The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—also known as the ACA—was signed into law more than five years ago, requiring dramatic changes to the plans employers can offer their workers, how information on those plans are communicated, how eligibility is determined, and much more. It is only natural to believe that changes of this magnitude play a significant role in shaping employer-sponsored health benefits trends.

Remote employees are increasingly common in today’s businesses. According to a New York Times article published last year, the number of remote workers—which includes full-time telecommuters, self-employed freelancers, and other professionals whose work is traditionally done outside an office—could presently be as high as 30 percent of the American workforce.

As the economy improves, more people are beginning to leave their jobs of their own volition. What’s worse, the people who are leaving aren’t the slackers to whom you would love to give a pink slip. In a recent WorkForces Report, Aflac notes that the individuals who describe themselves as likely to leave their current position are hard-working, highly educated, high-achievers.

The difference between being a leader and a boss is more than simply the word someone uses to describe a supervisor. Employees perceive a leader and a boss in completely different ways, and leaders are far more effective than mere bosses, who often appear stuck in the 1950s, although they may view themselves as progressive.

The word “benefits” implies that they are an extra bonus that employees receive. Although the term can include this idea, the truth is that federal and state laws require employers to provide certain benefits to all employees upon employment, making them no more of an “extra” than is a salary.