WebMD Health Services Survey Finds Millennial Women in the Workplace Struggle with Stress, Loneliness and Isolation in Their Personal Lives, and Want Their Employers' Help

Rates Significantly Higher than for Men or Older Colleagues

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Feb 11, 2020, 06:00 ET

PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Working women caring for children experience loneliness, isolation and stress at far greater rates than others and are looking to their employers to help them better manage these issues, according to the results of a new survey from WebMD Health Services. The well-being division of WebMD, WebMD Health Services designs and implements workplace well-being programs and solutions for employers and health plans.

The survey, A Gender and Generational Divide: How Workplace Well-being Programs are Failing Women and Millennials released today, found that more than half (56%) of all working women feel lonely and isolated sometimes or always as compared with 44% of men, and caregivers report even higher levels. Women also reported experiencing stress at higher rates, with 67% indicating stress levels that are somewhat to very high, as compared to 57% of men. Stress was highest for millennial caregivers (76% versus 63% of non-caregiver millennials).

Click here to view the survey: https://www.webmdhealthservices.com/campaign/2020-employee-well-being-report/

The survey revealed deep differences in parental satisfaction with well-being, with 73% of men with children reporting satisfaction with their physical well-being, compared with 49% of women with children. Similarly, nearly half of women reported dissatisfaction with their financial well-being as compared with only 29% of men. Results were similar in the area of vocational well-being, defined as participating in work that is satisfying and consistent with one's values.

While workplace stress management programs are used about equally, nearly 40% of women express a desire for them, compared with one-third of men. The most popular stress reduction programs for women include the ability to work from home, stress management, meditation sessions or classes, and a pet-friendly workplace; men are more likely to want recreational events.

"Our survey highlights the generational, gender and life-stage differences that can have a significant impact on the success of a workplace well-being strategy," said Christine Muldoon, Vice President, Strategy, WebMD Health Services. "Employees experience well-being in distinctly different ways depending on who they are, and what is happening in their lives – which we know can have a huge impact on how they show up at work."

The survey, which sampled 2,000 adults working full time in the U.S. for large organizations with 5,000 or more full-time employees, compared aspects of well-being including physical, emotional, financial, social, vocational and environmental health by gender and generation. Comparative analysis was done for millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, Generation X, 1965-1980, and baby boomers, 1946-1964. The research was conducted by Cascade Insights, a market research company based in Portland, OR.

Millennials Prioritize Emotional, Financial Well-Being

Regarding generational differences, the survey revealed that issues of isolation, loneliness and stress were particularly acute for millennials, driven by their personal, not their work lives. More than 70% of all millennials reported high or very high levels of stress, as compared with 63% of GenXrs and half of baby boomers, made worse if the millennial is caring for children. Younger workers also reported less financial well-being than older colleagues and are twice as likely to be dissatisfied with their vocational wellness. These findings support larger studies and research showing that millennials are stressed, anxious, and often feel disconnected from other people in their lives, despite constant connection through tech and social media.

In the WebMD Health Services survey, more than half of millennials reported experiencing significantly more of every workplace stress symptom except insomnia, than their older colleagues, including anxiety, fatigue, and irritability. Nearly 30% of millennials reported frequent headaches, depression and forgetfulness.

Millennials are the most eager to take advantage of workplace benefits to reduce stress. More than half said they wished their employer allowed naps and provided free snacks/beverages; partial work from home (44%), fitness amenities (40%), and offered a pet-friendly workplace (40%) stress management programs (38%) meditation groups or classes (37%), and on-site health clinics (35%).

While millennials are more likely to communicate their desire for well-being programs, the majority of workers across generations (87%), said that they would be at least somewhat likely to participate in employer well-being activities.

"The results underscore that workplace well-being programs have to be 'people-first' and deliver solutions that are relevant to the individual if they are going to make a difference to employees and produce meaningful results," Muldoon added. "Further, when programs deliver clinically-driven solutions focused on behavior change, each employee can be met where they are on their own health journey."

Additional Survey Highlights

Millennials were the only generation of the three to prioritize emotional and financial well-being over physical well-being.
Millennials are more likely to prioritize environmental well-being/caring for the earth as an area of well-being; nearly half of millennials prioritize environmental health compared with 40% of GenXrs and 35% of boomers.
The generations define emotional well-being differently: The majority of millennials define it as mindfulness and acceptance of emotions; GenXrs and baby boomers define it as having gratitude and practicing positivity.

Survey Methodology
The survey was sourced from Lucid's panel and has a margin of error of +/- 2% at a 95% confidence level for the overall sample.

About WebMD Health Services
WebMD Health Services has over 17 years of experience driving positive behavior changes. Consumers trust WebMD for reliable, accurate, and clear answers to their most pressing health-related questions. At WebMD Health Services, we tap into these valuable consumer insights to design and implement successful, engaging solutions to help individuals meet their well-being needs. We understand that there are numerous paths to reach well-being goals. Our expertise, combined with a variety of third-party partner integrations, enables us to deliver unique and personalized experiences across a wide range of industries. See how we support these diverse populations at webmdhealthservices.com. WebMD Health Services is a subsidiary of WebMD Health Corp.

About WebMD Health Corp.
WebMD Health Corp., an Internet Brands Company, is the leading provider of health information services, serving patients, physicians, health care professionals, employers, and health plans through public and private online portals, mobile platforms, and health-focused publications. The WebMD Health Network includes WebMD Health, Medscape, Jobson Healthcare Information, prIME Oncology, MediQuality, Frontline, Vitals Consumer Services, Aptus Health, MedicineNet, eMedicineHealth, RxList, OnHealth, Medscape Education, and other owned WebMD sites. WebMD®, Medscape®, CME Circle®, Medpulse®, eMedicine®, MedicineNet®, theheart.org®, and RxList® are among the trademarks of WebMD Health Corp. or its subsidiaries.

SOURCE WebMD Health Services