Despite employers’ best efforts, workers aren’t getting healthier.

Only 28% of employees today say their overall health is excellent — down from 34% six years ago, found The State of Health in the American Workforce, a study just published by the Families and Work Institute.

The study also shows that men’s overall health is declining faster than women’s.

But the most troubling stat: Nearly half (49%) of employees admitted they hadn’t engaged in regular physical exercise in the last 30 days. And 22% of those workers hadn’t exercised rigorously at all in the last 30 days.

With employers more concerned — and active — than ever with trying to trim healthcare cost increases by getting employees to live healthier, this does not come as good news.

Two reasons employers’ efforts aren’t paying off:

• One in four workers continue to smoke, despite growing incentives to join smoking cessation programs, and
• Stress levels are rising — 40% of employees say they feel stressed regularly.

Most common treatments

• High blood pressure (21%)
• High cholesterol (14%)
• Diabetes (7%)
• Mental health (4%)
• Heart conditions (3%)

Tags: cost increases, diabetes, Families and Work Institute, healthcare, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking cessation, The State of Health in The American Workforce