31 OCTOBER 2026 · GENERAL EDITION
Great benefits. Wrong problem?
Money worries, AI growing pains and green skills: three small moves for a more human workplace.
What if the support you prioritise is not the support people need most? WTW's new findings suggest a mismatch between employee demand for financial support and employer priorities.[2]
This week: ask a better question, make existing help easier to find and look beyond familiar job titles. Three small moves, not another programme to launch.
— Emma Olie
20% 🔋
Engagement could use a little lift.
Employees worldwide were engaged in 2025, according to Gallup's April 2026 report. Its dataset covered 141,444 employed respondents across 140+ countries and territories.[1]
19% 💸
Money support: still waiting its turn?
This share of employers plans to prioritise financial wellbeing over the next two years. WTW's 27 October release covered 4,115 employer responses across 91 markets.[2]
25% 🌱
Green skills are having a hiring moment.
LinkedIn reports this year-on-year growth in the share of green hiring, versus 13% growth in green-skilled talent. Its 22 October global release does not disclose country coverage or underlying counts.[3]
Gallup's global baseline highlights low engagement.[1] Its fresh 28 October US update found weaker clarity and care scores alongside AI adoption, with sharper engagement declines among remote and hybrid employees. The association does not establish that AI caused the decline.[4]
💡 TRY THIS
Ask: "Which part of the change is still unclear?" Answer one concern before sending another announcement.
WTW reports that 50% of employees want financial support, while 19% of employers plan to prioritise financial wellbeing. These are separate employee and employer findings, not matching samples.[2] Make support useful without asking people to explain their personal finances.
💡 TRY THIS
Add three private routes to a payday message: everyday costs, unexpected expenses and planning ahead. Link only to support your organisation actually offers.
LinkedIn finds green skills spreading beyond traditionally green roles, including capabilities related to efficiency, risk and environmental impact.[3] That is an opportunity to change what hiring teams look for, not simply add another preferred title.
💡 TRY THIS
Replace one title-based requirement with a concrete outcome. Ask candidates for evidence of delivering it.
🇺🇸 United States Year-end homework
Dependent care comes with a little year-end homework. The 2026 federal dependent-care assistance exclusion is $7,500, or $3,750 for certain married employees filing separately.[6] IRS nondiscrimination rules issued in August remain proposed, not final.[5]
Next step: Reconcile elections, reimbursements and W-2 Box 10 with your benefits/payroll advisers.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom Coming soon
G-Form: "coming soon" is not "open now". HMRC's 21 October bulletin outlines a voluntary exception for eligible globally mobile employees with genuine benefits-payrolling difficulties. G-Form is planned for November, not available at this edition's cutoff.[7]
Next step: Identify potentially eligible cases; this is not a general opt-out.
🌐 Global Context, please
Your dashboard called. It wants context. A global engagement baseline and a recent national reading answer different questions.[1] [4]
Next step: Keep geography and survey dates visible in your people dashboard before comparing results.
Why Your Benefits Portal Drives Turnover And How to Fix It
A Stayconomics episode on how the benefits portal experience connects to retention, and what to fix first.
🎧 Listen on Spotify →Why are leading companies helping pay off their employees' student debt
A Stayconomics episode on why leading employers are adding student debt support to their benefits.
🎧 Listen on Spotify →We have no events scheduled this week. Stay tuned — new webinars and meetups will be announced soon.
See all events & past webinars →"Before adding more support, I would ask whether the support we already offer fits people's lives. Listen without requiring a personal disclosure. Then make one useful choice easier to find and act on."
— Emma Olie
💜 ABOUT SIDEUP
Less benefits hide-and-seek. More useful choices.
SideUp brings flexible benefits, reimbursements, recognition, eNPS and pulse surveys, plus HR/payroll integrations into one platform.[8] Connect what people value with support they can use, and simpler administration behind it.
What could better-fitting benefits look like for your team?
See SideUp in a demo →[1] Gallup — State of the Global Workplace (April 2026)
[3] LinkedIn — Global Green Skills Report 2026 (22 October 2026)
[4] Gallup — US Employee Engagement Update (28 October 2026)
[6] IRS — Child and Dependent Care Credit Information
[7] HMRC — October 2026 Employer Bulletin
[8] SideUp — Manage Your Platform