Worldwide Wellness

While it’s clear that wellness has gained the attention of employers worldwide, the survey revealed geographic differences. Wellness programs are most common in North America (82% of respondents offer health promotion benefits) and least common in Asia (only 34% have wellness offerings). This isn’t surprising, since the cost of health benefits paid by U.S. employers alone is close to 13% of payroll. Canada’s costs are more in line with those in Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France: the weighted average for these countries combined is only 4.9% of payroll. Considering that healthcare cost inflation outpaces general inflation and productivity growth by a significant margin, healthcare costs pose a serious impediment—and a growing future risk—to U.S. companies competing in a global economy.

This concern is evident in the survey participants’ top strategic objectives for wellness initiatives. Among U.S. companies, reducing healthcare/insurance costs is the No. 1 priority. Elsewhere in the world, strategies are geared more toward reducing employee absence and improving worker productivity. Boosting workforce morale and engagement, attracting and retaining workers, and improving safety are also important drivers.

Employee assistance programs top the list of wellness program components in North America, followed by immunizations and flu shots. These programs have been around for years but are increasing in popularity as companies struggle to better manage absenteeism and disability claims. Fitness membership discounts are third on the list for Canadian employers. Other popular offerings include company-sponsored sports teams, healthrisk appraisals and personal health coaching.

Not yet at the top of the list, but rapidly growing, are technology-driven tools such as Web portals, personal health records and online healthylifestyle programs. Many of these tools—most prevalent in the U.S.—collect, gather and interpret health information on an aggregate and an individual basis, allowing for targeted education, disease management and prevention programs.

Such tools are also easiest to implement in the U.S., where employers have a closer association to employee health data. (In the U.S., the data is more accessible to employers since they typically foot the bill for employee healthcare services.) Some of these products are crossing the border, but Canadian employers need to understand that the information available to them is limited: the Canadian and provincial governments own most of the health data. Similarly, investment in care-focused initiatives, such as disease management programs, may not yield significant direct cost savings for Canadian employers. In many cases, government programs are the primary beneficiaries from these methods of proactive health management.

However, the indirect benefits to Canadian employers of helping employees better manage their personal health and chronic diseases should not be overlooked. Such programs reduce absence and improve productivity, not to mention preventing the premature loss of employees due to long-term disability and early death.

In Canada, the interest in wellness strategies continues to grow. Since our country is fortunate enough to have a robust public health system, Canadian employers will likely achieve the greatest return on investment in wellness by focusing on workplace culture. A number of the survey respondents’ comments suggest that their vision is to create an organization-wide culture of health and well-being. With the recent surge in absences related to workplace stress and mental health, it would appear that their efforts are well placed. Providing an environment that respects employees, promotes fairness and work/life balance, and offers outlets for workplace stress will go a long way toward achieving the vision of a healthy, motivated workforce.

Michele Bossi is the Canadian health and productivity practice leader and Barry Hall is leader of global wellness research with Buck Consultants, an ACS company.

michele.bossi@buckconsultants.com; barry.hall@buckconsultants.com

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© Copyright 2009 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the January 2009 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.