Lori Casselman, AVP, Health & Wellness

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada

The Case for Wellness: Current

Research on the ROI of Wellness

ASolareh National

Advisor Conference Series

November 2012

• Launched in May 2011 with mandate to provide insight and evidence to support workplace wellness in Canada

• 3 core projects to date– Canadian Health Index Study

• Including the Burnout Factor – Buffett National Wellness Survey– Strategic alliance Ivey: ROI Study

The Sun Life Wellness Institute

Workplace wellness no longer a nice to have• Chronic disease a growing toll on

organizations– 35% increase in health and productivity

costs since 2009• Effective health and productivity

programs deliver results– 11% higher revenue and 28% greater

shareholder returns• More organizations offering or

considering wellness

Source: Towers Watson Staying@Work 2011/2012

• 677 respondents• Responses collected during the

spring and summer of 2011• Current state: ‘wellness

initiatives’

Buffett National Wellness Survey

Source: 2011 Buffet National Wellness Survey

Highest ranked organizational health risk concerns• Work related stress• Mental health issues• High Blood Pressure• Diabetes

Source: 2011 Buffet National Wellness Survey

RISK AREAS VS. PROGRAM OFFERINGS

Source: 2011 Buffet National Wellness Survey

BRIDGING THE GAP

97% of respondents agree that employee health is directly related to corporate success72% of organizations are offering at least one wellness program.

BUT only 26% are taking a strategic approach to wellness

Including calculating an ROI

Source: 2011 Buffet National Wellness Survey

THE FOCUS ON RESULTS

Case Studies

Employee Satisfaction Survey

Launch of program in 2006- Wellness survey, health risk assessment- Drug usage and Benefits analysis

Key Learnings- High prevalence of disease risk factors- Low engagement and culture scores

Case Study

• Health Risk Screenings• Health Challenges• Smoking Cessation Programs• Surveys for on-going

measurement• Continuous analysis and reporting• Management support

• Program success built into management performance metrics

Wellness Program Components

• Projected 5 year savings from Health Screening and Smoking Cessation alone

= $240,000• Measurable

improvements in employee engagement and culture

3400 Employees Multi-site

locations Diverse workforce Wellness

programs since 2006

The Results

• Comprehensive wellness program

• Strong leadership commitment

• Senior management forms and participates as a team in challenge

• 789 people (63 %) lost weight (61 of these moved into a healthy zone)

• 152 (12 %) improved on four or more of risk factors

• 41 stopped smoking for one full year or more

• Total cost avoidance of over $358,000

Case Study

• Move from

fitness re-imbursement to comprehensive wellness strategy in 2008

• Incentive: Earn $300 toward Personal Wellness Account (PWA)

• 70% overall participation in wellness programs

• Creation of PWA delivered +16% increase in employee engagement levels

• Over $610,000 in cost avoidance since inception of program

Case Study

What is still missing?• The measurable return-on-

investment for wellness– US further ahead– In Canada

• Gap in rigorous data• Varying measures and benchmarks

• Opportunity to build a healthier Canada, one organization and one employee at a time

Our commitment to results: Canadian ROI Study• Strategic alliance with Richard

Ivey School of Business at Western University

• Multi-year study, launched in 2011–Phase 1 meta analysis–Phase 2 in-field study

Why?• Little rigorous examination of

workplace wellness programs in Canada or indeed outside of the United States

• Even within the US, there are few studies that are comparable and that provide sufficient data and analytical rigour to underpin a solid, evidence-based business case.

Richard Ivey ROI Study Phase1, Spring 2012

Where is the Evidence ?• Academic & grey literatures, &

popular press promote the potential of a positive return for employers & benefits to workers– but is the evidence there?

• Employers who want to do the right thing still need to make the business case

• We need evidence, an assessment of studies that are robust & demonstrate analytical rigour, i.e., meta-analytical & systematic

Harvard Study

• Most recent meta-analysis (Baicker et al., 2010) published in Health Affairs

• Methods– Literature review of previous meta-

analyses & computerized searches looking for peer reviewed US research• Yielded “more than 100” studies• 30 years of research represented

Harvard Study Findings• ROI of Wellness Programs for 9

studies– Savings $394 per employee per year– Average program cost $159 per

employee/yr

• Absenteeism for the 9 studies– Absentee days saved 1.7

days/employee/yr– Estimated savings $274 per employee/yr– Estimated costs $132 per emp/yr (from 12

studies)– Estimated ROI absenteeism = $2.08

Ivey Study Methods• Computerized search based

on:– Commonly cited terms, e.g.,

employee, wellness, workplace, cost benefit analysis, etc., plus keywords from published studies

• Review articles were scanned for additional papers

• Yielded 504 studies – Oldest paper 1977

Papers Published

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Year

Meta-analysis (Phase 1) Criteria• The included studies met the

following criteria:– Experiment & control groups– Pre and Post intervention data– New intervention (excluded

retrospective evaluations of ongoing programs)

– Length of intervention was provided

– Days absence reported• Sufficient number & quality for meta-

analysis

Phase 1 Findings• Wellness programs save about 1.5

to 1.7 days absenteeism per worker over 12 months– Absenteeism ranges from 4.7 days to 11.2

days (Statistics Canada, 2011) • Employers can expect to receive

substantial savings in terms of reduced absenteeism from Workplace Wellness Programs– Results are statistically significant and robust

and comparable to the US results

Absenteeism ComparisonIvey Study• 4 studies

– All from Europe– Programs:

Personalized, Fitness training, Counseling, Exercise program

• Strict inclusion/exclusion criteria

Harvard Study• 9 studies (7

independent)– All from USA– Programs:

Online programs, Fitness, Education materials, Classes or workshops

• Strict inclusion/exclusi

on criteria

Absenteeism ComparisonIvey Study• 2.43 days

employee/year (equal weight)

• 1.5 days per employee per year saved with wellness programs

• Estimated savings $251 per employee per year with wellness programs

Harvard Study• 1.7 days per employee

per year saved with wellness programs

• Estimated savings $274 per employee per year with wellness programs

Phase 2: • Select organizations who meet criteria

will implement a Sun Life HealthyRETURNS program over a 2-year in-field study period

• Canada wide; multiple industries and sites

• Comparisons will be made between control groups and treatment groups with respect to:– Biometric measures (e.g. blood pressure;

cholesterol; body mass index; waist circumference, body fat)

– Prescription drugs– Extended health – Absence and disability– Lifestyle habits and respective risk levels

• Begins Jan 2013

Phase 2: What we will study• Some of the hypotheses

– Positive Return on Investment– Reduction in absenteeism and presenteeism– Decreased employee turnover– Increased employee working life satisfaction– Increased productivity– Decreased employee stress– Reduced health care costs– Healthier employees

ROI Study• Sun Life’s sponsored research will

be a widely cited effort in Canada, and has the potential to be a major contribution to workplace wellness knowledge worldwide

For more information Visit:

www.sunlife.ca/wellnessinstitutewww.sunlife.ca/healthyreturns

Contact: lori.casselman@sunlife.com

Questions?