Employee Incentives for Wellness

Employee incentives for wellness are used in an attempt to encourage employee interest in health promotion programs within the workplace.

As wellness programs are initiated throughout the workplace, both participating employees and the company benefit in improved heath and productivity along with a reduction in absences. However, getting employees, including management, to actively join and participate in the program can be a challenge. Employee incentives for wellness can help overcome this lack of enthusiasm by providing a tangible reward to be awarded when the employee reaches their predetermined health and fitness goals.

If your business already promotes a wellness program and you are looking for employee recognition incentives to encourage more employee participation, a number of possibilities exist. For example, if an employee reaches their predetermined fitness goals they can be rewarded with:

• Monetary reward
• Discounts on employee health insurance premium
• Choice from a list of prizes used for incentives like gift certificates, a wellness T-shirt, etc.

One of the first things you'll want to do is to determine employee interest in a wellness program. To determine the level of interest, you can distribute a company-wide fitness survey. The results can help establish a wellness program that suits the needs and desires of your employees. A wellness program can start out small with the introduction of a pilot exercise class offered to participating employees free of charge.

If you have the funding, it's a good idea to hire a coordinator to oversee the wellness program as it grows. If all activities are handled on site, this coordinator would have to oversee class instructors, maintenance of exercise equipment if provided, and could even be responsible for putting together a monthly newsletter that can be distributed to employees.

Don't despair if funding isn't available to offer a substantial wellness program along with incentives. To encourage wellness among employees, even if your budget is limited, exercise and fitness goals can be reached by participating in wellness classes and activities which take place off site. Points are appointed to employees for participation in these wellness activities recognized by the program. Use a log to keep track of how many sessions are attended by an employee per month. As an incentive, all participating employees can have their name entered in a drawing for each session attended. Incentives can include things like being allowed to leave work an hour early with pay, a gift certificate for a free lunch, a gym bag or a T-shirt declaring them a winner. The prizes should be nice enough that employees consider them worthwhile.

Classes and activities to be considered toward an employee's quest for better health can include:

• Skiing (cross-country and/or downhill)
• Basketball
• Cycling
• Walking
• Running
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Stairmaster
• Strength Training
• Stretching and Flexibility

As you pull together the objectives for your company's wellness plan, here are some basics you'll want to consider:

• Education in nutrition
• Education in stress management
• Education in fitness
• Education in heart disease, including risk factors
• Education in cancer prevention
• Provide a flexible choice of wellness activities
• Improve employee job satisfaction and morale

The success of a wellness program is often reliant upon how many employees take part. Getting employees interested and holding their interest is an ongoing task which involves keeping participants motivated. Employee incentives for wellness are one way to accomplish this goal. Once other employees see the success of their coworkers, this too will motivate more people to join the program.

• Demotivators In the Workplace
• Memo Layout
• 10 Best Home Based Businesses
• The Myths Of Entrepreneurship
• Unethical Business Practices

• Sample Resume Objective
• Memo Examples
• Resume Objective Examples
• Resume Objective Statements
• Sample of Letter of Request

• Downsizing
• Barter
• Category:Business Operations
• Employee Recognition Awards, Incentives, and Gifts
• Employee Retention Incentives