GiftCard Partners Blog

With 80% of U.S. and Puerto Rican workers under moderate or high levels of financial stress, employers are looking beyond physical wellness programs and adding a financial wellness component to employee benefits. Financial wellness programs often provide financial advice and guidance to employees with the aim to reduce financial stress and increase workplace productivity. According to an Aon Hewitt survey, 76% of employers were interested in financial wellness initiatives in 2013, and looking to expand their efforts by 2014. Companies also observe that the more financially stressed an employee is, the more sick time they take, disrupting work flow and workplace momentum. At Meredith Corp. employees are offered a financial wellness questionnaire and can take educational courses and other financial wellness actions to gain access to discounted healthcare options and other financial perks. Meredith is recording big results on their financial wellness program too.

A recent study, led by an associate professor at the University of Rochester, finds that providing healthy workplace programs reduced the number of overweight or obese employees by almost 9%. The study was based on two years of research, studying almost 3,800 employees. The researchers instituted workplace programs to promote healthy eating and exercise at half of the work sites and no healthy programs at the other half. The test group that had implemented healthy workplace programs promoted things such as revamped cafeteria offerings with fewer calories and smaller portions, free meals to those who made healthy food choices, workshops to share healthy recipes, walking clubs, upgraded gym facilities, and group activities.

The use of incentives in wellness programs continues to increase, rising to 87% this year, up from 77% two years ago. According to Optum's Fifth Annual Wellness in the Workplace Study, 90% of large employers now offer incentives. It comes as no surprise with employers seeing an increased urgency for results in employee engagement. The Workplace Study is based on 545 employers that offer wellness programs of one kind or another. 60% of employers participating in the survey have at least 3,000 employees, 20% having between 100 and 2,999, and 20% have fewer than 100. Here are some of the major highlights of the study:

Wellness programs have become a key tool for employers looking to improve workforce health, boost engagement, and manage healthcare costs. However, the legal landscape surrounding incentives in workplace wellness programs has remained in flux since the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) first introduced guidance on the subject in 2015.

Wearable technology is gaining popularity in the consumer market and has the potential to transform the way employers structure their employee health and wellness initiatives. The transformation will have an effect on the price tag of these initiatives, but the direct effect of incorporating wearable technology will ease the time it takes for employers to track employee wellness activity.