This incentive actually gets workers to stick with a wellness program

  • 📰 MarketWatch
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 85 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 37%
  • Publisher: 97%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

This incentive actually gets workers to stick with a wellness program (Hint: It's not cash)

One thing weighing down the booming $8 billion workplace wellness industry is that many workers opt out of participating in these programs. While a 2017 UnitedHealthcare consumer study found that 70% of companies now offer a workplace wellness program, less than a third of employees are willing to spend more than an hour a day improving their health and well-being, such as cooking healthy meals over getting takeout, or squeezing in the recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week.

And what the researchers found was that while cash was the preferred reward selected by most employees, those who opted for the gift card were 25% more likely to actually complete a wellness challenge compared to the groups who received the cash or the physical gift. The study authors suggested that the gift card hit the “sweet spot” between the fungibility of the cash, which allowed them to treat themselves to whatever they wanted, and the mental separateness from salary that a physical gift gave them. “People keep mental accounts,” wrote David Wood, one of the study’s co-authors, from BYU’s Marriott School of Management. “If you work and make $10, that’s your work money. If you find 10 bucks on the ground, then that’s free money.

Indeed, previous research has questioned the efficacy of workplace wellness programs. Researchers with the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently published a randomized controlled trial of two groups of workers — one population had access to a workplace wellness program, and the other didn’t — in Scientific American. They found that these well-being initiatives “didn’t change employees’ behavior or health care costs in the first year.

They theorized this was because most of the employees who joined the workplace wellness program were already quite healthy, and their health care costs were already low, so there wasn’t much room for improvement. They added that their results also called previous RCTs of workplace wellness studies into question, since these could have suffered a selection bias skewing toward healthier participants who were already well and motivated to participate.

Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

All they want is your bio data. They couldn't care less about your wellness.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 3. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Why getting rejected can actually help you succeed in lifeWhy getting rejected can actually help you succeed in life, according to a psychologist. - NBCNewsBETTER BETTER All those hot chicks that turned me down years ago are old and ugly now. So yeah it works. BETTER Grow up, get some thick skin, don't act like a whiny millennial.
Source: NBCNews - 🏆 10. / 86 Read more »

What getting rid of the Electoral College would actually doOn Monday night, in a CNN town hall in Jackson, Mississippi, Sen. Elizabeth Warren made some news: She supports getting rid of the electoral college as the method by which we elect presidents. JohnAvlon Yes get rid of it and turn the US into another Venezuela! JohnAvlon JohnAvlon
Source: CNN - 🏆 4. / 95 Read more »

Ichiro says goodbye to adoring fans; Mariners beat A's in 12Ichiro Suzuki was showered with cheers and chants Thursday night while taking his final bow in a magnificent career that lasted nearly three decades when the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 in 12 innings. The 45-year-old Ichiro went 0 for 4 in the second game of the Major... MLB fans never showed him the respect he deserved. Nice
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »

MLB notebook: A's 1B Olson out after hand surgeryOakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson underwent surgery on his right hand F...
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »

Medicare wellness visits are supposed to be free — unless you call it a physical.You can face a hefty bill if your appointment veers beyond the bounds of preventive services into medical treatment. Annual wellness exam is a physical. It's all explained in the beneficiary booklet Q: How does the tyrant-inspired government first gain control over the population? A: Government controlled Healthcare MedicareForAll ArrestDemocrats Ah yes, but you only get a 'wellness exam' if you're well. If they can hang a diagnosis on you, you are now getting an 'annual physical' to evaluate that diagnosis. And you will be responsible for the charge.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »

Virginia county approves Amazon incentives despite protestsI thought 💀 Such a shame to provide good jobs, idiots. Amazon pays well
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »

Virginia county approves Amazon incentives despite protestsARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Protesters repeatedly shouted 'shame' as a northern Virginia county board Saturday unanimously approved a $23 million incentives package for Amazon to build a new... Corporate welfare. And following support Great news!
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »

Analysis | Mike Trout, baseball’s $430 million man, is actually underpaidThe best player in the game — even at a total dollar figure no one else has approached, let alone exceeded — remains vastly underpaid relative to his performance-value within the sport. You wonder why Americans are starting to lose faith in their press When I think about what my brother makes working with the homeless, this salary is really just insulting to me. SMH. Where a society places value is very telling. War with Muhammad
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »

17 Foods The Word Struggles To Believe That Brits Actually Eat17 Foods The World Is Disgusted That Brits Actually Eat Will you help me get this story known danielhowell AmazingPhil WHAT?! They put icing in their toothpaste.
Source: BuzzFeed - 🏆 730. / 51 Read more »