Six in 10 Firms Turn to Worker Wellness Campaigns

June 22, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Some 62% of companies in a recent survey said they had implemented employee wellness programs, while 33 % said they were considering such a move.

When asked if rising health care costs played a role in their decision to offer wellness programs, 64% of companies surveyed said yes, while 34% said it played a role but was not the deciding factor. The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and Deloitte & Touche USA sponsored the survey.

Thirty-two percent of companies reported less than 10% of their employees participated in the wellness efforts, while 11% put their employee participation rate at 50% to 75%.

More than half of surveyed companies said they did not use incentives to drive participation. Of companies that did, 48% offered items such as:

  • contributions toward Flexible Spending Accounts
  • cash awards
  • discounts on wellness programs such as smoking cessation and weight loss
  • monthly premium discounts

“Wellness programs are an efficient and cost-effective way to encourage workers to lead healthier lives and healthier employees mean lower costs for employees and employers,” Mark Ugoretz, ERIC president, said in the news release.

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