Employees who participate in wellness programs are healthier, at least

Employers’ wellness programs are accomplishing their intended purpose: employees who participate say they are healthier – and more productive at work, according to UnitedHealthcare’s 2018 Wellness Check Up Survey.

More than half (53 percent) of people with access to wellness programs say the initiatives have made a positive impact on their health. Of these, 88 percent say they were motivated to pay more attention to their health; 67 percent say they lost weight; and 56 percent reported fewer sick days.

Perhaps most noteworthy, nearly a third (30 percent) say their workplace wellness program helped them detect a disease. The cherry on the top: 62 percent say their productivity has improved due to participating in their employer’s program.

Related: Beyond wellness: Workplace health initiatives that work

“This year’s results underscore the importance of workplace wellness programs, which can encourage well-being, prevent disease before it starts and, as a result, help lower medical costs,” says Rebecca Madsen, UnitedHealthcare chief consumer officer. “By investing in wellness programs, employers are in a unique position to drive engagement and create healthier, happier and more productive workforces.”

Other key findings include:

• Among employees without access to wellness programs, 73 percent of respondents say they would be interested in such initiatives if offered, including 42 percent who are “very interested.” Nearly 85 percent of baby boomers want wellness programs, more than any age group.
•  Just 29 percent of all respondents say they are willing to devote more than an hour each day on health-related activities, such as consistent exercise, researching healthy recipes or engaging in wellness coaching. Among employees with access to a wellness program, 31 percent say they are willing to devote that amount of time each day to their health, compared to 26 percent without access to a wellness program.
• Twenty-seven percent of employees own an activity tracker, up from 13 percent in 2016, according to a previous UnitedHealthcare survey.
• Most employees (89 percent) say meditation, or mindfulness, has a positive impact on a person’s overall health and well-being, including 41 percent who believe such activities can have a “significant impact.”
• Just 16 percent of survey respondents correctly recognized that as many as 80 percent or more of premature chronic conditions, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes, are caused by modifiable lifestyle choices, such as risk factors like smoking or obesity, as opposed to being caused by genetic factors.
• More than one-third (34 percent) thought between 50 percent and 79 percent of premature chronic conditions were caused by lifestyle choices, while 45 percent say genetics were to blame for more than half of these diseases.
• Most respondents (94 percent) say exposure to loud sounds can cause hearing loss, including 50 percent correctly recognizing that both one-time exposure to a loud sound and cumulative exposure to moderately loud sounds can harm hearing health.
• Nearly 80 percent say hearing loss can have additional impacts on a person’s health, including increased risk of depression (64 percent), higher risk of falls (47 percent) and greater risk of dementia (35 percent). Less than one in five respondents (16 percent) incorrectly say that hearing loss has no connection to overall health.