Study: Nearly 60 Percent of Employees with Access to a Company Wellness Program Say the Initiative Has Made a Positive Impact...
June 08 2017 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
- New UnitedHealthcare Consumer
Sentiment Survey: “Wellness Check Up” provides insights into
employees’ knowledge and preferences about employer-sponsored
wellness programs
- Nearly 75 percent of employees are
interested in taking proactive steps to help improve their health,
with more than one third willing to devote at least one hour per
day to their well-being
- Most employees with access to a
wellness program say they are aware of the details, while among all
employees top incentives included premium reductions or grocery
store discounts
- Many employees underestimate the
financial incentives available through workplace wellness programs,
which average $742 per year per employee
Most employees with access to workplace wellness programs say
they have made a positive impact on their health, even though a
majority are unwilling to devote more than one hour per day to
health-related activities such as consistent exercise, according to
a new survey.
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The UnitedHealthcare Consumer Sentiment
Survey: "Wellness Check Up" asked employees nationwide about their
attitudes and knowledge of employer-sponsored wellness programs,
with key findings including 59 percent of respondents saying the
programs have improved their health (Infographic:
UnitedHealthcare).
These are some of the findings from this year’s UnitedHealthcare
Consumer Sentiment Survey: “Wellness Check Up,” which examines
employees’ opinions about employer-sponsored wellness programs. The
nationwide survey’s key findings include:
- Most employees say they are
interested in wellness programs. Nearly three-quarters (73
percent) of all employees say they are interested in wellness
programs, while 59 percent of people with access to such programs
said the initiatives have made a positive impact on their health. A
majority (85 percent) of respondents with access to a wellness
program say they are “somewhat aware” or “very aware” of the
details of the program.
- Yet many employees underestimate
available wellness incentives. Nearly two thirds (64 percent)
of respondents underestimate potential wellness-related financial
incentives available through employer programs, which average $742
per employee per year, according to a recent study by the National
Business Group on Health (NBGH).
- Some employees are willing to spend
more than one hour per day on wellness. More than one third (36
percent) said they are willing to devote more than an hour per day
on health-related activities, such as consistent exercise,
researching healthy food or recipes, or engaging in wellness
coaching. However, about two thirds (63 percent) of respondents are
unwilling to devote at least an hour per day to improving their
health.
- More employees own activity
trackers. Twenty-five percent of employees own an activity
tracker, nearly double the 13 percent in 2016, according to a
previous UnitedHealthcare survey.
“By engaging employees in their health, workplace wellness
programs may be able to encourage well-being, prevent disease
before it starts and, as result, help lower medical costs,” said
Rebecca Madsen, UnitedHealthcare chief consumer officer. “This
survey underscores the value of employer-sponsored wellness
programs and the importance of making them accessible to more
employees.”
More U.S. companies are investing in wellness programs, with 70
percent of employers offering such initiatives, up from 58 percent
in 2008, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.
The goal of these programs is to create healthier, more productive
employees and reduce health care costs.
Upsurge in Interest in Activity Trackers
Many survey respondents expressed interest in activity trackers
as a resource to help improve their health. Among employees without
an activity tracker, 62 percent said they would be interested in
using a wearable fitness tracker as part of a workplace wellness
program. According to technology consultancy Endeavors Partners,
companies nationwide are expected by 2018 to incorporate more than
13 million fitness tracking devices into their wellness programs as
a way to help reduce obesity and sedentary time among
employees.
Even so, 71 percent of employees underestimate the distance
necessary to achieve 10,000 daily steps, which roughly equates to
five miles – the target some health experts recommend to prevent a
sedentary lifestyle. About one quarter (28 percent) of respondents
thought 10,000 steps equates to two miles; 26 percent estimated
three miles; and 17 percent said four miles. One in five employees
(21 percent) correctly estimated five miles as the necessary
distance to achieve 10,000 steps.
Many Workers Underestimate Wellness Incentives, Some
Unwilling to Devote Time to Health
The value of corporate wellness incentives has increased to $742
per employee per year, up from $521 in 2013, according to the NBGH
study. That study found that fewer than half of eligible employees
earned the full incentive, however, with workers leaving millions
of dollars of unclaimed rewards.
The UnitedHealthcare survey found that 41 percent of full-time
workers estimated the average financial incentive available through
an employer-sponsored program to be between $0 to $300 per employee
per year, while 24 percent thought it was between $301 and $600.
About one in 10 (11 percent) selected the correct range of $601 and
$900. Employees favored health insurance premium reductions (77
percent), grocery store vouchers or discounts (64 percent), and
Health Savings Account (HSA) credits (62 percent) among the most
attractive incentives.
Despite the available incentives, some employees are unwilling
to invest much time each day to improve their health and
well-being. For instance, 15 percent of employees said they would
devote less than an hour each week to pursuing healthy activities
such as consistent exercise or researching healthy foods, while
nearly one-quarter (24 percent) would commit to one to three hours.
About one in five (19 percent) respondents would devote nine hours
or more per week to improving their health.
For complete survey results, click here.
About the Survey
The UnitedHealthcare Consumer Sentiment Survey: “Wellness Check
Up” was conducted May 4 to 7 and May 11 to 14, 2017, using ORC
International’s Telephone CARAVAN omnibus among a landline and cell
phone probability sample of 609 adults ages 18 and older and
employed full time in the continental United States. The margin of
error was plus or minus 3.9 percent at the 95 percent confidence
level.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live
healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting
consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted
relationships with care providers. The company offers the full
spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers,
military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare
and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with 1 million
physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other
care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the
businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), a diversified Fortune
50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit
UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
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UnitedHealthcareWill Shanley,
714-204-8005will.shanley@uhc.com
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