What's spooking employees about their work

WORK CULTURE: Most workplaces may be devoid of ghouls and goblins and witches, but that doesn't mean employees aren't spooked by the state of the workplace. A recent poll from job search platform Monster uncovered what's driving anxiety among American workers. The most frightening concern of 2023? Returning to the office full-time, according to the survey.

And the department that scares them most is, unfortunately, human resources. Fairly, 17% of employees said they'd rather run into a ghost than get laid off. At first glance, the data may seem playful, but these anxieties reveal quite a bit about employee sentiment.

Read: Ghouls? Ghosts? Layoffs? Employees share their biggest workplace fears

BEREAVEMENT LEAVE: Cassandra Pratt was on her way into work when she received the notification that her most recent embryo transfer had failed. The news was the latest in a series of challenges Pratt had faced in her fertility journey, and the office was the last place she wanted to be.  

"I was maybe about 100 yards from the train when I realized that I could not do it," she recalls. "I knew I needed to turn around and go home." 

Thankfully, Pratt, now SVP of people at fertility benefits provider Progyny, Inc. , was able to utilize official paid leave for reproductive loss, which covers miscarriages, failed fertility treatments such as IVF and surrogacy, as well as failed adoption processes. 

Read: How to make fertility loss a part of bereavement leave

RETIREMENT: According to a new survey by MFS Investment Management , 63% of employees anticipate retirement involving reduced hours or a different job, instead of a clean break from their careers. Sixty-six percent have pushed back the age they hope to leave the workforce, while more than a third don't think retirement will be possible for them at all. 

The psychological toll of inflation on employees' financial wellness is an important consideration, and is having a negative impact on employees' mindset toward their financial well-being. Sixty-six percent of employees told MFS they lack confidence in their ability to save enough for retirement, while separate research from Charles Schwab found that 62% of employees list inflation as their biggest obstacle toward saving for retirement, up from 45% last year. 

Read: Inflation has crushed retirement dreams for a third of all workers