New Study Reveals Gap Between Workforce Health Needs and Employer Wellness Offerings

MINNEAPOLIS, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A new study has uncovered gaps between employer wellness offerings and employee health needs. The 2021 Workplace Wellness Action Index, commissioned by MOBE and conducted by YouGov and The Harris Poll, surveyed 201 HR decision-makers at companies with 5,000+ employees and self-insured/self-funded healthcare coverage, and 2,572 consumers across the country.

Consumers report ongoing and increasing health struggles over the past year, and for those with chronic conditions, the impact was even more pronounced. Employers reported concern about the wellbeing of their workforce, and the majority intend to further expand health and wellness offerings in the year ahead; however, survey data reveal some misalignment between employer perceptions of workers’ health-related challenges and employees’ self-reported needs. Findings further reveal the opportunity to improve benefits engagement and value by increasing options that feature personalized support and provide data-driven evaluation of program impact.

“After a year of radical adaptation, we are moving towards establishing a new workplace equilibrium—and employers must balance changing work models with the needs of employees in this new reality,” said Chris Cronin, CEO of MOBE. “Today, we are seeing a gap between what employers believe their people need, what they are providing, and what their team is actually using. As employers increase their investment in health and wellness, it will be even more critical to have confidence in their investment. Most solutions lack the data that a value-based wellness solution offers to provide that confidence.”

Workforce well-being is a top concern.
The majority of employed adults—75%—report facing health challenges outside of work. They’re struggling with the same concerns identified in the 2020 Chronic Care Action Index, and for those with chronic conditions—representing 133 million Americans—health concerns only increased.

• US consumers still struggle with basic health needs. They identify a need for more support, saying that benefits offerings that would have the biggest impact on their health at this time are more guidance on exercise (30%), diet (29%), mental health (22%), and sleep (22%).
• Similar to survey results in 2020, the biggest health-related challenges employed adults are facing outside of work in 2021 include: not getting enough sleep (30%), lack of physical activity (30%), maintaining a healthy diet (27%), and increased stress or anxiety (26%).
• Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic had a mixed impact on employee health: 55% of those aged 18-34 and working remotely found it easier to reach their health goals, compared to just 39% of 55+-year-olds working from home. Meanwhile, 52% of men found it easier to reach their health goals at home, compared to just 46% of women who work from home.

Employers plan to expand wellness investments and offerings—but programs (and communications) may not align with employee needs.

• More than half of HR decision-makers (53%) plan to increase investment in health and wellness benefits overall in 2022.
• However, although employers are concerned about the wellbeing of their workforce and willing to invest in their health, they perceive different challenges than workers self-report:
  • 50% of employers say feelings of loneliness and isolation that impact mental health is one of the biggest health-related challenges for employees, but just 20% of employed adults cite this as a major concern
  • 47% of employers cite the ability to get medications as a top health-related challenge for employees; just 7% of employed adults say this is one of the biggest health challenges they are facing outside of work
  • 43% of employers believe employees’ ability to see a doctor is a primary challenge; just 7% of workers say they’re currently facing this challenge outside of work
• Almost universally (95%), HR decision-makers believe that employees are informed about the health and wellness offerings their company provides; however, according to employees, the #1 way for employers to improve health and wellness offerings is to provide better communication about how to best access the options available.
  • Further, employees aren’t always engaging with options that are available—in fact, 44% of respondents with mental health concerns say they did not visit or call a mental health specialist during the past year
• Close to half of HR decision-makers acknowledge they are not offering benefits to address the challenges workers most often report facing—specifically, lack of physical activity (47%) or not getting enough sleep (46%).
  • When asked how employers could improve health and wellness offerings, employees with health or wellness benefits also suggested adding more accessible options (23%) and adding options with one-on-one support (19%); and, more offerings tailored to identity-based needs (i.e., programs designed for members of the Black, Latinx, LGBTQI+ communities, etc.) (18%)

Employers want to demonstrate ROI, but the vendor data they analyze might not provide a complete picture.

• Nearly all (99%) HR decision-makers report that it is important for health and wellness benefits solutions to be able to demonstrate ROI within 12 months.
• According to most HR decision-makers, when deciding which health and wellness benefits to offer to employees, 80% consider it absolutely essential or very important to both address employees’ individual needs, and demonstrate savings for their company’s bottom line.
• Employers are relying on anecdotal feedback to determine benefits success; the top way they determine the value of investment in health and wellness benefits offerings is through positive feedback from employees (59%)

“The data are clear: neither employees nor employers are getting the full benefit of health and wellness offerings,” said Cronin. “As work models shift and employers face another transition, there’s a growing need for tailored health and wellness offerings that make a true, measurable impact on employee health. Personalized, one-to-one guidance that integrates a whole-person approach, as well as data-driven evaluation of program impact, can help employers better support their workforce and reach the employees who need health support the most.”

For the full report, visit https://go.mobeforlife.com/wellnessindex2021.html. To learn more about MOBE, visit MOBEforlife.com.

ABOUT MOBE

MOBE was founded in 2014 by health industry veterans who uncovered a way to use deep data science to identify people whose health care needs (and costs) are going up, but whose health concerns are not resolved.

MOBE combines this deep data science with digital health and a novel one-to-one personalized approach to create a value-based wellness solution—engaging and supporting participants to achieve healthier and happier lives without any additional cost to the health system, employers, or insurers.

ABOUT THE “2021 WORKPLACE WELLNESS ACTION INDEX”

The HR decision maker survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of MOBE between May 14 and May 27, 2021 among 201 HR decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in the U.S. who are employed full-time or part-time at the Director level or above in the Human Resources function at a company with 5,000 or more employees and has self-insured/self-funded health coverage). Data are weighted where necessary by employee size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

All consumer survey figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. For the consumer survey, total sample size was 2,572 adults, and fieldwork was undertaken between May 27 and May 31, 2021. The survey was carried out online. The consumer survey figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).

Media Contact:
Rachel Forsyth
[email protected]