The majority (96%) of respondents believe it is appropriate for employers to promote better health to their staff, according to research by Jelf Employee Benefits.
Its research found that 93% believe that positive health interventions can influence individual and organisational performance.
It also found that 62% of respondents do not believe current healthcare benefits are sustainable over the long term.
More than half (57%) of respondents cited an ageing and ailing workforce as their biggest worry.
Iain Laws (pictured), director of UK healthcare at Jelf Employee Benefits, said: “Employers see the link between their staff’s health and wellbeing, and the organisation’s bottom line.
“This is in recognition of the positive impact that effective health benefits and health promotion can have on employee health, and in turn, business performance.
“When an employee is well, they feel better and they work better. We all know that employees are an organisation’s best assets, and it’s important that they’re looked after.
“Private medical insurance costs have been rising for a number of reasons: the increase in the cost of treatment, an increasing reliance on private healthcare by employees and the general deteriorating healthcare trends in the UK population.
“It’s important that employers get the right strategy in place to support the structure of their employee benefits: addressing short-term costs of premiums and longer-term healthcare strategies to support both the employer and the employee.