‘Benefit burnout’ and health insurance ‘planxiety’ send young workers to AI for HR answers

It’s open enrollment season again—that period between October and November when workers must reacquaint themselves with “deductibles,” “copays,” and “premiums.” Many would rather wait at the DMV, sit through a three-hour work meeting, or attempt to explain social media to tech-challeged loved ones than spend their afternoon selecting an insurance plan.

That’s why some workers are farming out everything on their health insurance to-do list to AI and social media.

New research from HR tech company Justworks and The Harris Poll shows we’re entering the era of “benefit burnout”: Many people are not doing their own research on what plans are best for them, and instead of consulting HR, they’re outsourcing their decisions to artificial intelligence or crowdsourcing on TikTok.

Some are simply