Healthy workplace makes for happy employees: study

Lincolnshire, IL – Workers who believe their organization encourages healthy behaviors tend to be less stressed and more in control of their well-being, according to results of a new survey from Aon Hewitt, the National Business Group on Health and The Futures Company.

The survey was taken by more than 2,700 employees and their dependents covered by employer-sponsored health care plans. Seventy-five percent of employees whose workplace had a strong culture of health reported being in control of their personal health, compared with 63 percent of employees whose organizations were less health-focused. Also, the percentage of employees who believed stress was having a negative impact on their work was almost twice as high among workers in a weak health culture (25 percent compared with 49 percent).

Employees of health-conscious employers were more likely to take steps to improve their health, such as receiving an annual physical, exercising at least three days a week and participating in a wellness program, according to the survey.