Workers Say Wellness Programs a Primary Motivator, Productivity Driver
Principal Financial Group, February 2011
Available
online (Executive Summary)
According to the latest Principal Financial Well-Being Index, 43 percent of workers agree wellness benefits motivate them to work harder and perform better. Over a quarter (28 percent) of workers surveyed believe they have missed fewer days of work as a direct result of participating in a wellness program and 38 percent of workers attributed wellness programs to improved energy and productivity at work.
Providing further support for the correlation between personal health and happiness in the workplace, nearly half (48 percent) of workers surveyed agreed that wellness benefits encourage them to stay in their current employment situation. This led the authors of the study, from Principal Financial Group's Specialty Benefits area, to argue that employers who invest in their workers' wellness will see returns beyond a physically healthier employee. By offering workers the means and the educational tools to take control of their wellness, companies promote a healthier, more productive work environment.
The index also found that:
- Achieving better overall health is the top reason American workers (43 percent) report they participate or would participate in a wellness benefit program.
- Other reasons include reduced personal health care costs (33 percent) and a greater chance of living longer and healthier lives (31 percent).
- More than half (53 percent) of workers use weight management programs offered by their employers, a 25 percentage point increase over last year. This trend is echoed by a 21 percentage point increase in workers' use of personalized action plans for high risk conditions to 68 percent, and an eighteen percentage point increase in workers’ use of blood sugar screenings to 84 percent.
The survey for the index was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Principal Financial Group in October 2010 among 1,159 workers and 528 retirees. The first Principal Financial Well-Being Index survey was conducted in the U.S. in 2000.
