The Center of the New World of Work

“Don’t talk about it, be about it.” That’s something my seven-year-old daughter said that makes me think about how Unum needs to show up for our clients and their employees. The benefits we provide are at the center of their lives – families, caregivers, HR professionals – to support the new world of work.

What a unique place to be.

The role of the employer has shifted and HR professionals are vocal about challenges they face in the workplace due to this shift. According to a Unum Employer Insights Pulse Survey, two of those challenges are employee attraction and retention and support for employee’s mental health.

To be competitive in the talent marketspace, employers should pivot their approach. This includes seeing employees as human beings with lives outside of work and providing benefits that fit their family structure that are both affordable and accessible.    

What does that mean for employers? They must find a way to invest in the entire employee experience…even when they are away from work.

Let’s face it, households have demands they have not had before, and it causes added stress to families. This stress impacts the whole human being. Now more than ever work and life are one and the same. The need for paid time off to care for self and loved ones is an imperative.

At Unum we’ve been at the center of helping employees and their families. Our own data sheds light on how employees are impacted. We’ve seen a rise in disability claims, leaves administered for businesses, and overall requests for wellbeing solutions.

• 56% of U.S. workers felt mentally unwell¹


• 55% increase in leaves administered²


• 50% growth in Unum disability claims related to anxiety²

Employers can make life a little easier with benefit solutions that provide a different set of values to employees while saving time for HR.

Taking care of a changing workforce, like what we see happening today, is what Unum does best. The company announced its most recent portfolio of products that merge modern employee benefits and HR technology. The suite of solutions includes Unum Behavioral Health, Unum Total Leave™, Unum Leave Logic, and Unum HR Connect. These solutions help meet the needs of employees and reduce the burden on Human Resources through:  

• Supporting time away through the implementation of easy-to-understand, connected and personalized leave planning and management tools.


• Integration with HR systems to streamline data and minimize manual processing and human error.


• Increasing workforce wellness with access to personalized support for employees and resources for employers to reduce mental health stigma.

In this new world, work and life are deeply intertwined. The companies that recognize and act on this will succeed across the dimensions of talent, profit, and purpose. 

So show up, let’s stop talking about it…and be about it.

1: Unum 2022 consumer research study

2: Unum internal claims data