Headline News
Latest Poll Results and Usage Trends Provide Insights into Employee Concerns and Emerging Needs

During the past 12 months, LifeCare has conducted a series of monthly polls on our private web site and examined overall usage of our services to identify trends and emerging needs among clients and their employees. We hope that the information we’ve gathered will assist you in determining the most effective messages for promoting your LifeCare program (and other employee programs) in the months ahead. We also hope that it will help you better understand the kinds of issues and support that are most important to your employees.

Work/Life Balance
More male employees (34 percent) have thought about leaving their current jobs due to family and personal responsibilities than females (27 percent).

Parenting
The biggest concerns for parents during the summer, according to a LifeCare poll, are:

1. Keeping children safe outdoors (31.5%)
2. Finding summer child care (21%)
3. Internet and TV safety (21%)
4. Dealing with at-risk behaviors (13%)

Health Concerns
When polled about their major health concerns, LifeCare users identified the following:

1. Weight management (38%)
2. Stress management (22%)
3. Cancer (15.7%)
4. Heart disease (7.8%)
5. Chronic pain (3%)
6. Diabetes (3%)
7. Other (10.5%)

Adult Care
The most popular requests LifeCare receives from client employees regarding adult care are for information about/referrals to:

1. Home health care agencies
2. Associations and networks
3. Residential care facilities
4. Long-term care facilities

The two biggest trends in the area of adult care: a growing number of clients are interested in launching or learning more about geriatric care management programs; and more client employees are requesting personal services for their aging loved ones.

Child Care
The most popular requests regarding child care are for information about/referrals to:

1. Child care centers
2. Family day care homes
3. In-home agencies
4. Before-/after-school care

The fastest-growing trends in child care are for information about/referrals to: back-up care providers; before-/after-school programs with transportation; and low-cost alternatives to day care (those that offer financial assistance, scholarships, and sliding-scale fees).

Concierge Services
It’s important to note that Concierge Services are distinguished from Personal Services by the fact that, in addition to providing information and referrals, LifeCare specialists actually conduct transactions and/or make reservations on behalf of client employees. Personal Services include information and referrals only. The most popular requests regarding concierge services are for:

1. Attorneys
2. Pet services
3. Gift purchasing
4. Travel services

Personal Services
The most popular requests regarding personal services are for information about/referrals to:

1. Health and wellness issues/fitness clubs
2. Legal/financial services (especially debt consolidation and attorney referrals)
3. Pet services
4. Moving/relocation services

Academics/Education
The most popular requests regarding education are for information about/referrals to:

1. Undergraduate programs
2. Private financial aid
3. Local schools in an area that employee is moving/relocating to
4. Graduate programs

Prenatal Care
The most popular requests regarding prenatal care are for information about/referrals to:

1. Hospitals
2. Physician referral lines
3. Parenting classes
4. Birthing methods classes

Adoption
The most popular requests regarding adoption are for information about/referrals to:

1. Domestic agencies
2. International agencies
3. Associations and networks
4. Home study only services/classes

Roughly 60 percent of companies now offer some type of adoption assistance. Adoption programs are becoming increasingly popular, as they can be a relatively low-cost benefit that reaps big returns in terms of employee gratitude and loyalty.