August 2016
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Financial Rewards for Wellness Programs

Sunday, July 31, 2016

According to a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, employee wellness programs positively affect an organization's bottom line, and as a result, more employers are looking for ways to get their workers engaged in wellness programs. More than 80 percent of the large companies surveyed said they offer some type of financial incentive to participate in wellness programs. To see how effective this practice is, researchers gave 300 subjects a 7,000-step-a-day goal for 13 weeks. The subjects were divided into three groups: One was given $1.40 for each day they made the 7,000 step goal, one was entered into a daily lottery they could win only if they met the goal the day before, and the last was given $42 dollars up front each month, but would lose $1.40 for each day they failed to get their 7,000 steps. Researchers found that the group who could potentially lose their money exercised the most. Researchers say the study proves it’s all about how the reward is framed, and that most people respond most actively to the idea of something being taken away, rather than gaining a reward in the future.

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