WorldatWork: Employee Wellness Programs Expand to Well-Being

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Mar 07, 2012, 09:01 ET

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Organizations' health & wellness offerings have expanded beyond traditional programs (that primarily focus on physical health) to integrated well-being programs that now include mental and emotional health, financial health, work-life effectiveness, and workplace environment and stress.

Source: WorldatWork 2012 survey report on Total Rewards and Employee Well-Being.

Among prevalent well-being program categories, the top elements employers support are:

Stress-related: EAP resource and referral = 80%
Workplace environment: Safety = 73%
Health-related: Immunizations = 73%
Work-life balance: Vacation time use encouraged = 66%
Financial health: Retirement education = 57%

Additional findings:

A majority of surveyed employers (96%) offer employer-sponsored health care and 94% offer well-being programs.
A majority (77%) expect to increase the number of well-being programs and activities offered.
A majority report that well-being programs have a measurable positive impact on employee engagement (87%), employee satisfaction (84%) and productivity (76%).
Across all well-being programs, employers are partial to offering incentives for participation; the majority neither incentivize nor penalize.
Less than one in three employers offer coverage in well-being programs to the employee's spouse or immediate family members.

"Organizations ought to consider a more rounded and integrated approach to their well-being programs," said Rose Stanley, a WorldatWork Certified Benefits Professional and work-life practice leader. "One idea is to open up some of these programs, such as financial counseling or diet and nutrition, to extended family. This could potentially provide the support needed to change behavior."

In support of National Employee Wellness Month in June, WorldatWork will be presenting a free webinar on ways to improve workplace wellness and well-being. For additional information on this annual initiative, visit NationalEmployeeWellnessMonth.com.

About the Survey

The Total Rewards and Employee Well-Being Survey was conducted from Oct. 19-Nov. 4, 2011, resulting in a 10% response rate and a final dataset of 479 responses. This high response rate and a similar demographic profile between survey respondents and the general WorldatWork membership provides a high level of confidence regarding the validity of the data. 27% of surveyed organizations had 5,000 or more employees. View video at http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=59735

About WorldatWork®:
The Total Rewards Association

WorldatWork (www.worldatwork.org) is a not-for-profit organization providing education, conferences and research focused on global human resources issues including compensation, benefits, work-life and integrated total rewards to attract, motivate and retain a talented workforce. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork has nearly 30,000 members in more than 100 countries. Its affiliate organization, WorldatWork Society of Certified Professionals®, is the certifying body for the prestigious Certified Compensation Professional® (CCP®), Certified Benefits Professional® (CBP), Global Remuneration Professional (GRP®), Work-Life Certified Professional™ (WLCP®), Certified Sales Compensation Professional™ (CSCP™), and Certified Executive Compensation Professional™ (CECP™). WorldatWork has offices in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Washington, D.C.

The WorldatWork group of registered marks includes: Alliance for Work-Life Progress® or AWLP®, workspan®, WorldatWork ® Journal, and Compensation Conundrum®.

SOURCE WorldatWork