Better Employee Health Seen as Key to Profits, Growth

A Helping Handout: Companies that have well-designed and effectively managed health and wellness initiatives achieve more than their competitors, and do so at a lower annual cost, according to a joint survey by Watson Wyatt and the nonprofit National Business Group on Health. The results is triggering more companies to consider financial rewards to employees who make better health decisions, according to the survey of 355 large companies. About 46 percent provide financial inducements currently. Since companies face health care costs that continue to spiral upward, the trend is expected to accelerate: By 2009, an estimated 70 percent of firms will offer some form of health-related financial award, the study predicts.

Among other findings of the “Staying at Work” survey: Companies that offer financial health incentives earn 20 percent more revenue per employee than those that don’t. They also enjoy market value that is 16 times greater and deliver a shareholder return that is nearly 60 percent higher.