How HR teams are changing benefits to support the whole person

In a recent panel, Amy Frampton, Chief Marketing Officer at Nava Benefits, moderated a conversation with:

• Natalie Ledbetter, Founder of Ledbetter Global Advisory
• Annaleah Oxman, Chief People Officer at Rightway
• Katie Josephson, Operating Partner & Head of Portfolio Talent at Thrive Capital

The discussion explored how benefit expectations are evolving and how HR teams can adapt to support the whole person.

The shifting landscape of employee expectations

The past few years have fundamentally changed how employees, especially younger generations, view benefits. Once seen as a set of standard offerings, benefits are now expected to reflect employees’ entire lifestyles. Gen Z and early-career professionals are leading the charge, prioritizing:

• Stability: Reliable income and dependable policies
• Flexibility: Location and schedule freedom, even across time zones
• Psychological safety: Open environments where they can bring their full selves to work

Employers are taking note — and adjusting. Many are streamlining offerings to focus on core, high-impact benefits while keeping compensation competitive. That means prioritizing:

• Healthcare, including mental health benefits
• Generous paid time off
• Lifestyle spending accounts (LSAs)
• Flexible return-to-office (RTO) arrangements, including “work-from-anywhere” windows

How to move from checking the box to holistic mental health benefits

One thing all panelists agreed on: Mental health is no longer a “nice-to-have” — it’s an essential. Gone are the days of handing out an EAP number. Today’s employees are looking for comprehensive mental health support that includes:

• Easy access to in-network therapists through mental health vendors like Headway
• Encouragement to take time off
• Resources to navigate the mental health system

Beyond offering employee benefits, mental health needs to be normalized, modeled, and integrated into the culture, starting with leadership.

How to incorporate personalization and inclusivity in your employee benefits

With employees spanning different roles, life stages, and geographic locations, there’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all. Leading employers are exploring flexible, scalable options that reflect this reality, including:

Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs)

LSAs let employees use funds on what matters most — childcare, commuting, wellness expenses, and more. This type of benefit puts more power into the hands of employees, and it also helps employers avoid spending money on benefits that won’t be widely used across their workforce. As Annaleah Oxman said in the panel, “We can’t cater to everyone, but an LSA gives people a menu of options and lets them choose what’s right for them.”

Role-based accommodations

In a recent Missing Chapters episode, Tyler Allen, VP of HR for The North Face, spoke about accommodating a dispersed workforce. The North Face provides a bus service for warehouse employees to meet people where they are — literally. This is just one example, but it shows the power of customizing benefits to fit different roles and locations.

Flexible return-to-work policies

Returning to work after a major life event, whether it’s parental leave, medical recovery, or caregiving, looks different for everyone. Flexible return-to-work policies recognize that reality. Between ramp-back programs, adjusted hours, or work-from-home options, these benefits help employees transition back in a way that feels manageable and supportive. They cost nothing but mean everything.

Floating holidays

Instead of assuming one calendar fits all, floating holidays empower employees to take time off for the cultural, religious, or personal days that matter most to them. As an employer, you can’t realistically give your employees a day off for every cultural and religious holiday on the calendar, but you can make this accommodation so your employees feel seen and respected.

Designing inclusive, data-informed benefits starts with smarter listening

A key takeaway from the panel? Don’t just listen louder, listen smarter.

Too often, companies respond to the most vocal employee feedback, only to see underutilized benefits and low engagement. Instead, HR leaders should pair qualitative input with quantitative data, like benefit utilization rates, retention metrics, and benefits surveys, to uncover what employees actually use and value.

Platforms like CultureAmp make it easier to track feedback across demographics and surface patterns that help HR leaders make more representative decisions. By embedding benefits questions into engagement surveys and recruiting feedback loops, companies can capture insights without causing survey fatigue and create benefits that actually move the needle.

Rethinking engagement through meaningful experiences

Throughout the event, panelists emphasized that traditional perks and virtual happy hours aren’t enough, especially in hybrid or distributed teams. These one-size-fits-all gestures, while well intentioned, often fail to foster real engagement or a sense of belonging. In an era where employees crave deeper connection and support, companies need to move beyond “perks for perks’ sake.” What truly resonates are experiences that feel intentional, personal, and aligned with the realities of daily life. Experiences with purpose, like:

• Life admin support (e.g., help planning vacations or appointments) can be a low-cost way to relieve daily stress
• Virtual philanthropy projects or cross-functional hackathons drive authentic connection
• Peer-led ERGs, Slack tools like Donut, and structured mentorship programs increase belonging without breaking the budget
• Employee-led learning circles or lunch & learn sessions to tap into internal expertise while encouraging peer connection
• Micro-recognition programs like peer shoutouts or gratitude boards build morale and connection without increasing spend. Here at Nava, we have a Slack channel dedicated to giving kudos to your peers!
• “Ask me anything” sessions with leaders invite transparency and humanize the leadership team

By blending data, empathy, and creativity, companies can design benefit strategies that not only reflect today’s workforce, but empower it.

Low-cost, high-impact strategies HR leaders can act on now

Many of the most effective wellbeing strategies don’t require massive budgets. From making better use of wellness credits to training managers, panelists offered several concrete actions HR leaders can take today.

• Prioritize transparency: Don’t just offer flexibility — model it, talk about it, and normalize conversations around mental health.
• Support global flexibility: Younger and less experienced employees are increasingly seeking opportunities to work from anywhere, even abroad. Be open to evolving expectations.
• Foster psychological safety: Encourage peer support groups, activate ERGs as safe spaces, and lead with vulnerability.
• Leverage your broker and carrier: Many insurance carriers offer underused wellness credits. These can fund programs like meditation, yoga, and telehealth at no added cost. Get creative with engagement, and use wellbeing credits for employee experiences.
• Frame benefits through a business lens: Tie benefits back to business outcomes like retention, focus, and productivity, especially when speaking with CFOs and CEOs.

Leadership behavior matters more than policy

When it comes to workplace culture, policies are only half the equation. The other half? Leadership modeling the behaviors they hope to see, like setting boundaries, taking time off, and being vulnerable about challenges.

Vulnerability, in particular, plays a big role in building trust.

But even well intentioned leaders often lack the tools to enforce boundaries in practice. That’s why coaching and manager training are so critical, especially when policies are flexible and open to interpretation.

Even in budget-constrained environments, manager training can be a high-impact, low-cost investment in employee wellbeing, and small, intentional practices can help reinforce a culture of care:

• Define “sacred times” on calendars — like school pickups or caregiving blocks
• Create clear internal SLAs for communications (e.g. email vs. Slack vs. text)
• Encourage true disconnection during time off

When leaders walk the talk, it builds psychological safety and shows employees that wellbeing is a shared priority, not just a policy on paper.

Building resilient workplaces starts with rethinking wellbeing

As work evolves, so must our approach to employee well-being. HR leaders have the chance to shift from reactive, one-size-fits-all benefits to personalized strategies that reflect how people actually live and work. This panel made one thing clear: wellbeing isn’t a perk — it’s essential to engagement, performance, and retention. The most effective strategies today aren’t about flashy perks, but about building systems of care — rooted in listening, modeling healthy behaviors, and making smart use of every dollar.

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