Vitality serves as the foundation for thriving individuals, families, and communities. Higher vitality is associated strongly with improved physical and mental health, a greater inclination toward healthy living, and stronger social bonds.

In today’s competitive business environment, vitality is foundational for a thriving workforce. Employers who take the time to understand what drives vitality within their workforce can implement strategies targeted to enhance well-being. A great starting point is identifying the specific experiences and challenges employees face based on their roles and the nature of their work.

A deeper dive into The Cigna Group’s 2024 Vitality in America research shows that health and vitality among workers varies by occupation, emphasizing the need for employers to look at the composition of their workforce to optimize benefits strategies, promote positive work culture, and drive organizational success.

Drivers of workforce vitality differ among occupations

Vitality scores vary greatly by occupation. Managers and knowledge workers have the highest vitality scores (74.5 and 70.2, respectively, on a scale of 0 to 100), while people working in service jobs have the lowest vitality scores among the studied occupations.

Although different workforce groups may have similar vitality scores and income levels, individual job experiences differ, which may affect how workers perceive the many elements that drive vitality, such as competency, enthusiasm, and workplace culture.

Understanding differences in a workforce that spans occupation types

Many workforces include a variety of occupation types. For example, fabrication workers, managers, and office administrators often work alongside one another in a manufacturing plant to fulfill the company’s business objectives. In a school setting, administrators, educators, and service workers play vital roles in ensuring children have a successful and safe education experience. While each occupational group contributes to a common goal, their day-to-day duties, dynamics, and challenges can be quite different, and they may need different types of support to achieve higher vitality and thrive.

When we look at the vitality data, we see that sales workers, fabrication workers, and office and administrative workers have similar vitality scores and income ranges, but they vary in the levels of confidence and competence they feel at work, their enthusiasm toward work, and their perceived employer support. Among these professions, resources that support skill development and career growth may resonate strongly with sales workers but not with fabrication workers or office administrators, who already feel secure in their abilities.

Understanding these types of differences can help employers identify which levers to pull to improve the vitality and performance of their workforce.

Leadership’s role in vitality

It is also important to recognize the role direct leadership plays in fostering workforce vitality. Managers are key in shaping the company culture and can directly influence the day-to-day employee experience, and we have seen that strong managerial relationships are associated with higher vitality at work. Managers can also play a critical role in employee engagement by ensuring employees receive appropriate and timely recognition for jobs well done.

Among all workers, feeling appreciated at work is associated with higher job satisfaction, a willingness to work harder to help the company succeed, lower job stress, and more self-confidence at work.

However, employee recognition is another area where we see disparities between occupational groups. Employees working in the most emotionally demanding jobs – which are also the jobs with the highest risk of burnout – are among the least likely to feel they receive appropriate recognition for their hard work. Conversely, managers and knowledge workers, who are much less likely to say their jobs are emotionally demanding, are the most likely to feel appropriately recognized and/or rewarded.

This is another example that highlights the opportunity for employers to learn more about what influences vitality for the types of workers they employ, so they may provide more targeted support and create a more positive work culture.

Understanding the strengths and challenges that impact workers in different occupational groups

Employers who wish to implement strategies to improve workforce vitality will benefit from understanding the profile of the workers they employ. Looking at the job strengths, challenges commonly faced at work, and health attitudes and behaviors of these work groups can inform employers’ decisions on targeted ways to enhance employee performance and well-being.  

Click on the occupations below to learn more about each workers unique strengths, challenges, health attitutes, and behaviors.

Creating a culture of vitality across the workforce

Employers can enhance worker vitality by personalizing their benefits strategy to the unique groups of workers they employ and by cultivating an environment where all employees feel supported.

Acknowledging their organization may contain a variety of worker types enables employers to understand the multiple and different influencers of vitality across their workforce. By working to meet the unique needs of each type of worker, employers can more effectively adapt their strategies and support structures to fuel an overall culture of vitality.

Research conducted by the Evernorth Research Institute, along with Sylver Consulting, highlights the three pillars of employer investment that are crucial for building a culture of vitality: principal benefits, workplace programs, and workplace perks.

For a workforce comprised of different occupational groups, a personalized, inclusive well-being strategy that offers benefits, programs, and perks tailored for employees who have very different day-to-day work experiences allows for autonomy in choosing the options that work best for them, based on their unique needs.

Furthermore, by taking proactive steps to educate and support people on the benefits they have access to and how to best use them, employers can help ensure a healthier, more informed, and more engaged employee base.

However, benefits are just one element in creating a culture of vitality at work. As we have seen, supportive leadership also plays a big role in employee vitality. This new data on occupation types offers additional insight into the tangible actions an employer could take to make a meaningful difference in their employees’ individual experiences and feelings toward their work, and to provide better support their total workforce.