MAXIS GBN paints a picture of employee benefits in 2045
MAXIS Global Benefits Network (GBN) has published a whitepaper that attempts to envisage life in 2045, and in particular how technological advances will have transformed the world of work and employee benefits.
The whitepaper, titled 2045: The Future of Work – The Changing Face of Employee Benefits, uses a fictional company called Autolec, a Shanghai-based autonomous vehicle manufacturer, as a case study through which to imagine the future.
MAXIS GBN assumes Autolec is typical in having 65 percent of its workers employed on a freelance basis, allowing the company to be flexible with its recruitment budget and giving it the freedom to hire the specialists they need whenever they need them. “Plus, the people with the skills they need want to have the flexibility and variety that gig work provides them,” the report said.
MAXIS foresees a skills shortage for top engineering, technical and digital talent in 2045, suggesting companies will use employee benefits to differentiate themselves from competitors. Back in 2020, companies are already increasingly offering employee benefits to freelance workers, said MAXIS.
“Survey Monkey provides medical, dental and vision plans, covering 85 percent of employee premium and 50 percent of dependent premium, as well as transport subsidies and extended vacation, sick leave, parental leave and more, to their gig workers. Uber has partnered with AXA to provide insurance to protect eligible drivers in the UK and France. Etsy gives its sellers access to Stride Health in the US to give them access to affordable health insurance,” said MAXIS in the whitepaper.
MAXIS imagines Autotec offering employees a set number of “crypto EB credits” which can be spent on a variety of insured benefits and perks to suit their lifestyle, and are easily transferable between providers. Employees may even contribute additional funds from their salaries to increase their access to workplace-provided benefits, MAXIS said.
These portable benefits solutions will not be the responsibility of any single employer, but will be delivered by insurance providers, benefits consultants and brokers, working in collaboration to create a system that helps deliver these benefits to gig workers, MAXIS suggested.
Chris Bruce, co-founder of Thomsons Online Benefits, told MAXIS: “An online benefits platform is the only way to provide employees with the truly personalised benefits experience they now demand. By using an online system, employers can provide their people with flexible allowances to spend as they wish on specific areas aligned to their strategic people goals, for example wellness or personal development.”
Specific benefits will include personalised medicine that tailors medical treatment and drugs to the genetic makeup of the specific person receiving the treatment. This will drive up the cost of medicine, MAXIS admitted. However, it said this could be offset by the savings gleaned from improved outcomes. “Because there will be less trial and error in prescription, and because patients are likely to recover at a higher rate, or have better health outcomes, the cost savings inherent in this may well offset the potentially higher cost of treatment,” it argued.
