More employers are becoming directly involved in helping their workforce stay healthy, but the move may spark some employees to question the organization's motives, reports Hewitt Associates.

The HR consulting firm recently released a survey that shows 74% of workers believe employers are responsible for helping them to understand their health plan, but only 12% think companies have a role in helping them to stay healthy. The firm surveyed 30,000 employees and 500 employers.

"Companies are moving beyond their traditional role as a provider of health care benefits to develop holistic programs that pinpoint the specific health needs of their employee populations, drive employee behavior change and eliminate barriers to health care," says Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt's health management consulting practice.

"But to ensure these steps translate into strategic business advantage, employers need to overcome employees' skepticism about their intended role," he adds. "Their messages need to shift from a cost-management focus to one that helps employees understand how improving their health can benefit them, as well as the company."

The survey also indicates that employees generally value the information gleaned from their health risk questionnaires. Yet 40% of workers who report completing a health risk questionnaire did not follow up with the specific recommendations provided by the report. Many workers also had mixed feelings about incentives or penalties tied to health risk questionnaires, Hewitt notes.

"Encouraging participants to take action through incentives is a double-edged sword. On the one side, employees and their spouses and partners won't want to participate in programs like health risk questionnaires if there isn't an incentive," says Tim Stentiford, a principal in the communications practice at Hewitt.  

When employers offered incentives in exchange for participation, many employees are likely to question the company's intentions and how it plans to use their personal health information.

"It's important for companies to understand the sensitivities, specific needs and preferred approaches of their unique population and then find the right mix of motivators that will be most effective in encouraging participation," Stentiford adds. "Employers need to be open and honest about their intentions behind these programs and address any confidentiality concerns up front."