It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when holiday parties collide with collegiate and professional athletics events. What do they all have in common? Booze, lots of it, and often free. It’s no wonder the lead reindeer has a red nose. Of course, drinking isn’t limited to a single season, but it holds a prominent place during the holidays. Across a few short weeks, consumption of spiked cider, boozy nog, wine, beer, cocktails and variations thereof may be higher than at any other point in the year. One industry study suggested that drinking doubles at this time of year. During this party time, we see up close the drinking habits of our partners, co-workers, relatives and, of course, ourselves.

More than 80% of people who make New Year’s resolutions have already given up on their goals by February. While there’s a lot of resolution advice on the internet, much of it fails to highlight the crux of behavioral change.

It’s a new year and many people are in the mood for making a fresh start. And that often means giving something up (cigarettes, alcohol, junk food). Unfortunately, the odds of sticking with new year resolutions are not good. Come February, 80% of people will have given up giving up. So what can we learn from the 20% who make it?

You’ll no doubt be all too aware of just how important employee benefits (EB) are to any business when attracting and retaining talent. Along with salary and pension, insured benefits like life, health and disability insurance can be the difference between keeping an employee engaged and losing them to a competitor. It can also be the deciding factor for a candidate when choosing a company to work for.