SHRM 2025 Employee Benefits Survey Takeaways for Business Leaders

The 2025 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey can give you better information and context for making the tough judgment calls that can shift the needle on employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Here are a few takeaways from this year’s results to consider when making benefits decisions:

Compliance Remains Critical

The new presidential administration is re-examining and rethinking regulations across the board, potentially affecting how companies shape, offer, and report on their benefits. Be ready to track and respond to changes in federal law and enforcement. In addition, don’t neglect to follow state and local updates, as well, particularly if your organization operates in multiple locations.

Hybrid and Flexible Work Enter a New Phase

A majority of employers said they still offer hybrid work or flextime benefits. This suggests that employers find this approach sustainable as they look beyond the binary of working onsite or at home. While every employer will need to determine how employees gather and when they work, consider this an opportunity to tailor your flexible work benefits so they unlock productivity without sacrificing engagement or retention.

Workforces Need to Catch Up With Generative AI

Just a few years ago, generative AI was largely unknown. Now, it’s part of every conversation about organizational strategy, resource allocation, spending, and hiring. What is your organization’s plan for choosing when to use AI, getting workers ready to wield AI ethically and effectively, and ensuring AI capabilities are combined with human insights? Offering paid subscriptions for AI services is one possible benefit, but not every worker will intuitively know what to do with those tools.

GLP-1 Drug Coverage Demands Attention

Already, 16% of surveyed employers are covering the cost of GLP-1 drugs for type 2 diabetes and/or weight management. While this benefit is popular among employees, it’s also potentially expensive. An insurer in Massachusetts is restricting GLP-1 coverage to patients with diabetes, rather than also covering those seeking to manage weight loss. The GLP-1 phenomenon should prompt efforts to balance your employees’ need for this benefit and the need to manage costs.

As a members-only benefit, SHRM offers an interactive online benchmarking tool, where users can filter results from the Employee Benefits Survey according to their organization’s size, industry, and location (region and state). In addition, users may view and export results across the entirety of the benefits surveyed — all available on demand.