More Employers Giving the Gift of Wellness--via gift cards
Posted by Molly DiBianca On June 28, 2008 In: Wellness
Wellness programs, which are commonplace in corporate America, come in every variety. Some focus on certain unhealthy lifestyle choices, like smoking or lack of exercise. Others target a certain rrsult, like lowering cholesterol or reducing blood pressure. And there are different ways to achieve these objectives--there are carrot programs that use reward-based incentives, stick programs that use punishment-based incentives, and programs that use a combination of both. A recent study of America's large employers show that wellness programs that use reward-based incentives are on the rise.
Here are some of the statistics from the survey:
- 75% of large employers offer formal health and wellness programs
- 50% have disease-management programs
- $100-$300 in incentives is awarded per employee each year
- Top 3 incentives: Gift cards, cash bonuses, and health-care-premium reductions
- 28% of these employers give give cards as incentives (up from 17% last year)
- 25% have successfully measured their ROI (up from 14% last year)
- 83% came out ahead of even (up from 66% last year)
- Maintaining employee motivation and measuring ROI were the two biggest challenges employers faced
When it comes to employee-wellness programs,for now, the carrot takes the day.
Other Posts on Wellness Programs:
Employees, Prepare to Get Healthy, Like It Or Not!
DelaWELL Wellness Programs Wins Award
