Notably, 53% of all employees feel at least some degree of stigma around receiving physical care, and 61% noted some degree of stigma around mental health care. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Employees of large U.S. companies — even those earning high salaries — face health care disparities, while women of color and LGBTQ+ employees face a higher share of unmet basic needs. Those are two key findings from first-of-its-kind research by management consulting firm McKinsey & Company that explored how employers across multiple industries can meet unmet needs and bolster health equity among employees.
"Health equity in the workplace means that all employees have a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible," write the study's authors in a 10-page report. "Large employers have long offered employer-sponsored health insurance, but now many are asking what more they can do to help employees access the healthcare and other benefits they need."
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Researchers analyzed data from the 2021 McKinsey Health Equity in the Workplace Survey to understand the state of health equity in the American workplace — drawing on responses from nearly 3,000 employees between the ages of 18 and 84 at companies with 500 or more employees. They then outlined ways in which employers can help improve health equity.
Three major inequities
Among the researchers' findings:
- Health care disparities exist even when controlling for income. In the past year, 69% of employees of color earning up to $100,000 in household income experienced two or more unmet basic needs (such as social support, economic stability, or transportation), which impacted their ability to receive necessary healthcare. This compares to 49% of white employees.
- More than 30% of Black, Hispanic/Latino, LGBTQ+ and younger employees have considered switching employers because of health benefits. What's more, employees who reported not receiving the care they needed were twice as likely to consider switching employers and half as likely to recommend their employer to others.
- People of color and LGBTQ+ employees were between 3 and 10 percentage points more likely to report feeling stigma around receiving health care than their white counterparts.
Notably, 53% of all employees revealed that they felt at least some degree of stigma around receiving physical care, and 61% noted some degree of stigma around receiving mental health care.
Three actions employers can take
The report's authors also suggest ways in which employers can help bridge the gaps in health care among their employees. For example, employers can:
- Understand that some employees struggle to pay for food, transportation, and other basic needs, and then offer tailored benefits to help them — such as providing discounted legal services to assist employees with housing, safety, or immigration issues or offering on-site subsidized childcare.
- Improve internal communication and education to ensure benefits are easy to access, understand, and use. This could include surveying employees about their experiences and conducting focus groups to help close gaps in knowledge or understanding.
- Change workplace culture in order to destigmatize using benefits and receiving care by communicating the importance of care and allowing for more flexible working arrangements.
"By taking action to support health equity among employees, employers can not only build a healthier and more productive workforce but also improve employee retention, broaden impact on families over generations, and help create a more just society," researchers conclude. "Additionally, increased engagement could help employers defray long-term costs."
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