The majority of plan members (77 per cent) and plan sponsors (85 per cent) agreed their workplace culture encourages health and wellness, according to the 2019 Sanofi Canada health-care survey.
Among plan members with a workplace wellness culture, 61 per cent said the quality of the health benefits plan is excellent of very good, compared to 28 per cent without a workplace wellness culture.
Comparing those with and without a wellness culture in the workplace, the numbers were equally divergent for plan members who said their benefits plan meets their needs (68 per cent versus 35 per cent); those who said their personal health is excellent or very good (52 per cent versus 40 per cent); and employees who reported they’re satisfied with their job (85 per cent versus 62 per cent).
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Over the next three years, 71 per cent of plan sponsors said they intend to invest funding and/or staff resources in at least one area of employee wellness beyond what’s already offered in their health benefits plans. The said funds will most likely be dedicated to emotional/mental health (61 per cent); physical fitness (53 per cent); prevention of illness and/or management of chronic conditions (48 per cent); social well-being, such as volunteerism (42 per cent); and financial health (41 per cent).
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Plan sponsors based in Quebec are most likely (86 per cent) to be planning to invest in wellness, compared to those in Western Canada (56 per cent). In Quebec, 66 per cent of employers are focusing on mental health, with plan sponsors in Ontario are almost equally focused on mental health (60 per cent) as they are on prevention/management of illness (56 per cent).
However, about a third (29 per cent) of plan sponsors said they aren’t planning to invest in any area of employee wellness over the next three years. This increases to 55 per cent among those with fewer than 50 employees.