A range of recent studies on workplace wellness have come to the same conclusion that the healthier a company’s workforce, the greater its level of profitability. Workers that are unencumbered by illness and stress are able to perform at a higher level, and have lower healthcare costs. To optimize the health of their employees, Detroit-based small business owners should consider adopting some of these incentive-based wellness programs.
Activity tracker challenges
Recent advances in activity tracking technology allow for the monitoring of a range of biometric data. These watch-sized devices can now accurately track things like heart rate, muscle motion and how many steps a person takes in a day, week or month. With a few trackers and some gift cards, it’s easy to organize physical activity boosting challenges that will inspire your team to take the stairs and a distant parking spot more often.
Smoking cessation programs
Despite decades of warnings about the harmful effects of consuming tobacco products, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that an estimated 48 million Americans are active smokers. If you have any smokers on your staff, you should offer them cash bonuses for successfully completing a smoking cessation program. Snuffing out workplace smoking can save your company a minimum of $5,816 per year.
Workout commitment contests
The World Health Organization recommends that adults aged 18 to 64 get at least 150 minutes of rigorous physical activity in every week. Doing so prevents against everything from thinning bones to depression. You can influence your staff to spend more time at the gym by using extra paid time off as an incentive. For instance, for every six months your employees spend at least three hours a week working out, they’ll earn eight hours of PTO.
Weight loss tournaments
The most expensive chronic medical conditions for American employers are high blood pressure, heart attack and diabetes. As being obese raises a person’s risk factor for contracting all of those illnesses, employers have good reason to keep their workforce trim and fit. To help your team win the battle of weight loss, offer monthly $100 bonuses to every worker who hits a body mass index-improving goal. A recent study found that financial incentives are highly effective at helping workers lose weight.
Preventative health screening incentives
Ensuring that all your employees get regular preventative health screenings is important because detecting various cancers, neurological illnesses and cardiovascular illnesses before they have time to develop can mean the difference between life and death. However, because they are afraid of their health status being used against them, many Americans are hesitant to schedule certain life-saving exams. As such, employers should reward workers who get all of their recommended health screenings done within the first quarter of the year with discounted health insurance premiums. When shopping for health insurance, look for a company that offers you a variety of programs and tools to help keep your employees healthy. Health Alliance Plan has a partnership with WebMD, allowing employers to execute incentive-based acitivites with ease. For more information, click here.
To learn more about affordable healthcare plans for your small business, visit Health Alliance Plan.
For more tips and inspiration for small business owners, visit Small Business Pulse Detroit.