The Towers Watson Approach to Improving Corporate Wellness

Abstract

Abstract

Encouraging employees to take care of their health is in the interests of everyone. Employees benefit from being healthier and happier, employers benefit from having an engaged workforce, lower absenteeism, and lower medical costs, and society as a whole benefits from using less medical resources. Employers have been trying to push healthy messages to employees for a long time and have had some good success. For example, an increased emphasis on the dangers of tobacco use in employer and government communications has helped bring about a significant decrease in smoking. However, overall population health in key risk areas (such as obesity and diabetes) continues to decline. These areas are where employers can really make a difference in health outcomes—and effective communications are critical to success. Towers Watson helps many companies educate employees about health and wellness and encourage more effective use of healthcare. The challenge is to find new and engaging ways to deliver this information so that employees take notice—and take action. After all, the amount of material employees receive on a daily basis from marketers, employers, and each other across the wide range of available media makes it extremely difficult to be heard. This is where gaming comes in—and why we think it's the tool to be incorporating into communication and engagement plans.