More Employers Implement Health And Productivity Management Strategies
In response to growing evidence that the health of their employees affects productivity, increasing numbers of employers are adopting strategies intended to help employees stay healthy and recover from illnesses and injuries when they occur, according to a report by the Integrated Benefits Institute.
The survey of 624 benefits professionals showed that 56% of respondents either have in place or plan to implement a health and productivity management (HPM) strategy. Broken down by size, 85% of large employers surveyed indicated they are adopting HPM strategies, compared with 45% of small employers.
Two-thirds of respondents said they believe there is a strong link between employee health, productivity, and the bottom line. When asked what factors motivated them to adopt HPM strategies, 83% said medical costs, while 67% cited the growth in overall benefits payments, including those for absences due to sickness or disability.
Results showed that 76% of those employers with an HPM strategy have in place an employee assistance program (EAP), which typically provides a mix of pre-condition prevention, post-condition management, and education. Other leading HPM-related practices implemented by respondents include employee benefits education (70%), wellness programs (63%), disease management (58%), and nurse case management (58%). Researchers noted that employers with HPM strategies usually adopt multiple practices, ranging from an average of six for small employers to eight for large employers.
Most respondents with no formal HPM strategy indicated they have adopted at least one of the following practices: an integrated return-to-work program, the use of the same medical guidelines across benefit programs, or the use of the same form of medical management of return-to-work goals for both workers compensation and group health plans. The most widely adopted HPM practices were found to be those furnished by group health plans or those that nearly all employers view as critical to prevention efforts, especially wellness and health risk assessments.
