Workplace health and wellness is a huge priority. A Global Wellness Institute (GWI) report estimated that worker unwellness costing the United States $2.2 trillion a year. It is no wonder that over 70% of employers are offering some type of health and wellness program to their workers. Unfortunately, if not executed correctly, health and wellness programs can have only a limited impact on employee health and wellness. The question becomes, how do companies choose wellness programs and wellness incentives that work to effectively create a change in employee health and wellbeing?
What Makes A Health Incentive Program Work?
Successful health and wellness incentive programs help motivate people to take responsibility for improving and managing their health and fitness, improve productivity, reduce absenteeism, and decrease health care costs. The GWI study showed that companies that were perceived by their employees as “Caring” had significantly more successful health and wellness programs. One of the main factors in deciding if a company was “caring” was whether or not that company offered tangible incentives. This is supported by studies conducted by Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Health and Productivity Studies (IHPS), which have shown that one of the signs of a successful workplace health and wellness program is using incentives to encourage employee participation.
The Best Wellness Program Incentives
What are good health incentives to offer as part of your employee health and wellness incentives program? Health and wellness program incentives need to be relevant to the demographics participating, they need to be easily redeemable, and they need to have a high perceived value to motivate employee participation. It is also important to consider what type of wellness program you will be using, as this will impact how rewards are earned, what rewards are offered, and what legal concerns will need to be addressed. It can be helpful to consult with an expert to go over health incentive program ideas and find a fit that is best for your company’s needs.
Some common types of wellness incentives for employees can include gift cards (virtual and physical), paid time off, premium reductions, health-themed reward merchandise, experiential rewards, VISA prepaid reward cards, digital downloads, and sweepstake drawings. Cash equivalents are particularly popular among program participants and have a high perceived value.
Living Well Reward ™ Card
One example of a cash equivalent that is specific to wellness program incentives is All Digital Rewards Living Well Reward ™ card. Our Living Well Reward ™ card works like a debit card and allows you to reward employees when they complete qualifying healthy behaviors, such as a specific check-up, screening or wellness visit. Each time they complete a health goal, a cash reward is added to their individual Living Well Reward ™ card.
The first time a health incentive program participant completes an eligible healthy behavior, a Living Well Reward ™ card is mailed to them, usually within 3 to 4 weeks. The card will come with their first reward amount already loaded on it. Every time they complete a healthy behavior, a reward amount is added to their Living Well Reward ™ card.
Wellness Incentive Management
It is important to have a good wellness incentive management system and proper reward management software to ensure easy reward management, selection, and redemption. Our team of health and wellness experts, robust Health and Wellness point’s based platform technology, our reward management system, and our incentive management software, RewardSTACK™ can give your health and wellness incentive program the solid foundation it needs to be successful. We also offer a variety of additional support services and can create a custom-tailored solution to fit your needs.
Our experts at All Digital Rewards are standing by to help you create the best health and wellness program for your company. Give our Health and Wellness Reward Program experts a call at 866-415-7703 or visit us at allgigtalrewards.com
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