19 November 2007
Employers give cash to healthy workers
Some firms integrate health management communication with business goals.
More companies plan to offer financial incentives to reward workers who adopt healthy lifestyles, according to 2007/2008 Staying@Work survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global consulting firm, and The National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association.
According to the report, nearly half (46%) of the 355 employers surveyed currently offer financial incentives to encourage workers to monitor and improve their health or plan to offer incentives next year.
That number is expected to surpass 70% by 2009.
Employee engagement linked to health care
The survey found that more companies are planning to connect employee
health to company goals. Almost one-third of employers (29%)
currently link health and productivity programs to their broader
initiatives, or plan to in 2008. Another 26% plan to do so in 2009.
Successful employers are more likely to involve senior management in promoting health and productivity.
"The survey results confirm that successful employers are more likely to provide tools to support health improvement, promote emotional health, educate employees on safety at work, use positive economic incentives, and involve senior management in promoting health and productivity. It's a very inspiring message," said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health.
Healthy employees are more productive
The survey also found that companies with effective health and productivity
programs demonstrate superior performance. They achieve 20% more
revenue per employee, have 16.1% higher market value and deliver 57% higher shareholder returns (from 2004 to 2006).
"Global competition and pressure for greater efficiency are causing employers to seek new ways to increase worker output," said Shelly Wolff, national practice leader for health and productivity at Watson Wyatt.
In addition, the survey revealed that the 2 most commonly cited barriers to effectively managing health and productivity are lack of data (45%) and organizational structure (41%).
Have your say
Do you agree that employers should provide financial incentives for healthier workers? What problems do you think this policy could cause at your workplace? How should companies effectively define what constitutes "healthy"? Network
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