Dive Brief:
- Well-being appears poised to become the next big thing when it comes to workplace culture, according to a survey from Willis Towers Watson.
- The 2015/2016 Willis Towers Watson Staying@Work Survey found that 64% of 487 U.S. employers report that by 2018, their focus will be on developing workplace cultures that support employee well-being as a primary strategy to boost health engagement.
- In 2015, just 34% of those employers reported well-being as a core strategy. Employers in the survey also seem to have a broader view of workforce health, in that it includes physical, mental, emotional and financial components. For example, 47% include financial well-being as a key part of their overall workforce well-being strategy today and 80% expect to include it by 2018.
Dive Insight:
Other survey findings involved steps employers are taking to build a healthy workplace culture, including obtaining commitment from leadership, with 51% saying their senior leaders are visible champions of the organization’s health and well-being strategy.
Also, 70% of employers have improved their physical environments to encourage healthy behaviors, including adding healthy foods to cafeteria menus, walking paths and campus bike-sharing programs. Another 56% of employers ask employees what’s missing from their well-being experience and what they need to succeed at work. One-third (35%) even invite family members to participate in programs and activities.
The march toward wellness has been long documented. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, wellness has been touted as a way for employers to save money as well as improve the employee experience. Insurers have also taken a role in driving wellness in the workplace. But due to some recent confusion between the ACA and other federal laws, the EEOC outlined the final wellness rules this past month.
