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Benefits March 29, 2011
Support Continues to Strengthen for Wellness Programs
March 29, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Companies across the United States are initiating and adopting workplace wellness programs at a higher rate than ever before, according to a new survey released by GlobalFit, a provider of healthy living programs.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
Driven by a desire to reduce health care costs and increase employee engagement within the workplace, GlobalFit found that 86% of all survey respondents have implemented a company wellness program, according to a news release.
The survey of 2,000 U.S. companies ranging in size from 500 to 10,000 employees also found that of those companies with an active, structured workplace wellness program, 31% had implemented such to reduce overall health care costs while another 30% sought to increase employee engagement, the news release said. Nearly 68% of respondents reported rewarding employees for completing a Health Risk Assessment and 62% provided incentives, such as additional vacation, for employees to make health conscious decisions.
Other key findings in the GlobalFit survey include: 46.6% of respondents communicated issues of wellness to their employees on a monthly basis; 56% of those employers surveyed offer a walking program as a formal employee exercise program; more than 61% of respondents followed an annual wellness calendar.
More information is at www.globalfit.com.