47% of Employees Would Like Manager Activism in Health and Wellness

Aon Hewitt partnered with the National Business Group on Health and The Futures Company to conduct The Consumer Health Mindset study. The study explores perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors that employees hold toward health and healthcare as they interact with their employer-sponsored health plans and wellness programs. A few interesting statistics about workplace wellness:

• 47% of consumers would like managers to be very or somewhat active about health and wellness
• 86% of consumers believe workplace wellness programs are a good business investment for the employer
• Workplace cultures of health have meaningful impacts on percentage of consumers receiving an annual physical (72% vs. 64%) and exercising at least three times a week (62% vs. 49%)

From these statistics and other parts of the study, Aon Hewitt recommends employers align their health culture with their business goals, recognize effort, and train managers. We couldn’t agree more. Companies need to change their perspective from “employees” to “consumers” and start to address the critical elements consumers want and expect from their employer.