Companies Expanding Health & Wellness Programs

In a recent survey from staffing firm Office Team, two-thirds of HR managers (66%) reported their organization has expanded their health and wellness offerings in the past five years.
Employer efforts haven’t gone unnoticed: 89% of workers said their company is supportive of their wellness goals.
The survey also asked HR managers to identify the most innovative thing they’ve heard of a company doing to support employee health and wellness. Their responses included:

• Paying employees extra money if thy don’t check work email while on vacation
• Offering onsite exercise, meditation, yoga, and healthy cooking classes
• Providing free massages
• Having a nurse’s department in the office
• Giving workers fitness tracking devices
• Offering onsite personal trainers

A spokesperson from Office Team said wellness programs are no longer just nice extras but now play an important role in employee satisfaction.
“Not offering these benefits can put a company at a disadvantage when it comes to staff recruitment and retention,” said Brandi Britton, a district president for Office Team.

Additional Findings

• Employees cited workplace celebrations (30%) and snacks brought in by colleagues (22%) as the biggest obstacles to meeting health and wellness goals.
• More than two in five professionals (44%) said they eat healthier when they work from home. Of all respondent groups, male employees (53%) and those ages 18–34 (55%) reported this most often.
• Three in five professionals (60%) bring their lunch to work. Woman (73%) and workers ages 55 and older (75%) are most likely to pack their meals.
• While more than half of employees (54%) are fans of the office candy jar, one-third (33%) have a love-hate relationship with it. Men (61%) and workers ages 18–34 (62%) are especially enthusiastic about this supply of sweets.
  

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  About the research: The surveys of workers and HR managers were developed by Office Team. They were conducted by independent research firms and include responses from more than 300 HR managers at U.S. companies with 20 or more employees and more than 1,000 U.S. workers 18 years of age or older.

Participants in CBIA Health Connections have free access to CBIA Healthy Connections, a wellness program for small businesses that incents employees (and employers) to become more engaged in health and wellness, with the goal of optimizing the health and overall well-being of each employee.