Cigna: Telehealth, virtual health gains more acceptance
Employees perspectives towards health is now undergoing massive change as critical decisions behind choosing an employer have begun transitioning, according to Cigna Corporation.
About 72 percent respondents in the Cigna Well-Being Survey for 2021 have placed significant importance on access to care such as medical advice or treatment, whereas 73 percent are now interested in a better work-life balance. About 72 percent would form their decision based on the home environment and living conditions in the place of employment. People are looking for enhanced health insurance packages that offer peace of mind. These have the potential to move from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’ that may well influence career decisions.
The role of technology and its acceptability has changed, observed Jerome Droesch, CEO of Cigna MEA and SEA. “The acceptance towards access to virtual health such as online consultations to doctors and telehealth platforms will evolve further. We expect online consultations of patients with their own doctors to increase 10 times more than telehealth. With this evolution we will be able to provide more virtual, home and physical care to members,” he affirmed.
Speaking of stress levels, Droesch said the survey indicated lower levels of stress. “About 38 percent of respondents are stressed from being uncertain about the future. This figure is down from 44 percent in December 2020. Personal and family finances and lack of opportunities for further jobs and learning form major contributors of stress for women. About 89 percent of women face stress as compared to 85 percent women in the global survey,” Droesch pointed out.
The survey was conducted among 18,043 people globally, with 2508 individuals surveyed in the Middle East. Among this, there were 1500 UAE respondents and more than 1000 respondents from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Overall figures show a drop across the five indices since December 2020. About 50 percent employees surveyed have conveyed that they would like to resign from their jobs. “This is probably due this market being a transient one with a large expatriate population. It is also a free moving market. There are many people who chose to quit their jobs to be closer to family,” Droesch clarified. However, he said that salary packages and work benefits had seen the least amount of satisfaction with only 46 percent respondents being satisfied.
Mental health and resilience training were still major focus points for employers in the current working environment, according to the survey. Not surprisingly, the pandemic has significantly increased the acceptance of Working From Home (WFH), with 41percent of office-based respondents preferring to work from home full-time. Of these, 25 percent opting to WFH full-time with access to an office when needed, while 32 percent want to return to the office full-time. Furthermore, women were seen to prefer WFH more than men – 49 percent vs 37 percent. Although the respondents appreciate the flexibility, safety and cost savings that WFH offers, they feel that it often leads to overworking. Distractions at home, longer working hours, and weaker collaboration are seen as the biggest disadvantages of WFH.
The study also highlights a decline in physical health, which returned to pre-pandemic levels as people have started returning to offices. The 2021 study reaffirms insights from the previous studies that physical health was prioritized during COVID-19.
A key outcome of WFH is overwork, with half (52 percent) of the office-based workers noting that they worked longer hours when WFH. Top reasons cited include excessive workload (31 percent) and high employer expectations (21 percent). People have also complained about virtual meeting fatigue (21 percent).
