global health and productivity trends - willis towers … north america, latin america, • europe...

Global Health and Productivity Trends Webcast

January 15, 2014

© 2014 Towers Watson. All rights reserved.

Proprietary and Confidential. For Towers Watson and Towers Watson client use only.

Agenda

Employer Viewpoint

Global Staying@Work Survey

Key Global Findings

Differences by Country

Employee Viewpoint

Global Benefits Attitude Survey

Key Global Findings on Health Aspects

Differences by Country

Focus on Stress

Next Steps — How to Use This Information

© 2014 Towers Watson. All rights reserved. towerswatson.com 2


Today’s presenters

Francis Coleman

Director of International Consulting

Shelly Wolff

Health Management Leader for U.S. East Division

Henriette Coetzer, MD

Global Medical Director

© 2014 Towers Watson. All rights reserved. towerswatson.com

3

Employer View



Global Staying@Work Survey

towerswatson.com © 2014 Towers Watson. All rights reserved. 5

Inaugural Global Survey

Employers completed the survey between May and July 2013

in North America, Latin America,

Europe and Asia

Countries/

markets

surveyed

15 Employer respondents have

more than >10,000 full-time

workers

42%

APAC Participants

372

of the respondents have

their workforces located in

multiple countries and

respondents operate in all

major industry sectors 51%

North America Participants

313

892 • China

• Hong Kong

• India

• Malaysia

• Philippines

• Singapore

• Canada • U.S.

LATAM Participants

126 • Brazil • Mexico EMEA

Participants

81

• France

• Italy

• Netherlands

• Spain

• U.K.


Key global findings — Employers can make a difference


Companies rank workplace culture and engagement as top priories of health

and productivity programs

Stress, obesity and lack of physical activity are the biggest lifestyle risk

factors identified by employers in all regions

Globally, the causes of poor health are remarkably similar; however, the tools,

abilities and resources to address these causes vary greatly

Companies want to differentiate health programs from competitors and

customise approaches for workforce segments

Lack of engagement is a key obstacle to changing employee behaviour —

use of health incentives is primarily a U.S. phenomenon

Employers and employees have vastly different opinions on the causes of

employee stress

High-effectiveness organisations are doing a number of things differently,

and their results are far better than their peers


Employers are taking the next step in H&P strategy as a key

competitive advantage


No Strategy Adopt

Strategy

Communicate

and Deliver

Differentiate

H&P strategy

Offered various

programs but have not

articulated an H&P

strategy

Articulated an H&P

strategy with stated

objectives and goals for

each program

Effectively

communicated the

value proposition behind

the H&P program and

delivered on its promises

Customized for critical

workforce segments

and used organisational

analytics to test program

effectiveness

U.S.

Canada

Mexico

Brazil

Europe

APAC

59%

45%

40%

53%

33%

50%

TODAY IN 3 YEARS

3% 14% 21% 59%

5% 18% 25% 45%

19% 19% 14% 40%

3% 18% 21% 53%

18% 20% 26% 33%

8% 18% 18% 50%

50% 18% 16% 14%

63% 10% 13% 6%

49% 15% 17% 8%

48% 9% 15% 24%

47% 17% 13% 8%

55% 10% 16% 10%


Health and Productivity: A core component of organisational

health strategy


49%

48%

43%

73%

54%

58%

42%

39%

42%

25%

33%

36%

United States

Canada

Mexico

Brazil

Europe

Asia Pacific

It is essential to our organisational health strategy

It plays a moderate role in our organisational health strategy

Describe your organisation’s view of health and productivity improvement.

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin

America

North

America


Stress, lack of physical activity and obesity are top lifestyle

risk factors globally


Stress

Lack of

physical

activity Obesity

Tobacco

use Presenteeism

Poor

nutrition

Substance

abuse

Asia

Pacific 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Europe 1 3 4 2 5 7 6

Brazil 1 2 3 7 6 5 4

Mexico 1 2 3 6 5 4 7

Canada 1 2 3 6 5 4 7

United

States 1 3 2 5 6 4 7

Top lifestyle risk factors


Biggest obstacles to changing employee behaviour — Lack of

employee engagement and budget/staff


Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 5

United States Employee Engagement Evidence on Returns Budget/Staff Incentives to Encourage

Participation Senior Leader Support

Canada Employee Engagement Budget/Staff Incentives to Encourage

Participation Evidence on Returns Senior Leader Support

Mexico Employee Engagement Budget/Staff Evidence on Returns Evidence on Best Practices Org Structure To Support

Brazil Employee Engagement Incentives to Encourage

Participation Senior Leader Support Org Structure To Support Budget/Staff

Europe Budget/Staff Employee Engagement Evidence on Returns Regulatory Incentives to Encourage

Participation

China Budget/Staff Evidence on Returns Senior Leader Support Employee Engagement Evidence on Best

Practices

India Employee Engagement Evidence on Best

Practices

Incentives to Encourage

Participation Evidence on Returns Actionable Data

Southeast Asia Employee Engagement Evidence on Best

Practices Budget/Staff

Incentives to Encourage

Participation Evidence on Returns

What are the biggest obstacles to changing employee health behaviours?

(Lack of…)


Regional highlights

Brazil has many of the same issues as the US, including an expensive

healthcare system where employers pay a significant proportion of the cost,

and similar lifestyle issues

Brazilians rate effectiveness of health programs higher than all other regions

Mexico also closely mirrors the US in terms of lifestyle factors, and even though company medical

plans are less comprehensive and may only focus on major medical and hospitalization services, cost

is becoming an issue

The importance of H&P to employers in Asia is comparable to US

Obesity ranks high (#3), even though national obesity rates are lower in Asian countries in relative

terms

China is unique in many aspects; fewer companies link H&P to strategic value, and tobacco is in top 3

lifestyle risks

Although employers recognise the need for a more strategic approach, Europe has fewer employer

provided health and well-being programmes

European employers tend to focus first on compliance and workplace safety rules, and less on

developing a broader strategy linked to business values

Organisations in Europe report improving employee emotional/mental health (i.e., lessening stress and

anxiety) as the second priority, followed by improving employee health engagement


Employee View



Towers Watson’s Global Benefits Attitude Survey:

An employee view on health and productivity


Comprehensive global survey of employees at

large organizations in 12 countries

1,000 to 2,000 participants in each country (5,000+ in US)

Average age of participants by country was 33-42

Includes questions complementing employer views in S@W on:

Workplace stress

Employer’s role in employee’s health and well-being

Use and importance of wellness incentives and barriers to program participation

Emphasis on understanding the link between workplace initiatives for

physical/emotional health and employee engagement and productivity

Core health and productivity themes include:

Physical health conditions of individual and family Perspectives on culture of health

Work and non-work drivers of stress Incentive designs and importance for program participation

Common lifestyle risk factors Motivations regarding health engagement

Benefit preferences (risk aversion in designs) Psycho-social values around health

Comfort levels with the expanded role of ERs in health Control/ownership of health decisions and readiness for change


US & Canada

Employees have not connected to wellness programs


Europe

Latin Am. Asia Pac

31%

39%

16%

35%

Source: Towers Watson’s Global Benefits Attitude Survey, 2013.

The wellness initiatives offered by my employer have encouraged me to live a

healthier lifestyle.


Weak recognition of the steps companies are taking to

cultivate a healthy workplace


Only about 2 in 5 employees say their employer

promotes a healthy work environment (37%) and

provides regular communication that promotes the

importance of a healthy lifestyle (40%) GLOBAL RESULTS

Brazil, Canada, China, India,

Mexico, US

My employer promotes a

healthy work environment

My company provides regular

communication

Germany, Japan, Netherlands,

UK

Australia, Chile

40% or more

30 – 39%

Less than 30%

China, India, Mexico

Australia, Brazil, Canada,

Chile, US

Germany, Japan,

Netherlands, UK



Employees agree that their employer has a role in

encouraging healthier lifestyles


Neutral Agree Agree

40% 49% 11%

Employers should

take an active role

in encouraging

their employees

to live healthy

lifestyles

It is not the role

of an employer

to encourage

their employees

to live healthy

lifestyles

Global Results

Asia Pacific 44% 45% 11%

Europe 31% 57% 12%

Latin America 46% 40% 14%

North America 39% 51% 10%


Please indicate your degree of agreement towards each of the following by

selecting the option closest to the one you prefer.


Top reasons employees are not participating in wellness

activities


Manage my health

on my own 1 1 3 4 2 1 4 2 4 3 2 1

Too busy 3 2 2 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 7 4

No activities offered

at my employer 4 3 1 2 4 2 2 5 3 4 1 2

It’s not a priority

right now 2 4 5 3 3 4 3 3 6 2 3 3

I’m healthy and

don’t need to

participate

6 6 7 8 5 6 6 4 5 5 4 6


Canada United States Brazil China Mexico Australia Chile India Japan Germany Netherlands UK

Americas Asia Pacific Europe

What are the main reasons you have not participated in a wellness activity?


Employees use new technologies to support their health and

well-being


Brazil 70%

India 63%

China 47%

Chile 45%

Mexico 40%

US 40%

Canada 33%

Australia 27%

UK 25%

Netherlands 24%

Germany 22%

Japan 19%

75%

81%

80%

64%

79%

71%

69%

70%

72%

62%

69%

72%

Percentage

Use Percentage Indicating Effective


Do you use the internet tools or mobile apps to help you manage your health and

well-being? If so, do the internet tools or mobile apps help you manage your

health and well-being?


Top sources of work-related stress


Inadequate staffing

(lack of support) 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 1

Low pay (or low

increases in pay) 5 2 1 2 4 4 1 5 2 5 3 5

Unclear or conflicting

job expectations 2 3 4 4 5 3 5 1 6 2 2 4

Organizational

culture, including

lack of teamwork

3 4 3 6 2 2 4 4 3 3 5 2

Lack of work/life

balance 4 5 5 3 3 6 3 2 4 4 7 3


Canada United States Brazil China Mexico Australia Chile India Japan Germany Netherlands UK

What are the top causes of work-related stress in your job?

Americas Asia Pacific Europe

Focus on Stress



Why focus on stress and mental well-being?

Employers in Towers Watson’s recent global Staying@Work survey

identified stress as the #1 lifestyle risk across all regions surveyed

Stress costs employers billions and impacts all other wellness

behaviors

Stressed workers incur healthcare costs 50% higher than the norm

60% of lost workdays each year can be attributed to stress

Stress drives and sustains other lifestyle behaviors such as inactivity and

poor nutritional choices: Workers with the most severe levels of job stress

have a 68% higher risk of developing heart disease, and men who

experience “moderate” or “extreme” job stress were twice as likely to smoke

as other workers

All stress is not bad: Balanced stress drives exceptional performance

Effective coping skills and resiliency are key to maintaining business

momentum in a challenging environment



But…employers and employees are not

aligned on causes of stress


Employer View

Employee View

Lack of work/life balance (excessive workloads and/or long hours) 1 5

Inadequate staffing (lack of support, uneven workload or performance in group) 2 1

Technologies that expand availability during nonworking hours (e.g., mobiles, notebooks)

3 10

Unclear or conflicting job expectations 4 3

Fears about job loss, too much change 5 7

Lack of supervisor support, feedback and not living up to their word 6 6

Fears about benefit reduction/loss (e.g., lower value or loss of health care coverage, reduction in retirement benefits)

7 9

Organizational culture, including lack of teamwork, tendency to avoid accountability and assign blame to others

8 4

Low pay (or low increases in pay) 9 2

Lack of technology, equipment and tools to do the job 10 8

Note: Companies responding 3, 4 or 5 on a 5-point extent scale. Employees given a choice of their top three sources of stress.

Source Of Employee Data: 2013 Towers Watson Global Benefits Attitude Survey (GBAS) — completed by 5,070 U.S. workers at companies with

1,000 or more employees.

Employee view:

Support me

Pay me

Direct me


Comprehensive and localised approaches are needed

Work-related stressors may contribute significantly to employees’

stress burden, but employers need to assess and understand what

those stressors are

To set up for success, minimizing stress needs to be engineered into

the organization

To sustain balance and momentum, programs should be offered that

are multi-faceted, addressing stress and building resilience at the

individual level while monitoring and continually evaluating work

related stressors at the organizational level

Organizational Design and Work Environment Recruiting for resiliency, optimizing organizational design and work processes

Employee Pathway Supporting individuals to manage stress and build resiliency



Stress management and resilience building:

Short-term coping vs. long-term capacity building


Stress Management Mental Resilience

Yoga

Diaphragmatic Breathing

Mindfulness

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Confidence Building

Hope and Optimism

Purposefulness

Adaptability

Social Support

Explanatory Style

Thinking Errors

Reframing

Perspective Taking

Merit Finding

Physical Activity

Autogenic Training

Relaxation Response

Biofeedback

Guided Imagery

Transcendental Meditation


Approaches should be culturally resonant


Cultural

Customization

Individualistic Cultures

Resilience building promoted as primary intervention

Stress management techniques offered as a supplement to resilience

building

Collectivist Cultures

Interventions focus on stress management techniques (e.g., yoga,

breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation)

Resilience building modules offered as supplement

Individualistic Cultures

(e.g., US, Australia,

Great Britain)

Collectivist Cultures

(e.g., Indonesia,

Taiwan, Singapore)

Neutral Cultures

Resilience building and stress management both offered as

interventions; prioritization may reflect personality-based differences

Next Steps — How to Use this Information



Key implications to consider

1. Voice of the Consumer. Understanding the specific needs and

cultural differences across your workforce

2. Address the disconnect around stress. Employer View vs.

Employee View

3. A work in progress. Employees have yet to fully connect with their

employers as a go-to place to help improve their lifestyle habits, but

few resist their employer getting more involved

4. Manager support. To effectively reinforce messages

5. Time is of the essence. Lack of time in work day and evolving

culture

6. Moving into the digital age. Strong evidence for emerging

technologies



Tools to help


S@W Employer Scorecard

Diagnostic and benchmarking tool for identifying

tactics/programs that are key differentiators of

H&P effectiveness (“Best Practices”)

Employee Surveys

Assess and benchmark opinions of support for a

culture of health

Measure employee engagement, including

perceived well-being, and identify top drivers

Link employee opinions to health outcomes and

business results

Global Health & Well-being Forums

Available throughout the year in different regions

Asia Pacific upcoming in February 2014 (India,

China, Singapore, Hong Kong)

Member website for ongoing networking

XYZ

XYZ

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