Sun Life finds that Gen Y has the biggest health related
challenges with productivity and attendance
Broadcast video clips as well as audio-only clips to support
this story are available to download here:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7685151-cnw-vod/
TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2015 /CNW/ - New findings from the 2015
Sun Life Canadian Health Index indicate that an overwhelming
majority of Canadians (more than four in five) believe that
employers are responsible for supporting their employees' physical
and psychological health.
"It is striking that our results show that 84% of Canadians say
that employers are responsible for supporting their employees'
physical health and that 86% feel the same way when asked about
psychological health," says Kevin
Dougherty, President, Sun Life Financial Canada
(@KPDougherty).
When the results are looked at by age group, almost two out of
five Gen Y respondents believe their employer has a significant
responsibility for their employees' physical health (38%), as well
as for their psychological health (37%), which was higher than any
other age group.
The 2015 survey also found that there is a clear relationship
between health and employee productivity among those surveyed. More
than one-third (35%) of Canadians say that their productivity at
work has been negatively affected by their physical or mental
health in the last six months.
Gen Y respondents were most likely to report that experience:
47% said their health had negatively impacted their work
productivity in the last six months, compared with 30% of Late
Boomers and 26% of Early Boomers.
Understanding this strong connection between health and
productivity in the workplace, Canadian companies working with Sun
Life are taking steps to support their employees' health.
"We recognise how important it is to invest in our people at
Rogers by supporting their physical, mental, and financial
well-being, and we're taking action," says Dr. David Satok, Medical Director at Rogers
Communications. "Results from a diabetes screening clinic pilot
indicated that 79% of participants said they planned to make
changes to their lifestyle after learning their risk factors for
developing the disease. We've also built a national wellness
ambassador network to ensure that each and every employee has
access to programs and services to support their health," says Dr.
Satok.
"McKesson Canada has been working with its employees since 2013
to become the healthiest company in its industry," says Geneviève
Fortier, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Public Affairs
at McKesson Canada. "Thanks to our flexible health and wellness
program, we are seeing a reduction in the average duration of our
disabilities: 23% for short term and 34% for long term."
Results: How much responsibility do you think
employers should take in supporting their employees'
health?
To see results by region
To see results by age
About the Sun Life Canadian Health Index survey
The Sun Life Canadian Health Index measures the attitudes
of Canadians towards healthy lifestyles and reports these in the
form of an index.
The sixth annual Sun Life Canadian Health Index is based
on the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between June 15 and 23, 2015. A sample of 2,404
Canadians from 18 to 80 years of age was drawn from the Ipsos I-Say
online panel.
Ipsos Reid employed weighting to balance demographics and ensure
that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population
according to Census data and to provide results intended to
approximate the sample universe.
The precision of Ipsos Reid online surveys is measured using a
credibility interval. In this case, the survey is accurate to
within ±2.3% at 95% Confidence Level had all Canadian adults been
polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other
sources of error, including, but not limited to methodological
change, coverage error and measurement error.
For more key findings and results on the 2015 Sun Life
Canadian Health Index, visit
www.sunlife.ca/CanadianHealthIndex.
Age breakdown for demographics:
Gen Y: 18 to 30
Gen X: 31 to 47
Late Boomer: 48 to 57
Early Boomer: 58 to 66
Pre-Boomer: 67 to 80
About Sun Life Financial
Celebrating 150 years in 2015, Sun Life Financial is a leading
international financial services organization providing a diverse
range of protection and wealth products and services to individuals
and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have
operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United
States, the United Kingdom,
Ireland, Hong Kong, the
Philippines, Japan,
Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda.
As of September 30, 2015, the Sun
Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management
of $846 billion. For more information
please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.
Video with caption: "Kevin
Dougherty, President of Sun Life Financial Canada, discusses
the 2015 Sun Life Financial Canadian Health Index, and the findings
that indicate that an overwhelming majority of Canadians (more than
four in five) believe that employers are responsible for supporting
their employees' physical and psychological health.". Video
available at:
http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20151112_C9229_VIDEO_EN_44444.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20151112_C9229_PHOTO_EN_44444.jpg&clientName=Sun%20Life%20Financial%20Inc%2E&caption=Kevin%20Dougherty%2C%20President%20of%20Sun%20Life%20Financial%20Canada%2C%20discusses%20the%202015%20Sun%20Life%20Financial%20Canadian%20Health%20Index%2C%20and%20the%20findings%20that%20indicate%20that%20an%20overwhelming%20majority%20of%20Canadians%20%28more%20than%20four%20in%20five%29%20believe%20that%20employers%20are%20responsible%20for%20supporting%20their%20employees%27%20physical%20and%20psychological%20health%2E&title=SUN%20LIFE%20FINANCIAL%20INC%2E%20%2D%20More%20than%20four%20out%20of%20five%20Canadians%20believe%20their%20employers%20are%20responsible%20for%20supporting%20their%20health&headline=More%20than%20four%20out%20of%20five%20Canadians%20believe%20their%20employers%20are%20responsible%20for%20supporting%20their%20health
Audio with caption: "Kevin
Dougherty, President of Sun Life Financial Canada, discusses
the 2015
Sun Life Financial Canadian Health Index, and the findings that
indicate
that an overwhelming majority of Canadians (more than four in five)
believe
that employers are responsible for supporting their employees'
physical and
psychological health.". Audio available at:
http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2015/11/12/20151112_C9229_AUDIO_EN_44439.mp3
Image with caption: "The Sun Life Canadian Health Index measures
the attitudes of Canadians towards healthy lifestyles. (CNW
Group/Sun Life Financial Inc.)". Image available at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151112_C9229_PHOTO_EN_44432.jpg
Image with caption: "How much responsibility do you think
employers should take in supporting their employees' health by age
breakdown? (CNW Group/Sun Life Financial Inc.)". Image available
at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151112_C9229_PHOTO_EN_44434.jpg
Image with caption: "How much responsibility do you think
employers should take in supporting their employees' health by
regional breakdown? (CNW Group/Sun Life Financial Inc.)". Image
available at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151112_C9229_PHOTO_EN_44436.jpg