Employee health survey | Health on demand 2021 

Our latest employee health survey asked over 14,000 employees across the globe about how their employer could impact positively on their health. The answers reveal which health benefits matter most to employees for building resilience and loyalty.

Greater demand for employee health resources that meet employee needs is driving a shift towards digital well-being and self-care solutions.

Five key trends were identified as being the most important to delivering the benefits employees want now:

Our Health on Demand survey asked questions about how employees value different types of health benefits.

The findings show employees don’t just want help to get better when they are unwell. They also want help to stay healthy. Flexible working arrangements and time off for health-related appointments emerged as the benefits that employees find most valuable, closely followed by an app to find the right doctor or medical care.

Many of the most valued employee health resources were almost unheard of a few years ago, such as the ability to video chat with a doctor or nurse and apps to help self-manage health conditions.

When approaching employee benefits design, employers need to include more proactive benefits to help their people stay healthy, all delivered digitally.

The business advantages associated with offering a broad range of health benefits include a more loyal and energised workforce. Employees with access to the most benefits say their benefits make them less likely to want to move elsewhere. (59% compared to 24% of those with access to the least benefits).

Our Health on Demand research found that employees face big challenges when it comes to their emotional health. Almost a quarter of employees (24%) say they are financially worse off than before the pandemic. One in five (20%) say they feel more isolated. One in seven respondents felt a decline in work-life balance and one in ten were bereaved due to COVID-19. 

Answers to the employee mental health survey questions found that one in two employees feel stressed every day. However, employees who feel supported by their employer are 10% less likely to be highly or extremely stressed. 

Unsurprisingly, one in two employees (50%) say investing in mental health benefits is extremely or very important. With increasing adoption of digital employee health resources set to play a major role in alleviating the mental health crisis, nearly half of employees (47%) see the opportunity to have a video chat with a therapist as very valuable. The same percentage highly value tools that help them build mindfulness and resilience skills to cope with pressure.