In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

Everyone knows that a competitive benefits package includes much more than just financial wellness and a good salary. And, an exceptional benefits package may even counteract a high salary expectation.

Piecing together your exceptional benefits package doesn’t need to be difficult. The first step is simple: provide your employees with the tools they need to be smarter about how they handle their personal finances. Your employees are craving financial education – studies show what we already know: your employees need help with understanding how to manage their finances – and they want you to help.

Employee financial wellness doesn’t just create happier and healthier employees. Providing a best-in-class employee financial wellness program increases engagement and productivity while reducing unexplained absences, turnover, and ultimately, healthcare costs. Improving overall financial wellness has a solid corporate ROI – one that you can easily share with your CFO. If you’re seriously looking to attract cream-of-the-crop talent, you also need to offer transformational HR technology. From mobile-first financial wellness platforms to videoconferencing apps, to recognition and rewards, this new wave of HR technology integrates wellness, development, education and performance management. And, with unemployment at or near all-time lows, your company needs every tool available to be on the cutting edge of competitive.

Your employees may not have the tools to deal with workplace stress. Financial stress is the number one source of all employee stress – which not only negatively impacts personal health and wellbeing, it also costs your company money in the form of lost productivity, higher costs in healthcare, higher turnover and more absenteeism. Helping your employees learn how to prevent financial stress, learn how to cope with it and learn how to recover from workplace stressors will be one of the best benefits you can provide.

Are your employees living up to your expectations – or down to them? Often, too many rules can create a work environment where employees feel like they’re stepping on eggshells. GM CEO Mary Barra explains how empowering your employees to make small – yet important – decisions will strengthen company culture while empowering them to step up in other areas, as well.

How do your benefits stack up against those of other employers in your area? Newly published research shows employee benefits choices and costs – by region – as well as data on employer provisions. Both employers and their employees can access information on benefits offerings from across the region. This can help employees better understand their selection of voluntary benefits at their company – and at others.

Are you sending out late-night work emails from the comfort of your bed? In the wake of France’s law banning work email after hours, New York City may be one of the first cities in America to follow suit, banning the requirement of an after-hours response. According to New York City Council member Rafael Espinal, “the lines between our work and personal lives have blurred. My bill will simply protect employees from retaliation when they choose to disconnect.”

Organizational rhythm: have you got it? How can you gauge and identify what makes people behave in the way that they do? What makes your employees tick? Happy employees are more creative and enterprise organizational growth. Organizational rhythm comes once you’ve learned what elements hone your employees’ continued success. “The paradigm shift will only happen when you observe employees from far and see how they behave and converse informally.”

Is your company expanding but leaving women and minorities behind? Even as workplace diversity, equity and equality are on the forefront of HR and media awareness, young women and people of color are still at high risk of discrimination – at all levels of employment. Workplace discrimination can come in many forms, both intentional and otherwise. Employers must ensure that they’re protecting the safety and welfare of all employees by taking stock of their hiring practices, organizational culture, core values and salary structure in order to ensure that all employees are given the same opportunities.

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