Wellness Program Incentive Ideas From the Best Corporate

Wellness Program Incentive Ideas From the Best Corporate

It’s fairly common for wellness programs to offer employees wellness incentives. And while some wellness programs provide wellness incentives that are one-time, others may offer wellness incentives that are on a weekly or monthly basis. These wellness program incentive ideas can come in a variety of forms, from a small token of appreciation to a larger reward for completing a wellness goal.

Just about any wellness program should offer wellness incentive ideas to participants. Some wellness programs provide wellness incentives that are one-time, and others may offer wellness incentives that are on a weekly or monthly basis; these wellness incentives also come in a variety of forms, from a small token of appreciation up to a larger reward for completing a wellness goal.

Wellness Programs

A wellness program is an effort or intervention designed to promote wellness. Wellness programs are an area of study in psychology. These wellness programs are intended to teach people how to have a positive lifestyle with wellness being the result, not the intention.

Wellness programs are an area of study in psychology that is used to promote wellness. They are intended to teach people how to have a positive lifestyle with wellness being the result, not the intention.

Wellness programs can be offered through wellness incentive ideas and may include:

• Demonstration of wellness by the wellness participants
• Participants are asked to write wellness goals for themselves
• An open discussion about wellness topics that are relevant to the participant’s values.

Wellness Incentive Ideas

Wellness incentives are a great way to promote wellness programs and wellness behavior. These wellness programs should be expected to offer wellness incentives as a reward for participating in wellness activities. There are many different types of wellness incentives that wellness programs can offer. Some wellness programs provide wellness incentives that are one-time, and others may offer wellness program incentives that are on a weekly or monthly basis; these wellness incentives also come in a variety of forms, from a small token of appreciation up to a larger reward for completing a wellness goal. One example of an incentive from the best corporations is to give something personal such as a favorite food item (e.g., candy bar) or picture; another example is to give them access to something special which they would not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy (e.g., VIP seats at an event).

Examples Of Wellness Incentive Ideas

One of the most important parts of an incentive program is to provide incentives that are specific to the wellness program. The following 18 ideas are meant to give you some more ideas for rewards that you can include in your wellness program.

1. Hold office-wide events for new habits – events that could be related to a plant-based diet, meditation, yoga, etc.
2. Each wellness program participant is responsible for organizing their own event (e.g., book club, game night). They invite the other participants and everyone can share what they like to do for fun.
3. Create a healthy recipe of the month with an associated discount code.
4. Provide monthly or quarterly prizes based on participation levels (e.g., Green level = gift card, Silver level = special wellness gift, Gold level = sports equipment).
5. Provide a “No Sweat” day – no expectations to work harder than usual.
6. Have a wellness activity group that organizes lunchtime walks at a local park or lake.
7. Spend 10 minutes during a staff meeting talking about a different wellness topic each week.
8. Include a healthy activity in the office bulletin board (e.g., yoga pose of the month).
9. Organize events on trails within walking distance from the office.
10. Provide small prizes for meeting milestones during your wellness program (e.g., Fitbit and healthy snacks for a 5k run).
11. Provide a 15-minute massage certificate.
12. Incorporate wellness program events at lunchtime (e.g., chair yoga, blood pressure screenings).
13. Have a healthy recipe contest with voting from employees as criteria for the final winner.
14. Set up an office-wide fitness challenge with a healthy prize for everyone who participates.
15. Provide a lunchtime presentation on a wellness program topic of interest (e.g., stress management, time management).

What To Learn From Best Organizations About Wellness Program Incentive Ideas?

There are many different types of wellness programs, rewards, and incentives. It’s important to make sure that you incorporate something in your program that is specific to the company or organization. Take some time to try to think of what it is that your company or organization values. Some examples are health, family, work ethic, innovation, etc. Once you have identified what you want to focus on in your wellness program, take some time to come up with a list of rewards that would incorporate this value into the program. The following list is what we can learn from the best corporations:

• Provide regular feedback about their progress on the wellness program by sending them regular emails or newsletters with reminders of accomplishments, tips, and encouragement.
• Have fitness classes outside at lunchtime.
• Incorporate healthy snacks into meetings throughout the workday.
• Hold office-wide events for the start of new seasons – events could be related to a plant-based diet, meditation, yoga, etc.
• Give them something personal such as a favorite food item or picture
• Give them access to something special which they would not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy (e.g., VIP seats at an event);
• Send flowers
• If timing and budget permit, offer wellness incentive ideas that recognize an entire family (e.g., dinner at a nice restaurant)
• Give them something to take home such as a journal or tape of workplace wellness tips;
• Send them some wellness incentive ideas they can do on their own like an article about wellness;
• Offer wellness incentives that are fairly small and inexpensive, but of nominal value (e.g., wellness incentive ideas for a wellness tip on water consumption);
• Give wellness incentives that are appropriate to your wellness program goals (e.g., movie passes if wellness goal is weight loss).

How To Provide Wellness Program Incentives That Can Help Achieve Wellness Goals?

Wellness incentives can be applied to your wellness program goal. There are many ways to motivate employees. Many employers focus on individual savings accounts, educational programs, and incentives to improve an employee’s health risk factors such as weight loss, exercise, smoking cessation, or blood glucose management.

Wellness programs can be an important addition to your company culture but they need forward momentum before employees will embrace them fully. If your employees are not actively participating in wellness programs, you can offer them incentives to get them involved. Here are some popular wellness program incentives.

Wellness programs need to offer benefits that are important to your employees or you will not get their support. Think about what your employee’s value and how the company can help them achieve this in a way that’s also healthy.

Team Challenges & Incentives

Companies also offer incentives such as weekly or monthly fitness challenges for teams. The team with the most points at the end of the week or month wins free lunch, a movie night, and other prizes for everyone on the team. These types of wellness program incentives keep employees motivated because they know that their team depends on them.

Employees Own Wellness Device

Some companies allow employees to bring their own technology to work to use for wellness programs. For example, some employers will give an iPad or other tablet device to each employee and load it with educational materials they can access during the day when they’re not at their desks. This can give employees access to information immediately when they need it and keep them working productively throughout the day.

Wellness Programs With Rewards

Many companies offer rewards for participating in wellness programs such as gift cards, travel vouchers, or vacations based on meeting certain health goals. If you know your employees don’t like these programs because they think it’s too much like a school and not enough like the real work world, focus on providing wellness program incentives that can be used immediately. Some employers offer free haircuts, manicures, massages, or other services at their facilities for employees who meet certain health milestones.

Rewarding employees who participate in wellness programs can be an effective strategy to get them involved. Often employers think that incentives have to be huge price tags but really small, inexpensive rewards are just as motivational. Try giving out reward points for participating in wellness programs that can then be used toward bigger prizes or awards at the end of the year.

Incentivize Employees to Get Their Sleep

In the age of technology, it’s easy for your employees to get their work done after hours from home or in coffee shops and lose track of time. This can result in employees staying up well past midnight working and sleeping in later than they should be during the workweek. For the sake of your employee’s health and work productivity, you may want to offer wellness program incentives that incentivize them to get their sleep. One way is to provide blackout curtains for your office so they can feel rested when they arrive in the morning.

Health Risk Assessments

You can also offer wellness program incentives such as health risk assessments where employees can receive free health screenings such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and glucose. This information is valuable for your employees because they will know their baseline numbers so they can keep track of them over time.

Smart Phone Apps

Other wellness program incentives include smartphone apps that provide educational materials on nutrition, exercise, and wellness. Some employers allow employees to use their own devices to access these apps, but be sure that your employees are using them during work hours because screen time can be distracting for some people.

Health & Wellness Training

Training can also help you motivate your employees to participate in wellness programs with rewards or incentives. For example, some employers hire a trainer to give employees private yoga and stretching training sessions or classes. You can also offer wellness program incentives such as gift cards for those who complete the workouts

Educational Materials & Workshops

For those employees who like having their information in hand, educational materials and workshops may be the incentive they need. The American Heart Association provides educational materials for companies who want to offer their employees heart health workshops. These are usually less expensive wellness program incentives that may be perfect for your company.

Sign Up Bonuses

When employees sign up to participate in the wellness program, you can give them a bonus or incentive for joining. Depending on how often or how long you want employees to keep participating, this may be an incentive that works with your budget.

Monthly Wellness Program Incentives

For employees who like structured incentives, monthly wellness program incentives may work well for them. Employees will know exactly what they need to do each month in order to win at the end of the year. An example is a monthly raffle where employees must complete a certain number of wellness program activities or meet certain health marks to be eligible for the drawing.

Wellness Program Incentive Ideas From Other Employers

Sometimes the best way to get new wellness program ideas is from your competition! It’s also helpful to see how other companies incentivize their employees to participate in the wellness program.

Monthly Theme-Based Prizes

For your monthly wellness program incentives, themed prizes can be fun for your employees. For example, some employers give free coffee on “National Coffee Day” each year or offer free lunch on “National Sandwich Day.” You can create your own “National” days that relate to your business’s goals or values.

Team Incentives

If you have a lot of employees, team incentives can be an excellent way for everyone to participate in wellness program incentives and win together. One example is a monthly yoga session where the team must have at least three people attend so they can win.

End-Of-Year Wellness Program Incentives

An end-of-the-year wellness program incentive can be a great way to celebrate everyone’s hard work and motivate them for next year! Some employers give $100 gift cards, tickets to an amusement park, or even paid time off as their final wellness program incentives.

Team Challenges

When you have a lot of employees, it can be difficult to get everyone motivated to participate in wellness program incentives. One way to do this is through team challenges. You can give your employees a month or two to sign up as a team and complete the challenge together. For example, if you want your employees to be more active, you can sign them up to run a 5K or create a team challenge where the employees must try a different physical activity every month.

Fitness Gear & Accessories

Some employers give their employees fitness gear and accessories as wellness program incentives. This might include workout clothes, water bottles, yoga mats, or pedometers. Employees can feel motivated to participate in the wellness program if they know that it will help them win this type of wellness program incentive.

Wellness Program Incentive Videos

Putting together a few wellness program incentive videos can be a fun way to encourage participation throughout the year. The videos should show your employees how they can win and include other themes or concepts that relate to your company’s mission or values.

To help your employees stay motivated to participate in wellness program incentives, it’s important to have a variety of options. The best way to do this is by changing up the type of prizes or rewards you offer each month. For example, if your company wants its employees to exercise more often. Give them fitness gear and accessories as monthly wellness program incentives instead of cash bonuses. When they feel like they are winning something tangible with every activity completed for the day. They will be more likely to work harder. Remember that these ideas may not fit all businesses. But can provide some helpful guidance on how other companies create successful programs. The ones that drive employee health goals while also decreasing healthcare costs.