A new study by WorldatWork and Korn Ferry has found employers are providing a “dramatic” increase of progressive health benefits that are available 24/7 to the “always working” workforce. “The Inventory of Total Rewards Programs and Practices” study identifies the types of progressive benefits that saw the largest gains over the last year in the percentage of employers offering them.
These progressive benefits included:
- Telemedicine services, up 24% (now being offered by 74% of surveyed employers vs. 49% last year)
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), up 16% (80% to 96%)
- Behavioral health plans, up 13% (78% to 91%)
- Weight management programs, up 12% (58% to 70%)
- Health advocacy programs, up 12% (48% to 60%)
- Tobacco/smoking cessation support, up 11% (73% to 84%)
- Outcomes-based wellnessprograms, up 11% (32% to 43%)
- Information (seminars/webinars/literature) to promote wellness, up 11% (76% to 87%)
- Stress-reduction programs, up 9% (from 56% to 65%)
- Wellness gamification (contests, quizzes, etc), up 8% (37% to 45% percent)
“Companies are trying to keep up the pace and offer health plans suited for the hyper-connected, lightning-quick pace of today’s global workforce,” said Korn Ferry Senior Principal Robert Swatland said in a press release announcing the survey results. “Employees are accustomed to having 24/7 access to information. Benefits that offer anytime, anywhere access to meet a wide range of health and wellness issues are becoming increasingly popular.”
“With a tight labor market and fierce competition for qualified talent, organizations are becoming more creative in offering unique health and wellness benefits to help them enhance talent attraction and retention efforts,” said Alison Avalos, Director of Research and Certification for WorldatWork.