Improving productivity by keeping employees healthy and working
is emerging as the top business objective for employer-sponsored
wellness programs around the world. The two exceptions are the
United States, where reducing health care cost increases
overwhelmingly continues to be the top goal, and Asia, where the
most important objective is improving workforce morale.
These are among the latest trends identified by Buck
Consultants’ third annual global wellness survey, “WORKING WELL: A
Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness
Strategies,” released today. The survey analyzed responses from
more than 1,100 organizations representing 10 million employees in
45 countries.
“The heightened global focus on improving productivity is a
significant trend,” said Barry Hall, a Buck principal who directed
the survey. “Business leaders around the world are increasingly
recognizing the financial value of healthier workers and the need
to better engage employees in reducing their health risks.”
Stress is consistently cited as the top health risk driving
wellness programs in all areas of the world, except for the United
States and Latin America, where lack of exercise and poor nutrition
are of top concern.
“Employers in the United States and Latin America seem to lag
behind the rest of the world in addressing stress and its related
conditions such as depression, anxiety, and fatigue,” said Hall.
“These are among the most significant drivers of productivity loss
and absenteeism, as well as increased health care costs.”
Effect of Economic Downturn
Wellness programs are still most prevalent in North America,
where 77 percent of responding employers offer them. However,
strong growth is reported from all regions of the world, despite
current economic conditions. Globally, 24 percent of respondents
indicated a decreased ability to provide wellness services, and 19
percent actually enhanced their wellness initiatives.
“Wellness programs appear to be holding their own as an
organizational priority,” said Hall. “Despite increased pressure on
employers to cut budgets, many recognize that their wellness
programs can help relieve the personal burdens that often affect
their employees’ health and productivity. Further, the prevalence
of provisions in U.S. health reform legislation in support of
wellness and prevention seems likely to propel wellness to even
greater attention and investment in the United States.”
Fastest-Growing Wellness Components
The fastest-growing components of wellness initiatives around
the world are expected to increase 100 percent or more over the
next three years. These include technology-driven tools, such as
Web portals, online healthy lifestyle programs, and personal health
records.
On-site programs, such as caregiver support, personal health
coaching, and healthy vending machine food choices are also
expected to rapidly increase.
Incentive Awards
Incentive awards, designed to improve employee participation and
engagement in wellness program activities, are most prevalent in
the United States (offered by 56 percent of respondents). The use
of incentives in the United States has increased 63 percent since
Buck’s inaugural survey in 2007.
U.S. respondents spend an average of $163 per employee per year
on wellness incentive rewards, up from an average of $100 two years
ago. Twelve percent of U.S. respondents spend more than $500 per
employee per year, with the largest incentive reported at more than
$2,000 per year per employee.
Incentive rewards of various types are increasingly being
offered in all parts of the world, especially Asia (42 percent) and
Australia (33 percent).
Measuring Impact
Buck’s annual survey continues to find that relatively few
organizations are using metrics to validate the success of their
wellness programs. Worldwide, only 22 percent have measured
financial outcomes (although financial objectives are not a primary
focus in most regions outside the United States).
“The fact that organizations continue to expand wellness
programs, despite this lack of measurement, suggests that the
intuitive value of improved employee health remains a major
motivator for employers,” said Hall. “Employers may recognize that
health outcomes and behavior changes inspired by wellness programs
are likely to take multiple years to fully manifest themselves in
the form of measurable savings.”
Among U.S. respondents who have measured the effect of wellness
programs on their health care cost trend rate, 43 percent report a
reduction in the trend rate. The typical reduction is two to five
trend percentage points per year. “This is a significant savings on
the massively growing health care bills of many employers,” said
Hall.
Additional wellness issues covered by Buck’s global survey
include organizational ownership and responsibility of wellness
programs, employee feedback, and communications.
Buck Consultants is hosting two complimentary Webcasts on the
survey results on November 18, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard
Time and November 19, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. To
register, visit
http://www.buckconsultants.com/buckconsultants/portals/0/documents/EVENTS/Webcast_Invitations/2009/wc-buck-invite-11-18_11-19-09.pdf
Buck Consultants’ survey was conducted in association with
CIGNA, International Health Consulting, Pfizer and WorldatWork.
About the Survey
Partners
Buck Consultants, an ACS company, is a leader in human resource
and benefits consulting with more than 1,500 professionals
worldwide. Founded in 1916 to advise clients in establishing and
funding some of the nation’s first public and private retirement
programs, Buck is an innovator in the areas of retirement benefits,
health and welfare programs, human capital management,
compensation, and employee communication. News and other
information about Buck Consultants are available at
www.buckconsultants.com. Buck is an independent subsidiary of
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.
ACS, a global FORTUNE 500 company with approximately 76,000
people supporting client operations reaching more than 100
countries, provides business process outsourcing and information
technology solutions to world-class commercial and government
clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS." Learn more about
ACS at www.acs-inc.com.
CIGNA (www.cigna.com) is a global health service company
dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being, and
sense of security, providing an integrated suite of medical,
dental, behavioral health care, health coaching, and wellness
programs to people around the world. vielife
(www.vielife.com), a CIGNA company, is a leading provider of global
health and productivity solutions including online health
assessment and behavioral change programs available in Chinese,
French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
Pfizer (www.pfizer.com) is committed to being a global leader in
health care and to helping change millions of lives for the better
through providing access to safe, effective and affordable
medicines and related health care services to the people who need
them.
Wolf Kirsten International Health Consulting
(www.wolfkirsten.com) helps international corporations,
organizations, and governments improve the quality of life of their
respective population through innovative, culturally appropriate,
and cost-effective health promotion programs.
WorldatWork (www.worldatwork.org) is a global human resources
association focused on compensation, benefits, work-life and
integrated total rewards to attract, motivate and retain a talented
workforce. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork provides a network of more
than 30,000 members and professionals in 75 countries with
training, certification, research, conferences and community. It
has offices in Washington, D.C. and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Editor’s Note: The full survey report is available at no cost to
the media by contacting Ed Gadowski at 201-902-2825. Available to
the public: a complimentary executive summary offered in seven
languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese,
and Spanish) as well as the full survey report for $325. Five
special country reports are also available for $175 each including:
Brazil (available in English and Portuguese), Canada, Singapore,
South Africa, and United Kingdom. Contact Buck’s Global Survey
Resources, 500 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, NJ, 07096-1533. Telephone
1-800-887-0509. Reports can be purchased online at
www.bucksurveys.com.
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