by admin | May 13, 2025 | Health & Wellness
In stressful or uncertain times, it’s easy to get caught in an endless cycle of scrolling through negative news and social media. This behavior, known as doomscrolling, is increasingly common—but it can take a serious toll on your mental and physical health. This article explores the risks of doomscrolling and offers practical tips to help reduce this habit.
What Is Doomscrolling?
Doomscrolling refers to the habit of endlessly consuming negative news—stories about crises, conflicts, tragedies, and other distressing topics. Often, it happens without you even realizing it, and once you’re in the loop, stopping can feel nearly impossible. It triggers the release of dopamine, creating a hard-to-break cycle that fuels anxiety and stress.
How Doomscrolling Affects Your Mind and Body
- Mental Health Effects: It increases anxiety, stress, sadness, and feelings of being overwhelmed. People often report feeling more pessimistic, mentally fatigued, and depressed. For those with pre-existing mental health conditions, doomscrolling can worsen symptoms and may even trigger panic attacks.
- Physical Health Effects: The habit is linked to headaches, nausea, muscle tension, reduced appetite, and elevated blood pressure. It can also disrupt sleep, leading to insomnia and poor sleep quality, which further exacerbates mood and stress levels.
- Social and Lifestyle Impacts: Excessive doomscrolling can reduce time with friends and family, decrease motivation for exercise, and contribute to unhealthy eating and sedentary behavior.
Tips to Reduce Doomscrolling
While we can’t control the global news cycle, we can manage how we engage with it. Here are some effective ways to cut back:
- Set screen time limits. Use your device’s built-in tools or apps to limit time spent on social media or news apps. Creating these boundaries helps you stay mindful of your screen use.
- Edit your news feeds. Unfollow accounts or remove apps that contribute to negativity. Instead, follow credible sources and uplifting content that inform without overwhelming.
- Stay active. Regular physical activity lowers stress levels and improves mood. Whether it’s a short walk or a workout, movement can help shift your focus and reduce the urge to scroll.
- Find positive actions. While the news can feel overwhelming, taking small steps—like donating to a cause or volunteering – can help you feel more in control and optimistic.
- Practice self-care. Activities like deep breathing, journaling, or mindful walks can bring you back to the present and help regulate stress.
- Tidy up your space. Organizing your surroundings can reduce mental clutter and help you focus on healthier, more productive habits.
- Connect with others. When the news feels too heavy, reaching out to friends and family can offer much-needed support and perspective.
A steady diet of negative news can wear you down mentally, emotionally, and physically. Reducing your doomscrolling habits gives your brain a break and helps you stay grounded in your daily life. By setting limits and focusing on positive actions, you can create more room for meaningful connections and a more hopeful perspective.
With any actions that increase anxiety, don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional. Help is available, and you don’t have to face it alone.
by admin | May 6, 2025 | Custom Content, Health & Wellness
Every year, millions of people experience mental health challenges with limited access to care. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 8 people globally are affected. Conditions like anxiety and depression significantly reduce productivity, costing the global economy around $1 trillion annually. Despite the rising demand for support, more than two-thirds of those who need mental health care don’t receive it.
When left untreated, mental health issues can deeply impact the workplace—reducing productivity, increasing absenteeism, and driving up healthcare costs. Offering meaningful mental health benefits is a proactive step employers can take to support their workforce and reduce these risks.
Raising Awareness
Employers can help employees feel less alone by developing campaigns that raise awareness. Here are a few ways employers can raise awareness, address stigma, and foster a sense of belonging in the workplace:
- Enhance accessibility. Mental health programs should be inclusive and easy to access for employees from all backgrounds. Employers can explore both digital platforms and in-person options to ensure support is available in ways that meet diverse needs.
- Showcase mental health benefits: Ensure employees are aware of mental health benefits by holding meetings, providing resources, and sharing instructions about accessing care through benefit offerings.
- Integrate wellness into workplace culture: Formal strategies that infuse mental well-being into the company culture focus on providing workplace processes and benefits that help reduce stress and promote mental well-being, including flexibility, time off, added breaks, environmental changes, etc.
- Have mental health conversations in the workplace: Normalizing conversations around mental health in meetings, informal discussions, and one-on-one talks can help reduce stigma and bolster employee belonging.
Encouraging Self-Care
Integrating self-care throughout your daily schedule improves both mental and physical health. Yet, self-care is often reserved for hours outside of work. Employers can help employees practice self-care by changing workplace policies and improving work-life balance. For example, creating flexible work schedules can help employees manage personal responsibilities without missing work. Providing mental health days or time off for self-care activities can give employees more balance and improve morale. Developing a company-sponsored wellness program can provide employees with resources and eliminate cost barriers to services that can improve mental and physical wellness.
Providing Support and Resources
Stigma surrounding mental health often leads to limited knowledge about mental health conditions and ways to prioritize mental wellness. Employers can provide employees with resources about the importance of mental health care and offer frequent, transparent information about the company’s mental health benefits and how to use them.
by admin | Apr 28, 2025 | Uncategorized
Let’s be honest, HR leaders: how many teams have poured hours into crafting an employee handbook, only to find it languishing in some digital abyss, unread and unloved? We’ve all seen the statistics aren’t great. If you haven’t, they show that a staggering percentage of employees avoid reading them at all.
That’s a problem.
So, how do you transform your handbook from a dusty legal tomes into a dynamic resource that employees actually use?
The answer lies in a blend of clarity, engagement, and a genuine understanding of your company’s unique identity. Let’s break down the 15 essential sections every modern employee handbook should include, with a focus on making them both informative and approachable.
1. Foundational Principles: Introduction and Company Overview.
Your handbook must begin with a clear, compelling introduction outlining your organization’s mission, values, and strategic vision. This section sets the tone for the entire document, providing employees with a foundational understanding of your company’s purpose and culture.
2. Commitment to Equality: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Anti-Discrimination Policy.
Your organization needs a robust EEO and anti-discrimination policy. This section should explicitly state your commitment to a workplace free from discrimination and harassment, outlining prohibited conduct and establishing clear reporting procedures.
3. Behavioral Standards: Workplace Conduct and Expectations.
It is essential to define the standards of conduct expected from all employees. This section should cover professionalism, dress code, use of company resources, and communication protocols, ensuring a consistent and respectful work environment.
4. Financial Clarity: Compensation and Benefits.
Your handbook must provide detailed information regarding compensation and benefits. This includes pay schedules, overtime policies, and comprehensive details on health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.
5. Time Management Framework: Hours of Work and Time-Off Policies.
Your organization needs to clearly define work hours, break policies, and procedures for requesting various types of leave, such as vacation, sick leave, and personal leave. This ensures consistency and fairness in time management.
6. Growth and Development: Performance Management.
It is vital to outline the company’s performance review process, performance expectations, and opportunities for professional growth. This section should emphasize your organization’s commitment to employee development.
7. Safety and Security: Workplace Safety and Security Protocols.
Your handbook must prioritize workplace safety and security. This section should detail safety procedures, emergency protocols, and guidelines for reporting workplace accidents or hazards, as well as security measures related to building access and data protection
8. Technology and Communication: Usage Guidelines.
Your organization needs to establish clear guidelines for the appropriate use of company technology. This includes computers, email, internet, and mobile devices, with a strong focus on data security and privacy.
9. Dispute Resolution: Employee Relations and Grievance Procedures.
It is crucial to provide a formal process for employees to address workplace concerns or grievances. This section should outline the steps involved in resolving disputes and ensure confidentiality.
10. Attendance and Punctuality: Requirements.
Your company needs to clearly define the company’s expectations regarding attendance and punctuality. Clear call out procedures are also necessary.
11. Transition Procedures: Resignation and Termination.
Your handbook must outline the procedures for resignation, including notice requirements, and the company’s policies on termination, including grounds for termination and final pay procedures.
12. Protection of Assets: Confidentiality and Proprietary Information Protection.
Your organization needs to define confidential information and outline the employee’s responsibility to protect it. This section should address intellectual property and trade secret concerns.
13. Wellness and Safety: Substance Abuse Policy.
It is essential to clearly state the company’s policy on drug and alcohol use in the workplace, including any testing procedures and employee assistance programs.
14. Modern Work Arrangements: Remote Work Policy (if applicable).
If your organization offers remote work, your handbook must provide clear guidelines for remote work, including communication expectations, technology requirements, and performance standards.
15. Policy Management: Handbook Acknowledgment and Revision Procedures.
Your handbook needs a section for employees to acknowledge receipt and understanding of the handbook, as well as a policy on handbook revisions and communication of updates.
Your employee handbook is more than just a legal document. It’s a reflection of your company culture. By blending formality with a conversational approach, you can create a resource that employees actually read, understand, and use. Let’s move beyond the dust and create handbooks that truly work for our teams.
Originally posted on Mineral
by admin | Apr 22, 2025 | Custom Content, Employee Benefits
Life sometimes throws you a curveball. You might sprain an ankle playing soccer, need surgery, or experience a difficult pregnancy. These situations can temporarily prevent you from working and earning an income. That’s where short-term disability insurance comes in. It acts as a financial safety net, providing income replacement while you recover and get back on your feet.
What is Short-Term Disability Insurance?
Short-term disability pays you a portion of your salary (usually between 40% and 70%) in situations when non-job-related injuries, illnesses, or other medical issues prevent you from working for a limited time-period. (Note: “Non-job-related” is an important phrase because injuries sustained while you’re on the clock will typically be covered by worker’s compensation vs. short-term disability). It typically provides benefits for a shorter period, ranging from a few weeks to several months, depending on the policy and your situation.
Types of Short-Term Disability Insurance:
- Traditional: Employers pay the full premium
- Contributory: Both employers and employees contribute to the benefit cost
- Core Buy-Up: Employees have the option to purchase more coverage
- Voluntary: Employees alone pay for disability benefits
What to Look for in a Short-Term Disability Policy:
- Premium: The monthly amount you (or your employer) pay for the policy.
- Benefit Amount: How much of your income will be replaced?
- Benefit Period: How long will benefits be paid?
- Elimination Period: How long must you wait before benefits begin?
- Covered Conditions: What illnesses, injuries, and conditions are covered?
- Exclusions: What situations are not covered?
- Cost: How much will the premiums be?
Illnesses or Injuries That Are Not Covered by Short-Term Disability:
- Pre-existing conditions
- Self-inflicted injuries
- Use of drugs (non-prescription) or other illegal substances
- Injury that occurred from doing something illegal
- Cosmetic procedures that are not medically necessary
- Work-related injuries or illnesses
An unexpected illness or injury can happen to anyone. Short-term disability insurance provides a crucial safety net, protecting your financial well-being during a time of need.
by admin | Apr 15, 2025 | Custom Content, Employee Benefits
The Rise of Voluntary Benefits
As healthcare costs increase, so does the demand for voluntary benefits. These optional benefits allow employees to select and pay for additional perks to meet their individual needs, especially in today’s diverse workforce. They’re also a valuable supplement to health insurance, particularly as healthcare expenses rise and affordability becomes a challenge.
Trending Voluntary Benefits
Here are some voluntary benefits that are currently popular or expected to gain traction this year:
- Supplemental Health Insurance: As healthcare costs continue to rise, more employees are looking for ways to manage unexpected expenses like deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and other out-of-pocket costs during accidents, serious illnesses, or hospital stays. Accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance can help fill these gaps. Unlike major medical insurance, these supplemental plans are not subject to many federal health and benefits regulations, making them a more affordable option. By offering additional coverage, these policies provide employees with peace of mind and financial stability when faced with health challenges.
- Student Loan Repayment Assistance: One in four U.S. adults under 40 have student loan debt, according to the Pew Research Center. Educational assistance programs, traditionally used for expenses like tuition and supplies, can now also cover principal and interest on qualified education loans, with payments made directly to the lender or the employee. This benefit, allowing up to $5,250 in tax-free student loan repayment annually, expires on December 31, 2025.
- Term Life Insurance: Achieving financial security is a priority for many Americans, including being prepared for the loss of a loved one. While 80% of Americans worry about their financial readiness in the event of an unexpected death, nearly 30% still do not have life insurance, according to Guardian. Many organizations offer base-level group term life insurance, partially or fully funded by the employer, with the option for employees to purchase additional coverage. Since employers have already vetted and selected policy options, group life insurance can be an easy choice for employees.
- Cybersecurity and Identity Theft Protection: With increasing cyberattacks, data breaches, and identity theft incidents, employees are more aware of digital risks. Protecting personal and financial information has become a priority. Additionally, the shift to remote and hybrid work environments has introduced new security challenges, as personal devices and home networks are often less secure than corporate systems.
Legal Plans and Services: Legal plan voluntary benefits are highly relevant because employees often require legal assistance for personal matters. These plans alleviate stress, reduce work disruptions, and offer support for various situations, including estate planning, real estate, and traffic issues.
Today’s workforce is diverse, with varying needs and priorities. Employees are no longer content with a one-size-fits-all benefits package. Many workers want benefits that cater to their unique lifestyles, financial situations, and personal goals. Voluntary benefits provide employees with the flexibility to choose the perks that matter most to them, creating a more customized and engaging compensation package.
