Newest Employee Benefit: At-Home COVID Testing

covid, benefit, TIAA, health

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Pet insurance, snacks, and other incentives have long separated one company from another in the eyes of employees. But one pandemic perk might set the bar higher.

As part of TIAA’s “commitment to help support the health, wellbeing, and safety of its employees,” the company said it is now offering at-home COVID-19 PCR testing for all U.S.- based employees, at no cost to them.

Sean Woodroffe

It might seem like a surreal sign of the times but makes sense when seeking to reassure an anxious workforce to help maintain their focus and productivity.

“As we continue to observe increasing transmissible rates of COVID-19 across the country, TIAA is delighted to offer this zero-cost benefit of at-home COVID-19 testing to provide our associates with convenient and immediate access to testing,” Sean Woodroffe, CHRO at TIAA, said in a statement. “Paramount to our ‘Value Our People’ principle, is to ensure that we remain vigilant in attending to the needs of our associates to remain safe and healthy.”

TIAA is offering at-home COVID-19 testing to its employees to help provide peace of mind during the pandemic, it added. The company is not requiring employees to get tested. Use of the at-home testing is optional, and the results are private.

Available to all employees

This new benefit is available to all TIAA, Nuveen, and TIAA Bank employees, regardless of whether they participate in the company’s medical plans.

Additionally, dependents covered under a TIAA medical plan are also eligible for the testing.

Individuals can request an at-home COVID test, administer it themselves, and submit the results to a lab for processing. Afterward, they can schedule a virtual visit with a physician to discuss their results—also free of charge.

TIAA research recently found that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased employers’ focus on employee physical and financial health yet has also created gaps between their perceptions about the benefits employees need and their employees’ expectations.

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