Do corporate wellness programs work? How do you know? If you’re an organizational leader this is an important question. Understanding the impact your wellness initiatives are having on your employees is paramount to offering effective services and the return on investment matters. Looking back at corporate wellness statistics for 2021 provides a benchmark to know if your program is thriving or failing and will guide you toward smart planning for the year ahead.
What’s trending for corporate wellness in 2021?
Mental Health
Mental health benefits topped the list of offerings in 2021. According to Wellable’s 2021 Employee Wellness Industry Trends Report, nine out of ten employers plan to invest more in mental health support to address this part of employee wellbeing. The recognition of the toll the pandemic has had on employee health is evidenced by these three trending benefits:
- 88% in mental health
- 81% in stress management & resilience
- 87% in telemedicine
Mental health accommodations are already required by law in many cases, but the broader population is demanding support as well. The cry for help began pre-pandemic, so many employers were considering how to respond to that need and were posed to respond as the need escalated in 2020-2021.
Telehealth
With each of these trending benefits in the areas of mental health, stress management and resilience, and telemedicine, employers are responding by offering telehealth options that are available to a wider range of employees, regardless of location. According to the same Wellable report, 87% of employers – including 90% of small companies – plan to invest more in telehealth this year. Two-thirds of employees say they are stressed out at work and 81% of workers said that symptoms range from fatigue and anxiety to physical ailments causing them to miss work. These corporate wellness statistics for 2021 are not surprising after the challenges of the past 18+ months. Telehealth services can help.
Personalized financial solutions
No one-size-fits-all solution is effective when it comes to financial support for employees. By broadening and personalizing wellbeing initiatives, more people are likely to get the help they need to stay or get healthy. Financial stress leads to a 34% increase in absenteeism or tardiness and costs employees $500 billion a year. Addressing this overdue employee benefit will improve these statistic in the coming year and beyond.
How important are corporate wellness programs?
AIHR Academy released this graphic with helpful corporate wellness statistics for 2021.
Drawing data from several sources, the findings indicate that corporate wellness deserves attention. The positive impact on physical, mental, and financial health is evidenced when programs are personalized and include the use of technology to support programming. The ROI is shown in better holistic health and reduction in health care costs for organizations.
Corporate wellness statistics from 2021 should be used to make informed decisions and drive wellness planning for 2022. With the global corporate wellness market estimated to reach $66 billion in 2022, make sure your employee wellness benefits align with the needs of your employees. The more you know the better informed you will be to invest in the right initiatives for bigger impact.
