WORKPLACE WELLNESS PROGRAMS IN SMALL BUSINESS: IMPACTING ... · As expected, the larger small...

WORKPLACE WELLNESS PROGRAMS IN SMALL BUSINESS: IMPACTING THE BOTTOM LINE

WORKPLACE WELLNESS PROGRAMS IN SMALL BUSINESS: IMPACTING THE BOTTOM LINE 2 NSBA | HUMANA

INTRODUCTIONThe National Small Business Association (NSBA),

America’s longest-running small business advocacy

organization, operating on a staunchly nonpartisan

basis, has been a leader in health care policy for

more than a decade. A key component of our health

care platform has always been the role workplace

wellness programs can play in keeping health care

accessible and affordable for small-business owners

and their employees.

NSBA partnered with Humana to develop a

groundbreaking survey conducted by third-party

research firm, Edelman Berland, on workplace

wellness in America’s small businesses. What we

found is eye-opening.

For the last 50 years, five behavioral issues have

consumed an estimated 80 percent of the nation’s

health care budget – poor diet, stress coupled with

inactivity, smoking and drinking. NSBA and Humana

understand small businesses’ role in supporting

the U.S. economy and is committed to helping

these employers and their employees combat such

issues and achieve lifelong well-being. Humana in

collaboration with NSBA will be working to provide

information that small businesses can use to help

address barriers to wellness.

While small businesses place high importance overall

on workforce health--93 percent say the health of

their employees is important to their businesses

bottom line, just 22 percent currently are offering a

wellness program.

93%of small business decision-makers say the health of their employees is important to their business’ bottom line.

Figure 1: Importance of employee health to bottom line

Extremely Important

Very Important

Somewhat Important

Not Very Important

54%39%

6%1%

NSBA | HUMANA 3 WORKPLACE WELLNESS PROGRAMS IN SMALL BUSINESS: IMPACTING THE BOTTOM LINE

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS CONCERNSSome of the more surprising results we found showed

that the smallest businesses--those with two to nine

employees--actually placed greater emphasis on

wellness and expressed higher confidence in their

ability to manage a wellness program than larger

businesses.

This enhanced attention to employee wellness can

be attributed to a few key factors. First, nearly half (48

percent) of the smallest companies surveyed – those

with two to nine employees – said their employees

take few sick days, compared to 52 percent of the

larger small companies whose employees take a

normal amount of sick days. While this may appear

as a positive, 57 percent said their employees work

when they are sick. Second, 37 percent of start-ups

– those companies less than ten years old – said

they see an immediate decrease in productivity

when employees are out sick—as compared to just

29 percent of all other respondents.

Among the health and wellness issues facing

employees, the top concern among small-business

owners was high stress levels, followed by

psychological well-being, weight management and

alcohol or other drug habits.

Figure 2: Confidence in Ability to Help Employees

Manage Health and Wellness

Figure 3: Top Concerns for Employee Well-Being

39%29%21%

2 – 9 EMPLOYEES

10 – 49 EMPLOYEES

50 – 100 EMPLOYEES

High stress levels Psychological well-being

Weight management Alcohol or other drug habits

Smoking habits Don’t know/Unsure

42%

13%11%

11%

9%15%

Stress levels more than triple other employee well-being concerns


OFFER RATE OF WELLNESS PROGRAMSAs expected, the larger small business – those with 50-100 employees – in the study sample had a higher rate (27 percent) of offering a health and wellness program. Health and wellness programs were defined as “an initiative aimed at encouraging employees to make healthier choices such as getting preventative care, eating right and exercising.” The smallest companies, those with 2 – 9 employees, were not far behind larger companies at an offer rate of 20 percent.

Interestingly, business age seemed to play a significant role in the offer-rate of wellness programs. Those firms in operation less than five years had the highest offer rate at 34 percent compared with just 19 percent of companies that have been in existence for 15 years or longer.

Younger businesses – those less than 10 years old – and small businesses with 50 to 100 employees, were more inclined to agree that wellness programs are critical tools for employee recruitment and retention.

Figure 4: Status of Health and Wellness Programs Figure 5: Agreement with Health and Well-Being Statements

Figure 6: Agreement with Health and Well-Being StatementsNever Had

Currently Have

Used to Have

Don’t Know

65%11%

22%2%{

EMPLOYEE SIZE BUSINESS AGEUnder 5 years: 34% 6 – 10 years: 29%10 – 15 years: 25%15+: 19%

2 — 9 Employees: 20% 10 — 49 Employees: 27%50 — 100 Employees: 27%

2 - 9 Employees

10 - 49 Employees

50 - 100 Employees

I pay close attention to my employees’ health 75% 71% 81%

I would be more interested in a wellness program that I could customize to the needs of my small business

68% 70% 73%

Employee health and wellness programs are worth the investment

59% 60% 73%

There is not enough information available to small businesses about implementing health and wellness programs for small businesses

59% 57% 52%

Health and wellness programs are critical for employee retention recruiting top talent

43% 41% 52%

A health and wellness program is a differentiator for employee recruitment

37% 41% 65%

Start-Up Non-Start-Up

Health and wellness programs are critical for employee retention 54% 41%

A health and wellness program is a differentiator for employee recruitment 53% 38%


BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTING WELLNESS PROGRAMSSmall-business owners are not unlike their larger counterparts in that the bottom line drives their decision making. Certainly, small businesses often are more familial, however when considering employee benefit plans, the owners rely heavily on the bottom line. Among the small firms who offered a health and wellness program in the past, 49 percent said they believe such a program would positively impact their bottom line. Among those who never had a wellness program, just 35 percent believe a wellness program would positively impact their bottom line.

Comparatively, among those businesses currently offering a wellness program, 78 percent believe the program positively impacts their bottom line.

When asked to rank their biggest motivators in implementing a wellness program, lower long-term health costs was ranked number one by both those firms who have a wellness program and those that do not. Improved morale and increased productivity came in second and third.

Any efforts to increase the offer rate of wellness programs at small businesses surely must include clear evidence of the positive implications such a program can have not just on the employees, but the overall business.

Another key factor driving the low offer rate of wellness programs in small business is a lack of employee interest. In fact, 46 percent of all businesses surveyed said lack of interest was the key barrier to implementing a wellness program, followed by 21 percent of small-business owners who pointed to difficulty to administer such programs.

Figure 7: Health and Wellness on the Bottom Line

Figure 9: Biggest Implementation Barriers

Figure 8: Biggest Implementation Motivators

Health of employees is important to bottom line

Convinced a program would positively impact bottom line

Currently have a health and wellness program

Lack of interest among employees

Used to have a health and wellness program

Difficulty to administer

Never had a health and wellness program

Concern for employee privacy

Fear of singling out employees

Don’t know/Unsure

92%

46%21%

12%7%

11%

78%

92%

93%49%

35%

Currently have health and wellness programs

Do not have health and wellness programs

Lower health care costs in the long term 25% 36%

Improved morale 21% 13%Increased productivity 13% 15%Increased employee retention/Reduced turnover 11% 7%

Competitive advantage in recruiting top talent 7% 3%

High Demand 6% 3%Lower absenteeism 5% 5%None of the above 9% 15%Don’t know/Unsure 1% 3%


INCENTIVES TO OFFERING WELLNESS PROGRAMSThere is no question small-business owners are closely engaged with their employees’ health and well-being. In fact, 60 percent of small-business owners said they believe that employee health and wellness programs are worth the investment. Unfortunately, a nearly identical amount, 58 percent, also said there is not enough information available to small businesses about implementing wellness programs.

When asked what health and wellness programs they would be most likely to invest in, 26 percent of small-business owners said stress management followed closely by health education, prevention or screening (24 percent) and weight management programs (12 percent).

As with any number of business issues—lending, taxes, regulation—a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for small businesses. Sixty-nine percent said that they would be more interested in a wellness program they could customize to the needs of their small business.

Figure 10: Agreement With Health and Well-Being Statements

Figure 11: Health and Wellness Programs Most Likely To Invest In

I pay close attention to my employees’ health

I would be more interested in a wellness program that I could customize to the needs of my small business

Employee health and wellness programs are worth the investment

There is not enough information available to small businesses about implementing health and wellness programs for small businesses

Health and wellness programs are critical for employee retention

A health and wellness program is a differentiator for employee recruitment programs are critical for employee retention

74%69%

60% 58% 43% 40%

Stress management programs

Health education, prevention, or screening

Weight managements programs

Counseling, including psychological, marriage, legal, and financial counseling

Addiction management programs

None of the above

Don’t know/Unsure

26%24%

12%11%

5%19%

4%

42% of small-business owners say high stress levels concern them the most when it comes to overall productivity of their business and employee health.


CONCLUSIONWhile policymakers, think-tanks and interest groups continue to discuss the best way to move forward in making the U.S. health care system accessible, affordable and of the highest quality, there are existing programs that stand to reduce costs today. Addressing some of the largest barriers to implementing a health and wellness program as well as ensuring information is accessible—and not just plentiful—will surely help small businesses move one step closer to achieving better overall workplace wellness.

MethodologyThe survey was conducted by Edelman Berland using a telephone custom survey among a nationally-representative sample of 1,005 U.S. owners and decision-makers of businesses with 2 to 100 employees. Surveys were conducted from Friday, June 29, 2012 to Tuesday, July 10, 2012. The margin of error is ± 3.1% assuming a 95% confidence.

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