If your company has made a tremendous shift in the employee wellness benefit it’s offering in 2021 due to the pandemic, you are far from alone. But are these benefits a smart investment?
You can judge that for yourself.
A new report by Wellable found employers are investing in the following wellness benefits this year:
- mental health (88%)
- telemedicine (87%)
- stress management/resilience (81%)
- mindfulness and meditation (69%), and
- COVID-19 risk intake/wellness passport programs (63%).
Supporting mental health
Helping employees cope with work and life take three out of the five top spots. While mental health has been a focus for some time now, COVID-19 has sent it to the front of the line due to the unique challenges it has thrown at them.
And beefing up mental health benefit programs isn’t going to be just a flash in the pan. Employers are realizing how important it is for their people to stay happy and healthy.
The study found 88% of employers are planning to invest even more this year in mental health programs. Only 1% said they’d invest less.
Declining support
Increasing mental health benefits is great, but there’s only so much money in the budget this year so where is it coming from?
According to what the report found, the areas that employers are investing less in are:
- health fairs (60%)
- free healthy food/stocked kitchens (54%)
- biometric screenings (53%)
- on-site fitness classes (48%), and
- gym membership reimbursement (38%).
All of these are understandable with the practice of social distancing and fewer people in the office.
