New HRE Editor on the Benefits of Covering Benefits

By: Kathryn Mayer | August 5, 2019 • 2 min read

Kathryn Mayer is HRE’s benefits editor and chair of the Health & Benefits Leadership Conference. She has covered benefits for the better part of a decade, and her stories have won multiple awards, including a Jesse H. Neal Award and honors from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the National Federation of Press Women. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Denver. She can be reached at kmayer@lrp.com.

Topics: Columnists | Employee Benefits | Health & Benefits Leadership Conference | Health & Benefits Leadership Conference News

I never set out to be an employee benefits reporter and editor—does anyone?!—but nearly nine years in, I can’t imagine a beat I’d enjoy covering more.

In my years writing about the industry (I’ve spent the last few years as editor-in-chief of Employee Benefit News), I’ve seen a lot of action—everything from the passage of the Affordable Care Act to fluctuations in employer-sponsored healthcare to ongoing fears over healthcare costs. More recently, it’s been about an exciting new crop of offerings. Dare I say that benefits are in and cooler than ever?

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Though table-stakes offerings like healthcare and retirement remain vital components of a benefits package, a hot job market and an increased focus on employees’ overall wellbeing and work-life balance are bringing more attention to such benefits as student loan repayment programs, generous paid leave programs, caregiving and tuition perks. (And it’s making my job a whole lot of fun!)

How much does this matter? Nearly everyone is an employee, and changing benefits are changing the workplace. This multifaceted industry is having a direct impact on millions of workers’ lives, happiness and financial security. Benefits are at the heart of a job, and smart HR executives are taking note.