Objectives for wellness programmes vary greatly regionally, with top goals for European employers being to reduce employee absences due to sickness or disability,
That compares to a primary objective of employee attraction and retention for Canadian employers, while in the United States, healthcare cost reduction is the top goal. Respondents in other geographies seek improved workplace morale as the main objective for offering wellness programmes. Improving worker productivity is also among the top goals in all parts of the world, according to the research from 555 organisations representing 7 million employees worldwide.
“This broad range of objectives is a good indication of why wellness initiatives are becoming popular around the world,” says Barry Hall, the principal at Buck who directed the survey. “Employers recognise that improving their employees’ health and reducing the risk of disease also returns real value to the company.”
The components of global wellness initiatives vary by region. The most frequently used worldwide are employee assistance programs (EAPs), health risk assessments (HRAs), and immunisations (such as flu jabs). The fastest-growing programme components around the world include technology-driven tools, such as web portals, online programmes and personal health records.
Survey respondents spent an average of £67 per employee per year on wellness programmes, although some spend more than £250 per employee per year. This cost typically includes educational resources, programming, health services, screening, coaching, technology and employee communications. In addition, employer respondents spend an average of £50 per employee per year on incentive rewards to motivate individuals to participate in these programmes and to measurably improve their health. Such incentives are far more prevalent in the United States than Europe, and can exceed £250 per employee per year for the most generous programmes.
Despite the growing use of incentive rewards, only 16 per cent of respondents rated their incentive programmes “extremely effective” or “significantly effective” at changing employees’ behaviours.
Hall says: “Demonstrating financial return has always been an Achilles’ heel for wellness programmes. And the fact that employers indicate significant expansion plans suggests that even if programme effectiveness proves difficult to quantify at this point, the intuitive value of offering these programmes remains a major motivator for employers around the world.”