As we approach the start of Global Employee Health & Fitness Month in May, we’re sharing eye-opening wellness related data from our national probability telephone survey of full-time employed adults conducted by ORC International and co-sponsored by Citrix.

Despite employers investing millions of dollars to promote employee health, almost half of the U.S. workplace does not budge. The problem is that many organizations separate wellness, work life flexibility and other employee strategies into siloed initiatives rather than linking them together to benefit both business and employee performance. It’s time to break down the silos because employee wellness and work life flexibility are better together. 

The survey found:

• While teleworkers are more likely to pursue wellness options on their own compared to their office-based counterparts, almost half of all full-time U.S. employees do not participate in wellness-related activities no matter where they work.
• The survey also showed that a lack of work life flexibility is not a barrier to wellness since almost all employees indicated they have some form of flexibility.
• However, training and guidance on how to manage that flexibility does positively influence employee wellness pursuits.

More details of the survey findings are in the press release below and infographic.

What do you think of the research findings?  Are you surprised or do they align with your experience?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section, on Twitter @caliyost, or on our Facebook page.

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Teleworkers More Likely to Pursue Wellness Options on Their Own Compared to Office-Based Counterparts

Only Half of U.S. Full-Time Employees Participate in a Workplace or Individual Wellness Program

Among the nearly two-thirds of full-time U.S. employees who say they do not participate in a workplace wellness program, teleworkers are more likely to pursue wellness options on their own compared to their office-based counterparts. However, about 45 percent of all employees – no matter where they work – do not participate in wellness-related activities either through their workplace or individually.

These are among the findings from a national probability telephone survey of 617 full-time employed adults commissioned by Flex+Strategy Group/Work+Life Fit, Inc (FSG/WLF), conducted by ORC International and co-sponsored by Citrix.

“Many organizations bucket wellness, work life flexibility and other employee strategies into separate silos rather than linking them together in a holistic approach that benefits business and employee performance,” said flexible workplace strategist Cali Williams Yost, CEO, Flex+Strategy Group. “Despite employers investing millions of dollars to promote employee health, almost half of the U.S. workplace does not budge.”

• Only one-third of employees (33%) said they participate in a workplace wellness or wellbeing program with those aged 30 or older more likely to do so than their Gen Y colleagues.
• Twenty percent said even though their company provides a wellness program, they do not participate.
• A quarter (25%) said wellness/wellbeing programming is not an option at their workplace.
• But on a positive note, nearly 20 percent noted that despite not participating in a corporate wellness program, they pursue wellness opportunities on their own, with teleworkers (24%) having significantly more initiative than those that work in an office (17%).

“Teleworkers use their inherent sense of discipline, focus and ability to prioritize to not only get their work done, but also pursue a healthy lifestyle,” Yost said. “It’s a positive outcome of telework that employers should value when we consider that one-third of all full-time U.S. employees now work from a remote location.”

Lack of Flexibility Not a Barrier but Lack of Training Hurts

According to the survey results, lack of work life flexibility is not a barrier to employee wellness as almost all (96%) of employees reported having some type of flexibility (either the same amount or more than the year before). However, the data indicated training and guidance to help use and manage work life flexibility does significantly increase employee wellness participation. While less than half of those surveyed (47%) noted they received such training, those who did were significantly more likely (43%) to say they participate in corporate wellness programs than those who did not receive training (24%).

“With guidance on how to use work life flexibility, these employees have learned how to fit work and other priorities, including exercise and doctor’s visits, into their lives,” Yost explained. “Such training provides organizations an untapped opportunity to educate employees about the various supports and rewards available through workplace wellness programs to be their most productive and healthy selves.”

The survey, with a margin of error of +/- 4 percent, was conducted in July 2015 as part of a biennial series of FSG/WLF studies that have monitored the national progress of issues related to work life flexibility from the individual’s point of view since 2006. More information, including an infographic, is available at www.worklifefit.com/research.

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Media Contact:

Pam Kassner, 414-510-1838, pam@superpear.com

Maggie Baum, 608-438-2814 or maggiebcomm@gmail.com