The Health Perks Millennials Want

Millennials are demanding more wellbeing support, beyond traditional programming, according to a new report.

Welltok’s Millennials: Raising the Bar for Wellbeing shows that millennials are demanding more from their employers in terms of wellbeing support, including wanting support from managers and wellbeing programs, and multiple ways (including digital) to access resources. Nearly eight in 10 say their employer should be doing more to help support their health and wellbeing needs. They are also unimpressed by the one-size-fits-all wellbeing offerings provided to them-with a majority (85%) more likely to participate if they received more personalized programming.  

“Millennials are changing the definition of health to include all aspects of life – physically, emotionally, financially and socially,” says Scott Rotermund, Welltok’s co-founder and chief growth officer. “They expect their employer and health plan to play an active part in their health, which in part means helping them to manage stress, financial stability, healthy eating habits, etc.” 

Healthcare executives need to pay closer attention to what millennials want, how they want to be supported, and what will drive engagement, Rotermund says. “They are not like generations past in many ways, and benefit expectations are no exception,” he says. “Being the largest generation in the U.S., millennials have a lot of influence when it comes to workforce management and benefit allocation.”  

Related: Connecting Individual Health to the Community

In terms of incentives, to motivate this generation to take an active role in their health and wellbeing, employers could look beyond monetary values, according to Rotermund. “Extra vacation time, wellness benefits like a gym membership, and flexible work schedules were all ranked high as rewards millennials would look for to take action,” he says. “For several of our clients with large millennial populations, we are seeing that a variety of rewards are driving engagement, such as earning volunteer days for participating in a resilience training program.”  

Self and health

Self and health are synonymous and non-negotiable for millennials, according to Rotermund.

“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 well-being offerings are a key component of benefit packages that today’s organizations are touting to get millennials’ attention and gain their loyalty.”

According to Rotermund, using consumer data, including social determinants of health, is the best way to gain deeper insights about millennials as individuals, and what will empower them to be healthy.

“Combining this with clinical data, and leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning, healthcare executives can identify the right programs and incentives to drive action,” he says. “By partnering with health plans and employers, a greater number of people can be reached at a given time.”

Stress is a huge factor and it is hindering performance, according to Rotermund.

“More than 40% of millennials say stress is impacting their life and more than half have even considered switching jobs because of workplace stress,” he says. “Further-almost 75% say it is up to their employer to help them manage or reduce workplace stress. Yet, less than one-third of millennials said they knew where to find all of their health and well-being resources. That’s where a dedicated wellbeing platform comes into play-providing a single destination for millennials and all employees alike access, and most importantly, to utilize available resources.”