How Employee Benefits Evolved Over America’s 250 Years

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, the American workplace looks little like it did at the nation’s founding. And the benefits landscape is no exception.

In 1776, the concept of an employee benefits package simply didn’t exist. Today is a vastly different scene, where employers may offer everything from health insurance and retirement plans to fertility benefits and childcare benefits to student loan repayment, menopause support, and work-from-home stipends.

It’s been a dramatic evolution. What began as basic protections and workplace necessities has grown into an increasingly personalized ecosystem designed to support employees throughout nearly every stage of life — while also recruiting and retaining talent in the process.

That growth is reflected in SHRM’s annual Employee Benefits Survey, which now tracks 229 workplace benefits — underscoring just how expansive the benefits landscape has become. 

But perhaps the biggest change isn’t the sheer number of benefits employers offer. It’s why they offer them.

“Total rewards has evolved from a fairly traditional package of pay, healthcare, and retirement, into a much broader way employers support employees as whole people through different life and career stages,” said Ben Jackson, vice president of global benefits at AT&T in Dallas.

SHRM Specialty Credential: Total Rewards

A Reflection of a Changing Workforce 

The history of employee benefits mirrors the history of work itself. As the nation’s economy evolved from agriculture to manufacturing and eventually to today’s service- and technology-driven industries, employers’ approach to supporting workers evolved alongside it.

“There are sentinel events through history” that explains much of the evolution of employee benefits, said Ron Seifert, senior client partner at consulting firm Korn Ferry in Philadelphia. “Why did we start paying people in a certain way? Why did we create structures and systems? There was union influence. And we shifted working environments from an agronomic environment to one that was industrial to one more focused on services and technology.”

Many of the earliest employer-sponsored benefits emerged during the Industrial Revolution, when large employers offered housing, pensions, and medical care to attract and retain workers. The first private pension plan in the United States was established in 1875 by the American Express Company. It was designed to support aging or disabled employees who had completed 20 years of service and reached 60 years of age, providing up to $500 annually. In 1877, the Granite Cutters Union kickstarted the idea of a health plan by creating the first plan for workers who got sick or injured on the job.

The modern benefits system took shape during World War II, when wage controls prompted employers to compete for talent through health insurance and other nonwage compensation. Retirement plans, paid leave, and employer-sponsored healthcare eventually became workplace staples. 

But over time, the philosophy behind benefits began to shift.

“On the employer side, we’ve seen the way that employers think about what an employee is to them,” Seifert said. “Are they a cog in a wheel, like an assembly line? Or are they part of a values statement? And how do they convey how they care about you as an employee?”

That evolution transformed benefits from largely transactional offerings into a reflection of an organization’s values and its investment in employees.

“It’s no longer just about what a company offers,” Jackson said. “It’s about how those offerings help employees and their families feel supported in real life, so they can show up and do their best work.” 

From Benchmarking to Listening

One of the biggest changes in recent years has been how employers decide which benefits to offer.

Article: With Hundreds of Benefits Now in the Mix, How Can Employers Decide What to Offer?

Rather than simply benchmarking competitors, many organizations are increasingly designing benefits around employee feedback and changing workforce needs. 

“Availability of information and talking to employees has shifted [benefits strategy] from what’s market competitive to what our employees need,” said Nader Salah, executive director of total rewards at Detroit-based financial services firm Ally Financial.

That represents a significant philosophical shift. “No one answers anymore to what a benefits package should look like,” Salah said. “Employees — all of our employees — are different. Their lives are different.”

At Ally, that philosophy has led to recent additions including menopause support, doula services, enhanced fertility benefits, virtual pelvic floor therapy, childcare support, free telehealth, education savings contributions, and student loan repayment assistance.

The goal, Salah said, is meeting employees where they are. 

Jackson sees the same trend across employers.

“Employees no longer see benefits as something separate from work; they see them as part of whether they can thrive at work and in life,” he said. “That shift is pushing employers to move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions and toward more tailored support that meets employees where they are, with the right resources for different moments in their lives.”

The Rise of Holistic Well-being

Perhaps no trend better illustrates the evolution of benefits than the growing focus on employee well-being. Decades ago, physical wellness was the primary focus of employers, but that’s expanded significantly in recent years to include other aspects of wellness. 

“Today, employees are looking for benefits that support their physical, financial, emotional, and social well-being,” Jackson said. “That has pushed employers to move from a wellness mindset focused mostly on physical health to a more holistic well-being strategy that can include mental health, caregiving, volunteering, and opportunities for career growth.”

Salah has witnessed a similar evolution firsthand.

“Overall employee well-being is at the center of everything,” he said. “That’s been a shift over the last five to 10 years. It’s about putting the employee at the center of it, then figuring out what they need.”

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated that transformation, bringing conversations around mental health into the mainstream and prompting employers to expand support. The number of employers offering mental health benefits peaked after COVID-19 entered the equation, with 91% of employers offering mental health coverage in 2022, according to SHRM data. 

Meanwhile, topics that once rarely surfaced in workplace conversations — from infertility and reproductive health to menopause and caregiving — are now increasingly reflected in benefit offerings.

"If you think about programs for reproductive health, for instance, I don’t even know that we talked about it years ago,” Seifert said. "Now it’s part of the fabric of how we make sure that people are feeling fully cared for and supported” in the workplace.

Article: How Employers Are Widening the Definition of Mental Health Benefits

Employees Are Shaping What’s Next 

Experts say employees themselves have become one of the biggest drivers of benefit innovation.

In many ways, Salah said, “the younger generations entering the workforce are not as shy as the older generations. They will tell you what they want. They will tell you what they need.”

That openness has fundamentally changed the employer-employee relationship. “The relationship between the employer and employee — for those that do it well — has changed,” Salah said. “There is more of a two-way communication.”

Employee feedback, as well as employees vocalizing their pain points, now often spur employers to add or rethink specific benefits coverage. That is what happens at Ally, Salah said, as feedback gathered through employee resource groups, listening sessions, and conversations regularly shapes benefit decisions. “A lot of these benefits have evolved and been introduced because we are hearing from our employees,” he said. 

Jackson said employee feedback is also a big motive for benefits changes at AT&T, as the telecommunications giant responds to what its workers tell them to “improve or provide support that reflects the reality of their lives,” he said. 

“When we think about the work transaction today, employees expect employers to help remove barriers in more practical and personal ways, whether that means lowering costs, making quality care easier to access, reducing stigma around mental health, or offering support before someone is in crisis,” Jackson said.

A Business Priority

Another evolution in total rewards over the years? That benefits are a critical business strategy rather than simply an employee perk. 

“Total rewards has evolved from being viewed as pay and perks to a business strategy that can help accelerate outcomes for customers and shareholders,” Jackson said. “Healthcare, well-being, and family support are not ‘nice to have.’ They are critical strategies to attract, retain, and engage employees.”

For employers, those investments increasingly support broader organizational goals while signaling what kind of workplace they aspire to create. “Benefits also reflect the kind of company an employer is trying to build, because they show employees how their employer is investing in them in meaningful, practical ways,” Jackson said.

Benefits have evolved dramatically over the past several decades — and the past 250 years — but experts expect benefits to continue evolving. More personalization for employees is practically guaranteed, Jackson said.

“I believe benefits will continue heading in this direction,” he said of personalization, “with more tailored experiences that are meaningful for employees and more strategic for the business.”