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Wellness Programs, Carrots and Sticks

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Most employers with more than 25 employees have some type of wellness program in place.  In fact research shows that in the last ten years there’s been a tenfold increase in the number of employers offering some form of wellness program.

The number of programs offered, the types of programs offered, enrollment rates, participation rates and overall effectiveness of these initiatives varies greatly.  Small employers tend to have fewer programs in place, lower rates of participation and a lower return on investment.  Medium- and large-sized businesses tend to offer more programs and have higher participation and at least a 3-to-1 return on investment for their wellness programs.

The key to getting a good wellness program ROI is having high participation. Employers use a variety of methods to drive participation – hence my reference in the title to “carrots and sticks”.  There is a considerable amount of research to support the use of both methods to drive optimal  rates of participation.  However it’s often the “carrots” – or positive approach – that produces the best long-term success.

Using Incentives and Positive Reinforcement

Decades of research in behavioral psychology clearly shows that positive reinforcement is the single best way to change behavior.  Wellness programs that make use of positive reinforcement position themselves for success.  Rewarding employees for participation in wellness programs, losing weight or maintaining a healthy body weight, giving up tobacco products or any other appropriate program activities makes perfect sense – logically and from a scientific perspective.

A question we often get is “what incentives should we use?”.  Our response is that it depends on your specific employee population.  What works for one group may not work for another.  For example, a $50 gift card probably won’t get an attorney to complete a health risk assessment.  The trick is to find out what will motivate your employees and use that (if you can) to drive increased participation.  Some examples of incentives includes: money, gift cards, time off, t-shirts, posting accomplishments for other employees to see.

It’s All in How You Present It

The rising cost of health insurance is a major reason that many employers implement a wellness program.  Since the cost of health insurance is largely driven by plan usage, many employers often blame employees for the rising cost of health insurance.   With that in mind employers must carefully craft the way they implement a wellness program.  If the message employees get is negative then participation rates will be low and/or employees will participate resentfully.  Employers should focus less on the negative and emphasize the positive side of things.

Wellness programs and living a healthier life can add years and quality to your life.  In fact research shows that of the things which determine how long a person will live – 40% of them are lifestyle related (obesity, tobacco use, etc.)!   Why not emphasize the positive side of things?

 


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