By Holly Devine Editor’s Note: Holly Devine grew up knowing how to advocate for herself and what she needed – as it related to being a person with a physical disability. But it wasn’t until she was working at her first job after college that she learned how to ask for support with a…
Read MoreBy LeighAnn Jarry Editor’s Note: Employers seeking to expand their workforce are encountering challenges due to the tight labor market. Despite offering generous benefits and higher compensation, it is difficult to find employees. But there is a virtually untapped pool of applicants – people with disabilities. Now is exactly the right time for employers to…
Read MoreBy Tracey Ferstler, PhD, Head of Return to Health, Global Claims, MetLife COVID turned the world as we know it upside down, and people who work in and around absence management and disability insurance are looking for answers on what’s next. Will we return to normal or is this our new normal? What is unique…
Read MoreWhen the summer heat begins to give way to lower temperatures and the days get shorter and shorter, the onset of fall tends to make itself known seemingly overnight. It can be an exciting time of year; finishing summer vacations, getting back to school, preparing for winter. But for many people, it also signals the…
Read MoreWhen most people consider disability, they picture something catastrophic happening—an injury on the ski slope, or a speeding car hurtling into theirs—and, for the most part assume it can never happen to them. That’s why human resources experts often find it challenging to convince their employees of the importance of disability insurance even though you…
Read MoreFor many, the first day of autumn kicks off a season of apple picking, foliage tours, and evenings by the fire pit. But for others, it signals the beginning of a months-long struggle with depression, brought about by a significant reduction in sunlight. What is Seasonal Affective Disorder? Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) is a form…
Read MoreBy Juliane Kowalski, Senior Vice President, Group Benefits, MetLife Editor’s note: Life insurance is not only a way to pay for funeral expenses. It can cover major expenses such as housing, childcare, and college tuition as well as everyday ones like groceries, transportation, and credit card bills. If we’ve learned anything from the past…
Read MoreWhen we say “Hello, autumn,” we often are also saying “Hello, germs.” Whether it’s the change in the weather or the many (many!) germs your kids bring home if you have school-aged children, this is when we tend to get the first cold or flu bug of the season. The problem is that most of…
Read MoreAs much as all of us just want the pandemic to go away, the COVID-19 variants have added more complications to consider. Among these are the ways we can go about keeping individuals with disabilities and vulnerabilities safe as the variants spread. At this point, over half of Americans have been vaccinated, but unfortunately,…
Read MoreBy Dan Jolivet Editor’s Note: Dan Jolivet’s very personal story about his experience with being a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder captured our collective attention immediately. This is a story everyone should read. Dan is honest and vulnerable, and you will gain perspective from Dan’s observations. [Note: The author’s representations here solely reflect his personal opinion…
Read MoreRemote learning isn’t new. But, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it became extremely prominent last year so children could continue to attend school. At one point during the pandemic, over 50 million children weren’t able to take classes in person. Some schools relied solely on platforms like Zoom to keep going. Others used their own…
Read MoreHappy New Year! Wait…aren’t we a little early (or a lot late) for that greeting? The truth is that for many people, September is the “real” new year, despite what the calendar says. And it’s easy to see why—after all that was traditionally the time we came back to school in a new outfit, maybe…
Read More
