where Healthy Business Group steps in; their flagship product, HealthEE by HBG, is the online benefits solution for employers to offer employees at no cost to the employer, where employees can take control of their benefits and can choose to have more of what they need and less of what they don’t, now that’s an incentive.

Sources

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-retain-an-employeehttps://www.uschamber.com/workforce/understanding-americas-labor-shortage-the-most-impacted-industrieshttps://www.zippia.com/advice/great-resignation-statistics/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/business/economy/labor-participation-covid.htmlhttps://www.hrmorning.com/news/benefits-key-role/https://www.fm-magazine.com/news/2022/dec/benefits-flexibility-attract-talent-report-finds.htmlhttps://www.wework.com/ideas/professional-development/management-leadership/employee-retention-what-it-is-best-strategies-and-more’

24% of gig workers are uninsured, & missing from your book of business

With the influx of people switching to freelance or “gig” work, there seems to be a component missing from everyone’s “how to join the gig economy handbook” on accessing benefits. Employer Benefit News reported that a survey conducted by Stride Health found that of the 4,000 independent workers spoken to, 24% are currently uninsured. To break it down further, 80% of those cited believe coverage costs more than $100 a month per family member. This belief that coverage is unattainable leaves many not even considering having coverage an option for them.
The solution to this misconception is to spread information. As employers and employees lean into the gig economy, employers find it easier to hire freelance workers during economic uncertainty, and employees want more control. More freedom benefits can feel like no man’s land when providing access to coverage has always been challenging for employers. Employers can offer their part-time and gig workers benefits at no cost with the HealthEE by HBG online benefits store. Independent contractors, freelancers, and anyone under the “gig economy” umbrella has access to these benefits and can choose to receive them with an employer or on their own with gethealthee.com. Spreading the word about these benefits is a win, win. Employers need to differentiate themselves to retain and attract talent, and HealthEE by HBG can do that with no cost to the employer. On the employee’s side, everyone needs benefits. No one is immune to needing the occasional doctor’s visit or teeth cleaning, and drivers for Uber, Postmates, Doordash, etc., can only get by with auto coverage.
In a time of information overload with “insurance” generating millions of search results on google, providing clarity is valuable; give this value to your part-time workers, contract workers, freelancers, and everyone you know in the gig economy today.

Sources: 

https://www.benefitnews.com./news/24-of-workers-in-the-gig-economy-are-uninsured-how-can-employers-help

 

Do you know what you’re missing from your book of business?

It is difficult to discuss the current state of affairs for any industry without returning to the long-lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, so bear with us. Among the challenges and work-from-home realizations, there were some among us not afforded the luxury of WFH. Essential workers, we dubbed them, the (in many cases) part-time workers keeping our supermarkets, delivery services, transportation, and even hospitals functioning. Even now, as we have returned to a sense of normalcy, WFH is still prevalent, and part time employees are still on the front lines. They form relationships with a brand’s consumers, the ones who are the faces of a company day in and day out. And yet they are missing from most brokers’ books of business. Why? 

Have we not experienced the vitality of the part-time worker these past few years? And of course we are also amidst a movement known as the great resignation, meaning companies need to do more to retain their employees. Covid-19 showed us how much we need part-time workers, but it also gave those workers every reason to want to quit their jobs. It’s up to employers now to find new solutions to hold fast to those employees and find new ones in a time where there are a plentiful number of WFH postings.

The pandemic has left brokers with new opportunities. Where traditionally, a broker’s book of business has not included the part-time employee, now they can. Not only is this a new market for brokers, but it also provides tangible value to the business owners. Part-time employees are the backbone of companies, and providing possible and accessible benefits will up current retention and incentivize new employees alike.

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.