Dive Brief:
- Employee Benefit News (EBN) reports that back pain relief is gaining popularity as a wellness plan offering. Nearly half of Americans suffer from musculoskeletal disorders such as back pain and the annual cost of treatment and absenteeism to employers is around $213 billion annually. Back pain accounts for 10% of healthcare costs and is a major cause of lost productivity, according to EBN.
- Employers spend three times as much on musculoskeletal disorders as cardiovascular disease. This adds up to about $1,200 per employee a year, a Verscend Technologies representative told EBN. The company provides data-driven healthcare solutions.
- Poor posture often causes back problems, and one employer shared how it teamed up with UpRight, a wearables technology vendor, to help employees improve their posture. They created a device that can detect slouching and reminds employees to correct their posture.
Dive Insight:
Employee wellness programs have expanded beyond physical fitness, healthy eating and weight control. After employers learned more about what was distracting employees (that financial problems were a top stressor, for example), wellness programs expanded to include financial and emotional well-being.
Helping employees manage back pain — a major and costly health concern — through wellness programs is a similar response to a critical need among employees.
A UK poll shows that 51% of remote workers suffer from back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders because they often develop poor working habits by not having an ergonomic setup at home. Offering back-pain management through wellness programs not only helps maintain a healthier workforce, it's also a way to engage off-site employees, who sometimes feel isolated from the workplace.
