Days off and massages, exotic trips, oh my! Worksite wellness incentives

It is always interesting to read about successful worksite wellness programs and so I found this article on incentives, "Gym facilities, rewards, trips 'perk up' workplaces" very interesting. The article talks about a number of different companies and what incentives they have used to motivate employees to adopt healthier lifestyle habits. Several of the companies offered incentives to employees for participating in wellness activities whereas others offered rewards for actual behavior change. The range of incentives offered include discounted gym memberships, lower co-pays, paid days off, trips to exotic locations, free massages and/ or personal training as well as discounts on insurance premiums.

In my experience, an incentive program must first consider the "personality" of the organization as well as the history of wellness at the organization. A well structured program starts out with rewards which are relatively easy to earn (i.e. an employee must attend a screening and/or complete a personal health assessment) and become more progressively difficult, yet still attainable, over time. For instance, some of our clients that offer our Olympic Circle program provide incentives for employees who participate in a combination of onsite or web-based programs, including our 12-week wellness challenges or our popular productivity seminars as well as those who achieve or strive for health related goals. For instance, those employees who are able to lose weight or complete a smoking cessation program earn similar rewards to those who maintain a healthy weight or are already non-smokers.

The overarching goal, of course, for any health professional managing a worksite wellness program, is to offer these extrinsic motivators or incentives to employees and then have these new behaviors (physical activity and healthy eating, for example) become intrinsic so that employees want to continue them regardless of whether there is an incentive.

When designing the program, be sure to use your needs and interest surveys and personal health assessments for specifics on what behaviors employees are looking to change or adopt. Good luck!