Source: Cigna Properly designed and executed wellness programs can reduce health-care costs and absenteeism while increasing productivity, according to a new report from Cigna. "Health and Wellness in Workplaces: What Works? ROI Analysis of Health and Wellness Interventions" is the largest global review of the impact of workplace wellness interventions, according to researchers. Several key findings can help employers and benefits providers design effective programs.
Focused programs deliver the greatest impact. The most successful wellness programs are those that have been carefully selected to tackle specific loss-drivers. For example, implementing case management to drive reductions in absenteeism; disease management to reduce health-care claims costs; and lifestyle programs to tackle physical health. As an important first step, employers should review employee data that have been collected from health screenings or self-reported health assessments to identify the specific underlying drivers or poor health or well-being before designing a wellness program.
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Mental health interventions yield the most significant ROI. Mental health interventions yielded high returns, with the most effective program achieving a sixty-fold return on the initial investment. Mental health-related programs include stress management coaching for employees, providing work-life balance training sessions and meditation classes. Specifically, stress management interventions, such as counseling sessions with clinical professionals, and well-being support, such as online coaching, yielded high returns compared to the other interventions.
"The concept of workplace wellness has risen up the corporate agenda, and employers recognize that investment in effective programs helps employees to be healthier and more productive," said Jason Sadler, president of Cigna International Markets. "Our report shows that mental health initiatives yielded up to a sixty-fold return on investment, yet our latest COVID-19 Global Impact Study showed that only 26 percent of people said their employers currently offer such support. With 53 percent of people now saying they want more well-being support; this report is a valuable tool to help employers and HR professionals to design such programs."
Middle managers play a vital role. Programs with middle management support averaged an ROI of 10 times the initial investment. This is due to these individuals having the highest level of direct team management within most organizations. Therefore, to help instill health and wellness across an organization, middle management should be central to program design and implementation.
Wellness programs can be successful even with limited investment. A comprehensive wellness program can be developed with a low level of investment and still yield high returns when they are well designed and supported.
"Wellness programs that are grounded in a solid understanding of how well-being issues manifest in a workplace can generate impressive returns," Sadler said "The pandemic has shifted the way we work, and employee programs must adapt to employees' changing needs. It is therefore critical that employers develop robust frameworks to ensure that all well-being interventions deliver the desired impact."
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
