WASHINGTON, DC, December 6, 2005 - A growing number of large employers are
boosting efforts to improve their workers´ health and productivity.
Furthermore, employers that are aggressively implementing health and
productivity practices are seeing lower costs, reduced lost time and
improved worker health. These are among the major findings of a survey
released today by Watson Wyatt Worldwide and the National Business Group on
Health.
The 2005/2006 Staying[at]Work Survey found that more than four out of 10 (41
percent) employers already incorporate health and productivity initiatives
into their overall health care planning, while nearly one-third (32
percent) plan to do so within the next year. A total of 275 employers
participated in the survey, which examined the prevalence and effectiveness
of employee health and productivity practices.
"Employers recognize that a healthy and productive workforce directly
impacts their bottom line," said Shelly Wolff, national director of health
and productivity consulting at Watson Wyatt. "And with many different
factors affecting their employees´ health and productivity, employers are
taking action."
The study found that more companies are implementing a variety of practices
designed to help workers remain healthy and productive.
Health and Productivity Practices Percentage Offering in 2005 or 2006
Percentage Offering in 2003
Employee Assistance Program 94% 88%
Return-to-Work Program 81% 56%
Health Promotion Program 75% 56%
Health Risk Appraisals 72% n/a
Work and Family Balance 71% 44%
Paid Time Off Banks 40% 36%
Personal Health Coach/Advocate 40% n/a
Multiple Practices Bring Success
Employers that implement a greater number of health and productivity
practices are more successful at achieving desired outcomes. For example,
57 percent of companies that have 20 or more practices report better
employee understanding of health improvement compared with just 9 percent
of companies with fewer than 10 practices. Similarly, twice as many
employers with 20 or more practices said their strategy is effective at
increasing employee satisfaction with their benefits compared with
employers that have fewer than 10 practices.
"This is clearly a case of more is better," said Helen Darling, president
of the National Business Group on Health. "With many different avenues to
explore, employers can invest in a broad-based approach and achieve better
results."
The study also found that employers that integrate areas such as workers´
compensation, disability, sick leave and family medical leave are more
effective at achieving desired outcomes. These outcomes include reduced
lost time, improved workforce health and lower costs.
Few Employers Holding Workers Accountable for Health
Study results show a large gap in employer efforts to hold workers
accountable for their health and productivity. While three out of four
employers (74 percent) believe that their employees should be held
accountable to a great extent for improving, managing and maintaining their
health, only 4 percent think their employees are held accountable.
"Overall, employers are not doing very much to encourage employee
accountability," said Darling. "The organizations that work most closely
with employees to encourage healthy behaviors will ultimately be most
successful at closing this gap."
To effectively manage employee health and productivity, employers will need
to overcome cited barriers such as lack of actionable metrics (46 percent)
and inadequate access to data (43 percent). Organizations that measure the
return on investment of their programs report lower sick leave costs than
those that do not (1.7 percent of payroll versus 2.6 percent, respectively).
"Without data and metrics, organizations cannot gauge the effectiveness of
their health and productivity strategies and practices," Wolff said.
"Measuring the return on investment will help keep these practices in place
and enable employers to achieve the results they want."
Additional findings:
Currently, only half of organizations provide incentives for employees to
improve or maintain their health.
The issues that most affect employee productivity are stress (72 percent),
personal/family issues (59 percent), chronic medical conditions (58
percent), unscheduled absences (57 percent), presenteeism (49 percent) and
lifestyle medical conditions (49 percent).
Three-quarters of organizations (75 percent) say that administering family
medical leave is a problem.
Copies of the 2005 Staying[at]Work Survey Report are available at
www.watsonwyatt.com.
About Watson Wyatt
Watson Wyatt (NYSE: WW) is a leading global human capital and financial
management consulting firm. The firm specializes in employee benefits,
human capital strategies, technology solutions, and insurance and financial
services. Watson Wyatt has 6,000 associates in 30 countries and is located
on the Web at www.watsonwyatt.com.
About the National Business Group on Health
The National Business Group on Health, representing 240 members, mostly
large employers, is the nation´s only non-profit organization devoted
exclusively to finding innovative and forward-thinking solutions to large
employers´ most important health care and related benefits issues. The
Business Group identifies and shares best practices in health benefits,
disability, health and productivity, related paid time off and work/life
balance issues. Business Group members provide health coverage for more
than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families.
Contact
Ed Emerman, (609) 452-5967, eemerman[at]eaglepr.com
Emily Rieger, (703) 258-7634, emily.rieger[at]watsonwyatt.com