10 employee benefits trends to watch in 2025

Financial stress, caregiving responsibilities, and poor health habits will continue to challenge worker wellness and productivity this year and beyond. But employers can help when they understand how benefits empower their workforces to tackle these problems. As highlighted in our recent webinar, “Top Benefits Trends for 2025: Prioritizing workforce well-being in the new year,” now is the time to understand what’s trending in workforce benefits, so you can refine your organization’s strategy to meet workers’ evolving needs and retain top talent.

Here are the top benefits trends set to shape the workforce in 2025:

More employers will integrate absence and wellness solutions 

Workforce well-being across the key pillars of mental, physical, and financial health continue to steadily decline. Thus, employers need a more comprehensive approach to managing employee wellness.

One promising strategy is to integrate disability leave with wellness benefits. Wellness benefits, like supplemental health insurance and mental wellness benefits, are highly sought-after by today’s employees. 

“For the first time, we're now seeing these wellness benefits being as in-demand as — or even surpassing — traditional insurance products in terms of employee demand,” says JR Blanchette, Head of Wellness Benefits Strategy at Guardian.

The integration approach helps provide a seamless experience for employees so taking a leave can trigger the awareness and/or activation of other wellness benefits for workers during pivotal life moments. This can encourage higher benefits utilization, better health, greater productivity, and even shorter leaves of absence. Employers can and should adapt their absence and wellness solutions accordingly.

Offering more resources that address employee financial struggles  

Even in dual-income households, rising inflation and higher debt levels are contributing to greater overall financial anxiety. This ongoing financial strain impacts the wellness of employees and the workplace.  

Employers can help address these interconnected challenges through meaningful support and resources. Incorporating engaging and easy-to-digest financial literacy education in the workplace, as well as providing resources like budgeting tools and access to professional advisors, can go a long way in improving workers’ financial confidence.

Focus on setting up Gen Z workers for financial success 

For Generation Z workers (now in their mid-to-late 20s), the connection between finances and stress is especially pronounced. Gen Z reports some of the lowest levels of financial health compared to other generations. Many are burdened by significant student loan debt, soaring housing costs, and wage growth that hasn’t kept pace with inflation. This financial strain has far-reaching impacts on mental and physical health as well.

However, employers can play a key role in alleviating Gen Z’s financial anxiety. Offering supplemental health insurance, mental wellness benefits, and other sources of support like student loan for assistance can play a key role in fostering financial success in this generation.

Helping women thrive at work and at home 

Many women consider leaving the workforce during key life stages, such as pregnancy and parenthood, as even many robust paid leave programs often fall short of supporting their return and work-life balance. Another important stage in women’s lives is menopause, which frequently coincides with peak professional years and brings many physical and mental symptoms that can impact performance and energy. Instead of seeing parental and medical leaves as a burden, employers have an opportunity to tap into these workers’ skills and resourcefulness. By addressing these challenges with enhanced benefits and flexibility in the workplace — such as hybrid work schedules and modified work tasks — organizations can help empower women to succeed and retain talented female workers.

Creating a culture of empathy for working caregivers 

Working caregivers often face significant challenges in balancing their professional and caregiving responsibilities. Creating a culture that supports the caregiving journey often leads to a healthier and more engaged workforce, as they are able to thrive both at work and at home. This includes fostering an environment where managers and colleagues provide understanding and support, and caregivers feel a sense of community with others who share similar experiences.

Eileen Bonney, Senior VP of Client Success at Wellthy, emphasized the importance of creating a culture of care.

"It certainly starts from the top down,” Bonney says. “The ability to show up to your workplace to make everyone feel safe and open about any challenges or any struggles without fear of judgement, that's key."

Bonney highlights that many organizations already have the right tools and programs in place to make a difference in workers’ lives, including support groups, employee resource groups, affinity networks, DE&I councils, and even caregiving benefits, emphasizing the importance of strong communication practices to bring people and resources together.

Expanding paid leave policies to promote parity and workforce well-being 

With 73% of American workers having some type of caregiving responsibility, providing comprehensive paid leave options is essential for promoting workforce well-being and achieving equity among employees.

Inclusive leave policies — whether for parental, medical, or caregiving needs — help ensure that all workers have the support they need during critical life moments. 

“We're seeing more employers expand their paid leave policies internally and lowering eligibility thresholds for those types of programs as well,” says Kristy Helkenn, Senior Absence Practice Leader at Guardian.

Enhancing the accessibility of paid leave can be a crucial step in reflecting an employer's commitment to its employees’ wellness, and as a result, boosting job satisfaction and retention.  

Addressing workforce tobacco usage to improve well-being 

Despite declining smoking rates in the US, tobacco use continues to negatively impact workforce health. Guardian research found that about 28% of workers currently use tobacco, contributing to illnesses like cancer, diabetes, and mental health challenges. This leads to more sick days and disrupts productivity: cigarette smokers take an average of seven more sick days per year compared to non-smokers.  

The rise of vaping among younger workers adds to this concern. Addressing tobacco use through substance use benefits remains critical for improving employee health and creating a more productive workplace.

Tapping into the unique skills and talents of the neurodivergent workforce

With 50% of Gen Z identifying as neurodivergent, organizations have a growing opportunity to foster an environment that accommodates today’s diverse talent pool and enables workers to thrive.

Workplace friction often arises from differing communication styles, especially among individuals who are neurodivergent, but small changes — such as designing clearer presentations, implementing active listening protocols, and running more inclusive meetings — can make a big difference in bridging the gap.

Communicating about benefits year-round 

Many employees may not be aware of or don’t fully understand the value of the benefits offered to them. Traditional communication methods, often clustered around open enrollment, typically result in low participation and engagement.  

Our research indicates that more employers will adopt a year-round approach to benefits communication this year, providing regular updates tied to key organizational events or themes. Borrowing strategies from consumer marketing — such as tailoring messaging to different demographics and across different channels — can help HR teams create a consistent flow of targeted, timely messaging that keeps workers informed and engaged — and that can be a game-changer for benefits participation.

"While repetition of your message is important, the length of time it runs for is also important,” explains Melissa Rothchild, Chief Marketing Office for Group Benefits at Guardian. “So that's why just talking about benefits during one month or two months of the year may not be enough to really help employees understand what's available to them and make smart choices for their family." 

More tech adoption to improve benefits decision-making 

The rapid growth of benefits technology, including real-time connectivity and API integrations, is transforming how organizations support the benefits enrollment and decision-making experience. With financial wellness on the decline and workers depending on their benefits more, helping workers feel confident in their benefits selections has never been more important.  

Technology can help employers use the data their employees provide to create personalized communications that help each worker put valuable thought into which benefits will work best for them and their families. This can help employees feel better informed and equipped when it's time to select benefits, so they aren't just checking boxes to finish a task. And when they've chosen benefits they actually understand and use, they're empowered to improve well-being, both at work and at home.