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Three ways technology can boost wellbeing outcomes

Explore how technology boosts employee wellbeing through centralized benefits and personalized support.

07/14/2025 · 4 minute read

In today's fast-paced work environment, the wellbeing of employees has become a top priority for organizations seeking to enhance productivity and foster a positive workplace culture. Benefits technology plays a crucial role by streamlining access to health and wellness resources, simplifying benefits enrollment and providing personalized support tailored to individual needs. By leveraging these innovative tools, companies can empower their employees to take charge of their wellbeing, ultimately leading to a healthier, more engaged workforce.

Instead of waiting until employees become ill, a preventative wellbeing strategy that helps maintain health is 3-4 times more cost-effective than investing in treatment.[1] However, just 65% of employees know where to find information about their benefits[2] and 80% do not fully utilize what’s available.[3]

Critical to transforming this situation is not only centralizing and curating benefits but introducing a digital solution that makes it easy for employees to access all their benefits in one place.

Not only does this increase engagement with preventative benefits and can boost wellbeing but it also gives the employer the opportunity to communicate their offering more effectively to their employees without driving up costs. 80% of employees with access to benefits technology say they are ‘thriving’ compared to 54% of those without.[4]

Signposting support

Without proper curation, information about wellbeing benefits can become buried in emails, joiner packs and the company intranet. By using technology to centralize and digitize employee benefits, employers can not only make support easier to find but also signpost employees towards preventative benefits.

For example, instead of someone waiting until they become too sick to work with a musculoskeletal (MSK) issue before offering support, can the employee be signposted towards a physiotherapy helpline to nip MSK problems in the bud earlier?

Or if they’re struggling with their mental health, can they be encouraged to use the pre-paid counselling available via an employee assistance program before they become unable to work, triggering an income protection claim?

Not only does proactively promoting employee wellbeing in this way help to contain costs, but it can also make employees feel more cared about. Eight out of ten (82%) employees who have access to benefits technology say their employer cares about their health and wellbeing, compared to just one in two (56%) of those without a digital experience.[5]

Hyper-personalization

In the past, employers increased choice by introducing flexible benefits which allow employees to make limited choices regarding their benefits.

Employee benefits technology gives employers the opportunity to hyper-personalize benefits, offering employees more choice and flexibility and providing specific benefits that will boost wellbeing. This could involve increasing levels of cover, adding dependents, or choosing between options of the same benefit, for example health screening. Going even further, employers can introduce a benefit allowance to spend on flexible selections, or a wellbeing fund that reimburses employees for doing activities of their choosing to support their wellbeing, be this rock-climbing, mindfulness or ballroom dancing.

Our recent Health on Demand research shows that more than three-quarters (78%) of employees who have access to personalized benefits say these meet their needs, compared to 56% of those without.[6]

By recognizing that different people have different needs and wellbeing priorities, instead of offering everyone the same benefits, employers can dramatically increase engagement with wellbeing benefits.

Clear communication

A common outcome of using employee benefits technology, is employers receiving positive feedback from employees on their ‘new’ benefits package, when in reality this was just their existing package.

All too often, because benefits haven’t been promoted since the employees joined, they perceive them as new. This highlights how it’s often the way wellbeing benefits are communicated, rather than the wellbeing strategy itself, that needs improving.

Fortunately, employee benefits technology also allows employees to start receiving targeted communications tailored to their needs. This could be a menopause benefit tailored by gender and age or an advanced cancer screening benefit for those employees at most risk.

Many wellbeing providers also now offer additional information, services and apps that can be highly beneficial to employees. For instance, employees might not realize they have access to a free private GP app with their private medical insurance (PMI) or be aware that their financial wellbeing support can also be utilized by their partner.

By using benefits technology such as Darwin to consolidate all this fragmented information behind a digital front door, you can make sure employees understand their entitlements and how to customize their benefits to their needs. This can help to boost employee wellbeing without having to spend more on benefits.

About Mercer Marsh Benefits

Mercer Marsh Benefits helps clients manage the costs, risks and complexities of employee health and benefits, through the combined expertise of Mercer and Marsh, businesses of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC). Marsh McLennan is a global leader in risk, strategy and people, advising clients in 130 countries across four businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman. With annual revenue of over $24 billion and more than 90,000 colleagues, Marsh McLennan helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information, visit marshmclennan.com, follow us on LinkedIn and X.

About Darwin

Darwin is a market-leading benefits technology platform trusted by hundreds of organizations around the world and covering more than 6 million lives in over 100 countries. With Darwin at the core of Mercer Marsh Benefit’s digital solutions ecosystem, we combine the best in benefits broking, advisory and seamless digital solutions to deliver unrivalled benefits technology expertise and a world-class integrated experience. For more information on our suite of digital benefits solutions visit Mercer Marsh Benefits.

About Benefits You App

Benefits You is the digital front door to an employer’s health and benefits ecosystem. Downloadable from the Apple and Google Play Stores, it enables employees simple, easy access to all their health and wellbeing offerings, including Single-Sign-On to Darwin. It also features push notification technology to ensure your employees never miss  relevant benefits communications.

[1] Reimagining prevention for a healthier, more prosperous society, Office of Health Economics (OHE), 2023

[2] Health on Demand Report, 2025

[3] 80% fail to fully utilise workplace benefits, HR Review, 2024

[4] Health on Demand Report, 2025

[5] Health on Demand 2025

[6]  Health on Demand Report, 2025

Speak with a Mercer Marsh Benefits representative

MMB can help you understand your data insights to refine your employee benefits strategy. To connect with us or to learn more about Darwin, please fill out the form.

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