How $1,000 well-being subsidies have become a coveted new employer perk—and could save your company money, too

Companies are getting creative about wellness. And there’s some compelling new evidence that offering generous perks and subsidies that encourage workers to relax and recharge could offer big cost savings over the long haul. Erin Prater recently dug into the topic for Fortune. She writes:

Andrew Davis, an actuary at global financial services firm Deloitte, makes a comfortable living. But he might not have thought of outfitting his 62-acre plot of land near Clear Lake, Minn., with a solar generator—or planting a fruit orchard there—without the company’s well-being subsidy.

The benefit allows employees up to $1,000 annually for items that can improve their health and wellness. It covers the obvious, like gym memberships. But it can also be used for purchases that improve mental health, like musical instruments, and items that nurture the earth, like solar panels.

Prater reports that this idea is taking off. At a recent meeting of 30 chiefs of environmental health for major corporations, “almost every one of them had begun developing, or had developed, a total worker health approach.”

How will employers benefit?

Physically and emotionally healthy workers are generally more productive and creative—and if they live longer, they may work longer before retiring. 

What’s more, many employers are self-insured, meaning they have a “huge amount to gain” financially by promoting illness prevention, Dr. Asif Dhar, vice chair and life sciences and health care industry leader at Deloitte and a coauthor of the report says. Cancer and many other chronic conditions are far easier—and less expensive—to treat in early stages. 

The report’s authors offer some guidelines to crafting a total worker health plan at any company, and make a case that with programs like these, average lifespan could increase from 76 to 90, with a far higher percentage of the group enjoying those later years in good health, a concept known as “healthspan.”

I’d love to hear what any CFOs out there think about adding these benefits. Is it a hard sell to be adding benefits, even if there’s a long-term cost savings that could result? You can email me below and read the full story here.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Big deal

Consumers are paying up for premium seats when they travel, CNBC reports. An arms race is underway, with Delta, JetBlue, United, Finnair, and Lufthansa announcing revamped premium offerings. As CNBC reports: "A Delta spokesman said 9% of seats sold in 2009 were premium. By 2019, that percentage was 28% and in 2024, the company expects it to ring in at 30%. Delta said it expects sales from premium tickets — everything from extra legroom seats to international business class — will account for 35% of the record $19 billion in revenue it expects to generate this year, up from a 24% share of its $10 billion in sales in 2014."

Going deeper

Readers of this newsletter undoubtedly have followed the career of Ruth Porat, who departed Morgan Stanley for Google and became the company's longest serving CFO. But recently it was announced that Porat would shift into a newly-created role of president and chief investment officer. Now a deep dive in The Information asks the question: Is Ruth Porat's new job at Alphabet a coronation or a last dance?  

Leaderboard

Gülsen Kama was named CFO of Bionano Genomics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNGO) effective September 11, 2023. Christopher Stewart, who held the position of CFO since September 2020, will stay on during the transition and then move into an advisory role.

Michael Moen was named CFO of Hemlock Semiconductor, the nation’s leading manufacturer of hyper-pure polysilicon for the semiconductor and solar industries. The company’s current CFO, Steve Sklenar, is retiring at the end of the month.

Overheard

“People are going to come into the office for engaging more with each other, rather than going out and getting work done in their cubicle. We have to reimagine, fundamentally, what the workspace of the future is going to look like.”

—Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s executive vice president and general manager of security and collaboration, talks to Fortune about how tech giant Cisco is redesigning its offices specifically with hybrid workers in mind.