Dive Brief:
- Due to the high price of medical expenses and lost productivity associated with employees' illnesses, more companies are investing in employee health management IT (EHM IT) products to improve workforce well-being and corporate performance, according to research from Frost & Sullivan.
- EHM IT products can allow employers to more easily tailor health benefits to individual employees, Frost & Sullivan said. The consultancy predicted that a surge in demand for EHM IT will trigger growth in the market between 2019 and 2024 at a compound annual growth rate of 25% — potentially increasing it from $1.15 billion to $3.52 billion.
- "[It] is crucial for companies to adopt IT-enabled EHM strategies that empower employers to deploy personalized wellness, behavior change, surgical rehabilitation and benefits management services for their employees who are either at home or at the office and on the go," Koustav Chatterjee, healthcare industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
EHM IT solutions are one option for employers to personalize their wellness options, which could help with the engagement and retention of millennial workers. Eighty-five percent of surveyed millennials in a Welltok report said they would be more likely to participate in wellness programs if their employer provided more relevant support, and 62% said they were offered resources that were not a good fit with their needs. And wellness is not a mere "nice to have": The survey revealed that half of surveyed millennials are flight risks, due to work-related stress, and nearly 75% of those surveyed felt it was their employers' responsibility to assist them with stress management.
While almost half of U.S. employers offer some type of health or wellness program, many workers (and applicants) may be unaware of all of the benefits and how to take advantage of them. This is a particular concern when it comes to recruiting in a tight job market, as 73% of workers say wellness programs are a factor in deciding whether or not to take a particular position.
As with other corporate initiatives, true buy-in has to start at the top of the organization. How can employers create a real culture of wellness? Support may be necessary for "whole employee" initiatives — including financial support that can alleviate money-related stress — as well as investments in dedicated wellness spaces to be used for yoga, meditation and other revitalizing activities.
