The most important thing for HR professionals today is to keep and acquire great talent. One of the most important components of both is providing a desirable and meaningful set of employee benefits.
Digital wellness is a new pillar in terms of employee benefits
The concept of digital wellness is not entirely new, but the world we live in over the past few years has made it a major pillar of employee well-being, joining the traditional big three of financial, mental and physical well-being. .
Employees are spending most of their time online
One of the main reasons that digital wellness has become essential is that many people have to stay online and work exclusively for an extended period of time – in addition to spending 8+ hours a day on personal things, all the hours they work on the web. Things like banking, telehealth and shopping need a few names.
- 84% claim that internet banking is the most important channel when communicating with their bank1
- 75% have used telehealth services in the last 12 months2
- 49% of consumers are buying more online3 And 41% of them are shopping daily or weekly via mobile or smartphone4
There is no aspect of life that is not touched by the Internet for most people, especially when their work environment adds to the mix.
Remote work is not going away
In addition to all the regular life they spend online, employees have become accustomed to working from a distance, even if it’s only part of the time.
- By 2025, 36.2 million workers are projected to work remotely – an 87% increase
From the pre-epidemic level5 - 59% of respondents to a study by Owl Labs Says they will be more likely to choose an employer who offers remote work5
- 32% said they would quit their job if they could not continue working from a distance5
With such statistics, it is hardly surprising 74% of employers plan to retain some form of remote / hybrid workforce In the near future6.
Cybercriminals are taking full advantage of all the extra traffic
The digital world has become a true memory board for hungry cyber criminals. In fact, there has been a 400% increase in cyber crime in the last few years7. To put it bluntly, here are a few absolute statistics that happen in one Daily Basis:
- 3 billion phishing emails are sent by scammers8
- An average of 24,000 malicious mobile apps have been blocked9
- 6.85 million accounts have been hacked10
Unfortunately, all of this means that people are in an endless battle to protect themselves from cyber risks.
When employees are at risk, their employers are at risk
No wonder everyone is involved in their daily routine, whenever and wherever they work. More than half of employees are using their personal devices for work11. It’s just very convenient not to. However, when you realize this too 95% of violations are due to human error12, This connection between personal life and career becomes risky for both the employee and their employer. Not surprisingly, a large number of employees working remotely have seen a 24% increase in violations since the epidemic began.13.
Cyber ​​risk has put huge financial pressure on companies
When a company’s network is breached, it puts its customers at risk, risks a huge push for their reputation, and can result in serious fines and penalties for compliance failure. And trying to get cyber insurance to protect against financial loss has become more difficult. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal states that cyber insurance premiums will increase by 92% in 2021 and that hoops companies will have to be much tougher to qualify for coverage – issues such as cyber education and ensuring they take stronger action on their network and customer data. To protect14.
In addition to the direct financial impact of the cyber threat, there is also the loss of human capital. It can take up to six months and up to 200 hours for a person to resolve and correct identity theft15. If employees focus on digital healing, it’s a fair bet that they’re not paying as much attention to their work.
To achieve digital wellness, employees – and their employers – need two things
Preventive care The first step towards digital wellness, and it consists of three, simple parts.
- As they say knowledge is power, so cyber education is important. For example, if an employee can detect those 3 billion phishing emails sent daily, they are less likely to be persuaded to click on dangerous links, and if they understand how important it is to create strong and unique passwords, they can help protect themselves. Can Even if they are found in a data breach.
- Protect yourself from threats by installing device protection to protect people’s access points on the Internet. It means to protect All Devices (PCs, Macs, smartphones, tablets and smart home devices) are vulnerable to digital threats such as viruses / malware, insecure network connections (thanks but no thanks, Random Coffeeshop Wi-Fi!), And spoofed / unsafe websites.
- Restore employee privacy and data control. How? This can be done by installing a virtual private network (VPN) that encrypts unsecured Wi-Fi networks to protect them from prying eyes, actively monitoring the dark web for identity breaches, and identifying and cleaning up all unnecessary profiles. Has been piled up for years.
Recovery care The second step in the journey of digital wellness. If there is a hidden digital threat, despite all the precautionary measures, it is important to remedy the situation quickly.
- Get rid of invited cyber criminals by removing viruses, malware, ransomware, etc. from every infected device as soon as possible.
- Identity theft? Freeze a credit then work to restore your reputation by fighting things like fraudulent unemployment claims, unauthorized lines of credit, and illegal home title transfers.
- Use the financial recovery options to fix your bad credit score and complete your pocketbook again with cyber breach insurance.
Offering a digital wellness solution as an employee benefit was no more important
Great benefits for employees who have real money are the key to retaining amazing talent and helping them achieve it. Providing an all-in-one and easy-to-use digital wellness solution designed to protect against compromised devices, privacy leaks, identity theft and other frustrating, time-consuming issues is not only peace of mind for employees, but directly – and positively, affects a company’s bottom line. Choosing a trusted cyber security solution like McAfee for the benefit of your digital wellness will give your employees a brand of their choice and 30+ years of experience protecting your company from digital threats.
For more information on McAfee Digital Wellness, see www.mcafee.com/employee-benefits-info Or send an email to [email protected].
Footnote-
- Capgemini and Efma, World Retail Banking Report 2021
- 2021 McAfee Consumer Research Emerging Tech Trends Survey, December 2021
- McAfee’s 2020 Holiday Season: The Status of Today’s Digital E-Shopper Survey
- PWC December 2021 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey
- Remote staff statistics that will surprise you – May 11, 2022
- Gartner CFO Survey 2020
- Hills. “The FBI wants a spike in cybercrime reports during the coronavirus epidemic.” April 2020
- Zdnet.com – “Three billion phishing emails are sent every day. But a change can make life more difficult for scammers“March 2021
- TechJury- “How many cyber attacks will happen every day in 2022?” May 2022
- 4. WCNC Charlotte – “How strong is your password? A professional hacker says it’s probably not strong enough. “
- IBM – Work from Home Study, 2020
- The Wall Street Journal. “Human error is often the culprit of cloud data breaches.” August 2019
- Gartner. “Designing Security for Remote-Work First Enterprises”
- The Wall Street Journal “Cyber ​​Daily: Cyber ​​Insurance Becomes Expensive in 2021” May 2022
- The Economist – “How to protect yourself against identity theft