Dive Brief:
- Amazon extended access to its virtual support program for fertility and family-building benefits to all employees, including hourly workers, in 50 countries around the world, the company announced Aug. 8. U.S. workers have had access to the benefit since 2019.
- Through a partnership with Maven Clinic, employees can access free virtual appointments with OB-GYNs, reproductive endocrinologists, coaches and other providers who can guide workers through fertility and family-building options, such as egg freezing, in vitro fertilization, adoption and surrogacy.
- The offering is designed to take the guesswork out of the family-building process, “which can often be confusing and overwhelming,” Lian Neeman, global director of benefits at Amazon, said in a statement. “Our benefits are designed to care for all our employees’ needs, and that means ensuring they have the resources they need to live their best lives, regardless of their personal circumstances.”
Dive Insight:
Fertility benefits have gathered steam as a new frontier for large employers, with various providers making it easier for companies to offer access to all employees, including hourly associates, as in the case of Walmart.
A report from Maven released earlier this year indicated that a majority of employers plan to increase access to family health benefits within the next few years, in response to growing employee interest in such benefits.
Notably, Carrot Fertility survey results from April said that only one-third of employees could afford fertility treatments if needed; nearly half of U.S. respondents said they’d consider taking a second job to afford such. And almost two in three workers surveyed said they would change jobs to work for a company that provided fertility care benefits.
The nature of fertility benefits has shifted in recent years, and they now take various forms, from Maven’s virtual care model to basic paid stipends or allowances to pay for family-building care. In all, employers are increasingly aware of the retention benefits of offering such care, experts previously told HR Dive.
