December 7, 2007
Did you know...?
More Companies are offering Incentives to Promote Wellness Programs
More companies plan to offer financial incentives to reward workers who adopt healthier lifestyles in 2008 and beyond, according to a survey of large companies released in November. A total of 355 employers participated in the 2007-08 Staying@Work survey, a collaborative effort of Watson Wyatt, a global consulting firm, and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), a non-profit association of 285 large employers. Over the years, the Staying@Work survey has proven to be a reliable predictor of occupational health and benefits-related trends among large U.S. businesses.
The companies that are best controlling their costs and increasing productivity utilize incentives as part of a broad array of health management programs. Top performing companies emphasize effective information delivery, quality of care, employee health and productivity, and the use of data and metrics to measure results, according to Watson Wyatt and the NBGH. The payoffs are apparent: Companies with comprehensive health and productivity management programs achieve 20 percent more revenue per employee, have 16 percent higher market value and deliver 57 percent higher shareholder returns (based on data from 2004 to 2006). Additionally, companies with highly effective health and productivity management programs have cost increases that are five times lower for sick leave; four-and-a-half times lower for long-term disability; four times lower for short-term disability; and three-and-a-half times lower for general health coverage in comparison to companies that do not use an integrated approach. The survey found that more companies are planning to connect employee health to company goals. Almost one-third of responding employers (29 percent) said they link health and productivity programs to their broader initiatives, or plan to in 2008. Another 26 percent plan to do so in 2009. Employers are also implementing a range of programs designed to engage employees in managing their own health.
Survey Highlights
Forty-six percent of the employers surveyed said they already offer, or soon plan to offer, financial incentives to encourage workers to monitor and improve their health. By 2009, at least 70 percent are expected to offer their employees some form of incentive, according to the 2007/2008 Staying@Work report, Building an Effective Health & Productivity Framework. However, while companies and their workers believe that a healthy workforce is a priority, accountability appears to be lacking. For example, 79 percent of those surveyed believe that employees should be held accountable, but only 4 percent actually enforce accountability. Similarly, 68 percent think managers should be held accountable for workforce productivity (i.e., employees are at work and fully productive), but only 13 percent are taking action in response.
In other findings:
Employers reported they spend a median 21.2 percent of payroll on direct and indirect costs of programs for wellness, sick leave and disability. Preventable factors top the list of health-related items affecting business performance, followed by adverse physical conditions such as back pain. The leading health issues are lifestyle risks (42 percent), physical conditions (34 percent), chronic conditions (31 percent), unscheduled absences (30 percent) and mental health conditions (23 percent). The two most commonly cited barriers to effectively managing health and productivity are lack of data (45 percent) and organizational structure (41 percent). Forty-eight percent of organizations say job-related stress created by long hours and doing more with less affects business performance. Although only 5 percent are taking strong action to address stress, companies with the most effective health and productivity management programs are three times more likely to do so than their less-effective peers. Thirty-eight percent of employers now offer Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHPs) and 25 percent offer a health savings account. However, the median employee enrollment rate in CDHPs remains a relatively low 8 percent. CDHPs can help control cost increases when combined with other tactics, but their use alone does not correlate with a lower cost trend.
To read the full report, point your browser to the Watson Wyatt webpage (www.watsonwyatt.com). Click on Ideas and Research then click on Research Reports and then 2007/2008 Staying@Work Report: Building an Effective Health & Productivity Framework or just cut and paste the following link into your browser:
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/research/deliverpdf.asp?catalog=2007-US-0216&id=x.pdf.
To learn more about services OHS-COMPCARE has to offer, contact our Client Services Team at (816) 559-6306 or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com. You can also visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.
*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*
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