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The Nation’s Healthiest 100 Workplaces of 2018 are Recognized

Last week, we honored the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America in at the Fitbit Captivate Conference in front of some of the country’s leading workplace wellness professionals. The winners represented a diverse slate of organizations, spanning all different sizes, industries, and focuses, but one thing was constant: their commitment to employee health and wellness as a tool to improve employee health while reducing long-term claims costs.

For a full write-up on this year’s Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America, download our magazine here.

While each organization had their own health and wellness focus propelling them to their spot in the Healthiest 100 rankings, but there were a few common trends that shined through every candidate this year. When looking at America’s Healthiest 100 workplaces, these are three ways that companies go above and beyond when it comes to employee health.

Holistic Approaches to Health are Winning

One of the key factors that really sets the healthiest workplaces in America apart from the rest is their true dedication to holistic wellness. In addition to traditional wellness initiatives, America’s healthiest workplaces are making commitments to financial, mental, emotional, and family health.

Some of the standout initiatives included financial wellbeing efforts, such as free financial planning provided quarterly. Nearly half of America’s Healthiest 100 Workplaces list financial planning and educational resources among the key features of their wellness programming. Organizations that offer financial education programming are seven times more likely to report increased engagement in their benefits plan. These programs help employees stretch their paychecks further, reduce stress, and improve overall sense of wellbeing across the board.

In addition to financial planning resources, many forward-thinking employers are working to provide more resource to their employees’ families. This year, we were impressed with the number of workplaces who are crafting wellness programming for the entire family. This goes deeper than hosting an exercise class on Saturdays. Many employers are providing educational programming and onsite clinic access to the whole family. These small changes add up to a big difference for every member of their population.

Empowering Better Choices Begins with Employers

There are countless opinions on how to reduce overall healthcare spend, but one truth underlies every one: reducing costs can only happen if we empower patients to make better decisions regarding their own healthcare.

This means more effective employee education regarding their personal health and the ways in which they can reduce their overall healthcare spend. At the end of the day, many of these costs are hitting employees in their wallet, so they have a strong economic incentive to take action. As their employer, you have the most intimate knowledge of their personal benefits options, and you should leverage that information to inspire change within your population. As we approach 2019, employee education needs to be a top priority for your organization to contain healthcare costs.

Stress Management Might be an Elixir for Corporate Buy-In

This year’s Healthiest 100 Employers in America show an incredible amount of executive buy-in within their wellness programming. This has been a major catalyst for their programming to grow over time. In our research, we observed a strong correlation between the longevity of a wellness program and whether or not executive-level leaders actively participate in wellness initiatives. We also observed that organizations with stress management programming were much more likely to report executive involvement. In fact, 93% of applicants with stress-management programming report that leaders actively participated in wellness.

This is a logical takeaway. Your CEO may or may not be interested in running a 5k, but he or she absolutely is interested in managing their stress levels. The same could be said of everyone on your leadership team. If you’re struggling to get your executive team bought-in on the vision of your wellness programming, stress management and mental health could be the secret to unlocking their approval.