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More than Twice as Many Employers than 10 Years Ago are Planning to Increase Investments in Employee Health and Wellness, Optum Study ShowsMore than 80% of employers said they are planning to increase their health and wellness budgets this year, more than double compared to 2009 (34%), according to the 10th annual Optum Wellness in the Workplace study. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190821005006/en/ The study also found that employers are increasingly embracing digital technology to engage workers in health and well-being programs. Since 2016, the proportion of employers using health-related mobile apps rose by 46%, with now close to three-quarters of respondents reporting that the apps helped increase employee participation. Also, the number of employers reporting that their employee wellness programs include the use of fitness or activity devices increased by nearly 40% over the same time period, with 71% of employers reporting successful engagement by their employees. "Employers' interest in well-designed, comprehensive health and wellness programs that use the latest digital tech has dramatically increased over the last decade," said Seth Serxner, chief health officer at Optum. "We've also seen an evolution in the reasons for offering health and well-being programs, with employers saying these initiatives are just as important in attracting and retaining employees as addressing health care costs." This is demonstrated in the latest survey findings, with more than twice as many employers responding that workplace well-being programs are more important to their employee benefits mix tan they were a decade ago (33% in 2009 to 77% in 2018). While the percentage of employers saying they offer wellness programs to reduce long-term health care costs has stayed relatively steady over the last 10 years (around 80%), other factors are now viewed as equally important by employers:
This year, the Optum study also asked employers about additional topics related to health and wellness programs that may indicate areas of emerging interest:
Methodology
For more information about the 10th annual Optum Wellness in the Workplace survey, visit https://www.optum.com/resources/library/well-being-work-study-10/download.html.
About Optum
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