6 Ways Companies Promote Wellness in the Workplace

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Wellness in the Workplace – Better Health Means Better Productivity

These days, higher healthcare costs have forced companies realize the benefits of wellness programs in the workplace. It used to be these types of programs were something simple like a bowl of fruit in the office kitchen, or reimbursement for a percentage of your gym dues, something fairly passive.

You may have noticed another recent post on “corporate wellness” because corporate wellness and wellness programs in the workplace are quickly becoming an important part of corporate structure. A recent survey from Fidelity Investments and the National Business Group on Health claims that as of 2013 nearly 90% of employers were offering wellness incentives to employees who work towards getting and staying healthier. That number is up quite a bit from the 57% of companies surveyed back in 2009. The average cost per employee had already risen from $260 in 2009 to $521 in 2013 and will likely continue to climb.

Here are 6 ways companies can increase productivity through wellness programs in the workplace.


1. Educational Incentives:
Offer rewards to your employees for completing different activities. These can be simple things like filling out a questionnaire about their medical history and fitness habits or taking colesterol and blood pressure tests. A $100 gift certificate or it’s equivalent can be a great motivator for employee wellness. While these simple activities are a great way to guage employee health behaviors and risk factors, simply telling people about the risks doesn’t always lead to action on their part.

2. Action Based Incentives: To earn rewards or at the expense of penalties, Employees are required to take action to improve their health after going through a risk assessment. The action they take could include joining a weight management program, enrolling in yoga classes, taking a preventative screening, starting a visible jogging routine, etc. While these types of incentives motivate employes to take actual steps to change unhealthy behaviors the incentives don’t require a larger change in lifestyle. In Houston for example, city employees need to complete 3 health related tax to avoid a $25 payroll surcharge: Fill out a health-risk assessment, take a biometric screening and either talk to a trainer, sign up for a diet program or get a cancer screening. The results are pretty undeniable, 90% of Houston City Employees have completed three or more of these tasks.

3. Everything But the Kitchen Sink Incentives: Companies can offer a variety of different incentives for an array of different tasks. The bigger the item and the more beneficial it is to a persons health, the bigger the reward they receive. As an example, Jet Blue Airways offers up to $400 for things ranging from a teeth cleaning all the way to running a full-scale Ironman Triathalon! This type of incentive tends to work well because it gives employees the freedom to choose healthy activities that are near and dear to them. People are much more inclined to stick with something they truly enjoy so giving them the ability to do that in a health driven scenario is bound to have positive results. On the downside, sometimes too many options can be confusing for people and make it difficult for them to focus. This method can also be wasteful for companies as it doens’t necessarily address specific or more widespread health problems within the organization.

4. Progress Based Incentives: Employers can set benchmarks for employees and then offer rewards for hitting them. Things like blood pressure and weight can be set for average benchmarks and employees can then be incentivized to stay within a range that is healthy for them. Action steps can include joining regular fitness classes like cross-fit, spinning, yoga, etc. Employees that meet the healthy averages for these benchmarks will be rewarded with $100 bonus or gift card. This method motivates employees financially to take concrete steps to improve their health rather than penalizing them for not living up to certain expectations. The downside is that rewarding someone for joining a spin class isn’t likely to change their lifestyle. In cases of extreme health conditions a lifestyle change is usually what is required and situations that reward someone for taking positive steps don’t address larger overarching lifestyle issues.

5. Outcome Based Incentives: Businesses can also tie incentives and penalties to a variety of different employee health metrics. In these cases workers pay more for their insurance until they hit ideal cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index levels. Experts say this is one of the more effective models for making people objectively improve their health. Critics on the other hand believe that it is discriminatory towards people who might be more genetically inclined to suffer from health issues. Also, legally Employees need to offer employees an alternative such as a “doctors note” so employees determined not to take action can use loopholes like this.

6. Targeted Incentives: In these situations an employer will look at your medical files, health-risk claims and other data or hire an insurer or analytics company to do it and then offer a customized wellness program based on each employee’s specific needs. Experts claim that personalizing wellness programs in the workplace boost participation among the types of people who can benefit the most from it. The real downside is that a lot of people feel like personalized programs are an intrusion into their privacy.

As you can see, each of these options have pro’s and con’s but the con of not doing anything for your staff far outweighs any of these individual drawbacks. It’s important to do your research and talk to your employees before making a decision.

 Randi Ragan is a Holistic Wellbeing Expert who runs a Spa, blogs and writes books on natural, holistic, wellbeing. 

(References:

Fidelity Corp Health Spending Study)

Randi