Moments of Truth How Employees Facing a Disabling Event Experience Benefits

Moments of Truth How Employees Facing a Disabling Event Experience Bene昀椀ts For most employees, living through a serious illness, injury or medical situation far outweighs the impact of many other life events. As part of an ongoing exploration of employee leave and disability, we studied the issue through interviews with employees. Follow this digital experience for a better understanding of what your employees really go through during these moments. Life Impact Rating: 5 out of 25 When asked to re昀氀ect on the impact of 25 di昀케cult life moments, such as losing a family member, getting divorced or changing jobs, employees rated becoming disabled due to illness or injury as one of the top 昀椀ve events. Research and Insights | The Standard

A serious illness, injury or medical event occurs. How it feels: I have to beg total strangers that I remember just thinking that I don’t know to take me to the I was really going to lose my It was a constant putting out 昀椀res hospital for day surgery. … It’s a sight. … Yeah, it was bad. because I was so unprepared. debasing experience. Police department employee, on Hospital physician’s assistant, on support for traumatic brain and Casino security o昀케cer, on lack of temporary loss of sight other injuries support for hip surgery Well, it’s like you’re not expecting So you hear ‘cancer,’ and you’re to have an injury, and then you like, ‘Oh my lord.’ have the injury. And now, you have to 昀椀gure things out. IT analyst at a law 昀椀rm, diagnosed Public school teacher with mobility with prostate cancer issues after surgery Research and Insights | The Standard

These 昀椀ve hurdles often hold back an employee’s progress. Employees in the study described 昀椀ve common obstacles that made it harder to recover or return to work as they lived through these moments. The research also showed employees shared a dominant belief — that when it came to a serious illness, injury or disabling condition, they were on their own. Ful昀椀lling basic needs Organizing logistics of care Learning a new, high-stakes subject in the midst of other unknowns Struggling with wellness and mental health needs Handling confusing paperwork Research and Insights | The Standard

Employees described three types of support that would help. The research showed that people experiencing a newly disabling condition or medical event didn’t think about insurance or bene昀椀ts to address their needs. When they did think of insurance, almost all 昀椀rst thought about health insurance, as opposed to disability or supplemental coverage. Instead of using resources o昀昀ered by nonmedical bene昀椀ts, they drew on networks of trust and their own skills. Through employee interviews and survey questions, three common bene昀椀ts emerged that could make a di昀昀erence for those trying to recover or return to work. Flexible work options Employees said adjustments like working from home, reduced and 昀氀exible hours and modi昀椀ed duties would help. Broad support for wellness Counseling, gym memberships, alternative medicine, stress relief and dietary mentoring are types of help employees said could make a di昀昀erence. Help navigating health care and insurance Employees said they needed support for accessing information, including help 昀椀guring out who to talk to — and determine if the information provided is correct. Research and Insights | The Standard

What can employers do? Employees often pay little attention to bene昀椀ts other than health care. But when faced with events like a leave or disability, their awareness shifts toward other o昀昀erings. That shift presents an opportunity for employers to demonstrate the Employers have a lot to gain by proactively supporting steps they’ve taken to support employee needs across their workforces. health equity. The best health outcomes positively a昀昀ect productivity, absenteeism, presenteeism, employee engagement and employee retention. It’s the right thing to do by the employee and for the business. Events sparking thoughts or questions about bene昀椀ts: • A disability caused by an injury or illness: 72% • All other life-changing moments combined, such as loss of a family — Jeanne Bailey, VP Head of Claims, Employee Bene昀椀ts, The Standard member or friend, having or adopting a child, and changing jobs: 47% Social determinants of health The prevalence of social determinants of health means employers can’t a昀昀ord to ignore their impacts across employee populations. • Social determinants of health drive 80% of a person’s health outcomes. Source: Social Determinants of Health Investments: How SDOH Programs Can Generate Value, Insider Intelligence, August 2022 • Nearly 8 in 10 (77%) physicians believe that at least one SDOH factor a昀昀ects many of their patients. Source: 2022 Survey of American Physicians: Part 1, Physicians Foundation, April 2022 Research and Insights | The Standard

Steps you can take Explore ways to provide job 昀氀exibility Look into how you can increase support for wellness Help employees navigate the health care and insurance systems Research and Insights | The Standard

How well do your bene昀椀ts work to support di昀昀erent employee populations? The short quiz below can give you an idea of how well your bene昀椀ts are serving your employees — and how you’re doing compared to other companies. Take the Quiz © 2023 StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. The Standard is a marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. and subsidiaries. Insurance products are o昀昀ered by Standard Insurance Company of 1100 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon, in all states except New York, where insurance products are o昀昀ered by The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York of 333 Westchester Avenue, West Building, Suite 300, White Plains, New York. Product features and availability vary by state and company, and are solely the responsibility of each subsidiary. Each company is solely responsible for its own 昀椀nancial condition. Standard Insurance Company is licensed to solicit insurance business in all states except New York. The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York is licensed to solicit insurance business in only the state of New York. Research and Insights | The Standard