Wellness programs employees actually want
Employee wellness benefits go way beyond just reimbursing a gym membership and offering basic health coverage. Companies today are recognizing the importance and value in offering more holistic benefits that employees actually want to use.
In fact, 52% of employers of all sizes offer wellness programs to their staff, while 83% of large companies offer wellness programs. There is an evident gap in smaller companies offering wellness programs, and this doesn’t have to be the case with today’s convenient and affordable wellness benefit options. Here are some of the most highly sought-after and utilized wellness benefits for today’s workplace:
Mental health support
Employees don’t just see mental health support as a bonus perk, in the APA’s annual “Work in America Survey, 92% of workers state that it is important for them to work for an organization that values their emotional and psychological wellbeing. And 55% of workers felt that their employers think their work environment is mentally healthier than it actually is.
Mental health solutions have become such an important part of employee wellness that in a recent survey, 91% of responding employers stated that they anticipate making greater investments into mental health solutions.
Preventing job burnout is another benefit of offering mental health support to employees. Years of research shows that a lack of mental health support and subsequent job burnout leads to several consequences, including absenteeism and job dissatisfaction.
Access to convenient and private mental health and wellness such as therapy, counseling, meditation, stress management, and psychiatric care are important to employees. Programs like employee assistance programs, therapy reimbursement, subscriptions to mental health apps, and the option to take mental health days off are highly appreciated and utilized by many employees.
Virtual care & telehealth access
Having access to virtual care for things like general health, urgent care, weight loss support and hormone management keep your employees healthy without having to take off work or drive hours to seek care.
Virtual care can also make healthcare more consistent, allowing patients to remain connected to their healthcare providers virtually for things like follow-ups, medication refills, and monitoring. Virtual care programs can also be more flexible for employers, with cash pay options that can avoid insurance headaches and increasing premiums.
In a recent survey published in Wellable, 65% of employers stated they plan on increasing investment in telemedicine solutions and 40% reported an increase in investment in weight management programs. This is significant since over 90% of employers with 50 or more employees already offer some form of virtual care or telemedicine as a benefit.
Besides virtual care being something employees want, increased utilization of virtual healthcare can also lead to cost savings for the employer as virtual care can often alleviate the costs associated with seeking care in traditional hospital or office settings, particularly with a reduction in the high cost visits like in-person emergency room and urgent care visits.
Parental and family benefits
Paid parental leave, assistance with childcare costs, and adoption benefits are just a few of the most utilized benefits for employees with families. Employee retention and satisfaction goes up when your team feels well taken care of. Unfortunately, although a 2021 poll found that 82% of people support paid parental leave for mothers, a 2024 survey showed that only around 40% of employers are offering paid parental leave.
Financial wellness benefits
Financial strain can severely impact staff productivity. Offering financial education, matching retirement plans, and student loan repayment are a few of the benefits that help to attract and retain employees the most. A 2022 article highlighted that while 81% of C-suite executives estimated their employees to be financially well, only 40% of employees feel they have financial wellbeing.
Fitness benefits
Offering fitness benefits goes beyond just providing a stipend toward a gym membership. Many employers are not offering on-site gyms and personal training, wearable health devices, and health coaching benefits to their employees.
Fitness is worth the investment because it doesn’t just lead to health, with some research showing that physically active employees can lead to healthcare cost savings of up to 35% for employers, it also leads to more energy and motivation to do a great job at work.
Workplace relaxation or wellness spaces
Many companies are investing in quiet booths, relaxation pods, or other wellness spaces where employees can pop in any time to recharge their mental batteries throughout the workday. It can be as simple as a soundproofed room with a soft recliner and headphones for staff to play some relaxing music or a meditation session while they unwind for a few minutes.
Offering healthy snacks and drinks.
Rather than a vending machine filled with chips, soda and candy, offering free and open access to things like nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables and cold local spring water encourages healthier eating habits and reduces the sugar spikes and crashes that lead to sluggish afternoons. A research study showed that making healthy foods available at the worksite made it less likely that employees would consume fast food.
In-office services
Bringing in services can be a real treat and perk for employees. Things like massages, yoga classes, meditation sessions, acupuncture, and art therapy classes are often highly utilized and appreciated, especially if you take requests from your staff and go with what they would like most.
Flexible work options
A 2024 survey showed that 70% of employers offer flexible working benefits. The option to create things like a 4-day workweek, work from home, or work during flexible hours like evenings or weekends are things that employees value deeply. In fact, over 95% of workers want some form of work from home option. These types of benefits offer employees a way to create a work-life balance that suits their family or personal situation while improving stress levels and increasing work satisfaction.
Wellness benefits that actually matter
When you implement wellness benefits that matter to your employees, you could see improved retention and productivity from your staff. Check out offerings like those from Agile telehealth, who can provide you with virtual care benefits with little to no lift on your part.
Access better wellness for your employees with Agile Telehealth
At Agile, we provide employers with the opportunity to implement top-tier wellness programs for their teams—at little to no cost. How do we do it? By leveraging our extensive network of board-certified physicians and trusted pharmacy partners, we’re able to deliver customized wellness solutions and personalized compounded medications, like GIP, at a fraction of the cost of traditional benefits programs.
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