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SubscribeIn a bid to help staff members improve their good health and well-being so they can become more effective employees, more businesses make group health and wellness benefits available to their workers.
Ninety-four percent of large firms (5000 or more employees) and 70 percent of small businesses (50 to 199 employees) provide some kind of health or wellness program, reports OpenLoop. These programs can include stress management, smoking cessation, weight management, wellness incentives, disease management, mental health support and health risk assessments.
Considering over 90 percent of employees value their well-being as much as their salary, implementing these programs can positively impact the workplace environment. Eighty-nine percent of employees who benefitted from a wellness program at their workplace reported that they felt engaged and happy with their job. Sixty-one percent of employees partially attribute their well-maintained mental health to their employers.
These programs not only benefit employees’ health and wellness, but they also benefit the company. “Ninety-five percent of companies saw a positive return on investment (ROI) for their wellness programs,” OpenLoop reports. Additionally, 72 percent of employers who implemented a wellness program experienced a decrease in healthcare costs.
Health and wellness benefits - which may include on-site exercise equipment, fitness tracking devices and opportunities to meet with personal trainers or dietitians - are often included as part of businesses' employer-based health insurance packages. Based on recent statistics, approximately 92 percent of Americans have health insurance, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The majority of people covered ─ almost 54 percent ─ have policies through their workplace, with Medicaid and Medicare being the second-most common subtype of health insurance, both owned by 18.9 percent.
All this being said, just because a larger percentage of businesses are adopting "health-first" mentalities doesn't necessarily mean workers are succeeding with the health opportunities available to them. In fact, 48 percent of Americans skip their lunch break at least once per week. The reason? Twenty-three percent sacrificed their lunch break to finish their work on time while another 20 percent cited too many meetings as the reason for skipping their break. Passing up a lunch break can have serious consequences for employees’ health and wellness, including burnout, stress and brain fog.
This tendency to work through lunch breaks can lead to several unhealthy habits, including “mindless eating” ─ scarfing food down so fast that it is not fully chewed and therefore poorly digested. Employees who don’t feel they have much time for lunch may resort to purchasing unhealthy foods, often from vending machines or fast-food chains, which are highly processed and lack the nutrients to provide energy throughout the workday. Packing a healthy lunch and eating away from the desk can help restore energy levels.
A health-conscious lifestyle, much like working for a living, is a full-time pursuit. At Marsh McLennan Agency, we help groups find the health benefit offerings that best serve their needs, then chart out a plan that makes those goals both actionable and achievable. Every group tries to offer the best possible benefits while still managing their spend; we can help find that balance.
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