As the largest of all generations, Millennials’ purchasing power and influence continues to grow and healthcare is no exception, asserts Welltok, an employee health and wellbeing management company. The new Millennials: Raising the Bar for Wellbeing report indicates that this generation is more likely to invest in their whole self and many feel that their employer is missing the mark, says the organization.
The report also reveals that more than half of Millennials are a flight risk due to work-related stress; 85 percent are more likely to participate in health programing if personalized and only one in five confidently know where to access available resources.
“Self and health are synonymous and non-negotiable for Millennials,” said Welltok Co-founder Scott Rotermund in a press statement. “Their health is an extension of who they are and transcends both work and personal life – taking care of their body, being mindful and financially stable. As a result, robust wellbeing offerings are a key component of benefit packages that today’s organizations are touting to recruit and retain Millennials.”
Key findings:
· Total wellbeing is non-negotiable: Millennials have adopted a broad definition of health that includes physical, emotional, financial and social aspects. When asked to rank health and wellbeing priorities, these new workforce entrants placed a greater emphasis on positive relationships, manageable stress levels and finding a higher purpose compared to the workforce as a whole.
· Personalization is an expectation: More than 60 percent of millennials feel that everyone is offered the same resources, and 62 percent agree to some extent that they have been offered irrelevant resources. If employers provided more relevant support, 85 percent said they would increase participation in health and wellbeing programs.
· Millennials are non-traditional: Monetary incentives have become the norm for large employers, but Millennials often place more value on the intangible. This younger generation would also be motivated to take health actions by extra vacation time (64 percent), wellness benefits like gym memberships (56 percent) and flexible work schedules (53 percent).
· Stress is a major factor: More than 40 percent of Millennials say that work stress is negatively impacting their life, and more than half have seriously considered changing their work situation due to stress. The large majority (73 percent) believe employers are responsible for helping manage or reduce workplace stress, which emphasizes the importance of a total wellbeing offering.
