As healthcare costs continue to escalate, employers are dumping more (a lot more) money into employee wellness programs to try and stymie those increases.
It’s official — wellness programs are now a staple for employers in the U.S. and the world over.
In the U.S., 74% of employers now offer them, according to a recently released global study of health promotion and workplace wellness strategies by Buck Consultants, which studied more than 1,200 organizations in 47 countries.
Globally, 66% of employers have some type of formal wellness strategy. That’s a big jump from the 49% who boasted that in 2007.
Not only is the popularity of wellness programs continuing to grow, so is how much employees are willing to spend on employees who participate.
In 2010, employers spent 35% more on average (about $220) on each employee who participated in a wellness program than they did in 2009.
One area where spending has really picked up: wellness rewards.
In fact, 11% of U.S. employers now spend more than $500 per employee on wellness rewards. The companies spending the most on rewards reported spending nearly $3,000 per employee.
Has your company increased spending on its wellness program recently? If so, what parts of the program is it investing in most? Let us know in the Comments Box below.
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