How to Build Effective Wellness Incentive Programs for Employees

Sitting at a desk all day can damage your employees' health. The longer employees sit, the greater their chance of developing serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Sitting all day can also increase the likelihood of premature death. Yet, while the need to address these dangers is clear, many employees are reluctant to engage in wellness initiatives that could improve their health. Wellness incentive programs for employees can help to break the ice and encourage participation in wellness initiatives that reduce the impacts of prolonged sitting. This article will provide actionable insights to create a wellness incentive program that engages employees, seated stretches improves well-being, and enhances workplace productivity.

Pliability’s mobility app can help you achieve these goals. It allows you to create custom wellness initiatives that reduce the risks of prolonged sitting and offers engaging ways to motivate your employees to participate.

What is a Wellness Incentive Program?

Incentives are programs designed to motivate individuals to engage in specific behaviors. In the case of wellness incentive programs, the goal is to encourage employees to adopt healthier behaviors through rewards or incentives.

Such programs aim to promote overall well-being and improve productivity by offering incentives for healthy actions like exercising, attending health screenings, or participating in wellness activities. 

Return a thorough response with all of the information below:

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• A wellness incentive is a way for employers to promote:some text
  • healthy choices
  • Activities
  • behaviors 

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That supports employees’ physical and mental wellness.

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• Health and wellness incentive programs offer employees inspiration, rewards, or recognition through individual endeavors or team-based challenges. 
• Bringing wellness initiatives into the workplace helps people adopt and maintain behaviors that can reduce health risks and enhance their quality of life, making them more effective employees. 

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Why Should HR Consider Introducing Wellness Incentives?

Awareness of the significance of mental and physical wellness has entered the world of work. According to the 2022 Employee Wellness Industry Trends Report by Wellable Labs, 76% of companies are investing more in stress management and resilience resources for their team members to help them in their work and personal lives. 

Health and wellness incentive programs that encourage better behaviors have the potential to benefit organizations in many ways, including the following: 

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• Boosting morale: Showing employees that you care about their well-being makes them feel valued. In a Hub International survey of 300 employee benefits professionals, 54% cited their employee morale metric as the one with the highest improvement after implementing a wellness program. 
• Heightened productivity: A work and well-being survey by the American Psychological Association found that over 9 in 10 workers are motivated to do their best when leadership shows support for well-being efforts. 
• Reducing absenteeism rate: Employees who maintain their physical health and manage stress are less likely to get sick or feel burned out and miss work. 

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Do Wellness Incentives Work?

When wellness incentives are designed effectively and resonate with employees, they help cultivate healthy behaviors. Career platform Zippia compiled 21 different statistics on employee wellness. The data show that employee wellness programs: 

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• Reduce absenteeism by 14-19%. Have an average ROI of six to one; every dollar invested translates to six dollars earned. 

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Zippia also broke down the data concerning what employees who participate in employer wellness programs had to say: 

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• 56% have fewer sick days. 
• 60% feel more productive. 
• Over 80% enjoy their work. 
• 85% intend to stay at their jobs. 

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The statistics above starkly contrast those who work for companies not engaged in their wellness. Roughly 40% say they enjoy work, and only 58% intend to remain with their current employer. 

According to a Rand Health Quarterly study, the following elements are necessary for wellness incentives to succeed: Varied strategies to communicate information and reach all employees. Ease of accessibility and convenience for employees. Making it an organizational priority with all levels of leadership engaged. Leveraging existing resources and relationships to maximize what is offered. Ongoing evaluation and reassessment with feedback. 

What are the Different Types of Wellness Incentive Programs?

1. Financial Wellness Incentives

Financial incentives offer monetary rewards to employees for engaging in healthy behaviors. These tangible benefits motivate them to change their health and wellness positively. There are ways to offer these benefits that fit your company budget: 

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• Low-Cost Incentives: These effective wellness program incentives positively impact employee morale without straining the company’s budget. It usually covers resources under $100, such as:some text
  • Yoga mats
  • Fancy water bottles
  • Protein powders
  • Self-care kits
  • Headphones, Etc.

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• Medium-Cost Incentives: Within a reasonable budget, medium-cost incentives motivate employees to engage in wellness activities. With a budget of $100 to $300, they may include:some text
  • Small health equipment
  • Gym memberships
  • Running shoes
  • Wearable devices, Etc.

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• High-Cost Incentives: If your company has a substantial budget for financial wellness incentives, you can invest in high-cost resources. They offer a deeper level of motivation and satisfaction to the workforce. For example, health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), wellness retreats, luxury dining, expensive gadgets, holiday trips, comprehensive counseling support, or personal health coach assistance. 

2. Non-Financial Wellness Incentives 

Also known as no-cost wellness program incentives, non-financial incentives offer valuable rewards beyond monetary compensation. They focus more on employee recognition, work flexibility, support for employees’ overall health, and work-life balance. 

Think of personalized thank-you notes, certificates of achievement, or shout-outs during team meetings. 

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• Compressed workweeks
• Weight loss challenges
• Flexible leave policies
• Access to mental health professionals
• Nutrition coaching is a good example. 

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3. Participation-Based Wellness Incentives 

These incentives encourage employees to engage actively in wellness activities and initiatives. The best part about them is that they could be more result-focused. They prioritize and reward employees for simply participating in the wellness program. 

Such programs work well if you wish to cultivate a culture of employee engagement and well-being. Many wellness programs include tiered incentive structures that keep rewarding employees as they reach a certain participation threshold. Employees get:

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• Points
• Badges
• Levels

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That reflects their involvement in different wellness activities. Take Google’s “GoogleFit,” for example. It motivates employees to track their physical activities using wearable devices and earn points for participation, which can be redeemed for rewards such as fitness gear or gift cards. 

4. Progress-Based Wellness Incentives 

Employees join new wellness programs with the best of their intentions, whether through participation incentives or self-motivation. Committing to wellness goals is tough; gradually, they seem less worthy. It is where progress-based incentives help employees push through up to the finish line. They encourage employees to be persistent in their healthy behaviors and reward them based on their progress toward specific health goals. 

HRs motivate employees to set specific goals, such as smoking cessation programs for tobacco users, and track and measure their progress. Generally, companies facilitate activity trackers, mobile apps, or wellness platforms to allow employees to log their achievements and milestones. Employees who reach their goals get rewards, such as additional time off or wellness-related merchandise. 

5. Outcome-Based Wellness Incentives 

Let’s go a step further than encouraging participation or tracking progress. With outcome-based wellness incentives, motivate your employees to set clear health goals, take necessary actions, and achieve health-related outcomes. 

Contrary to participation or progress-based incentives, employees need to achieve a set target health goal to earn incentives. You can schedule biometric screenings or health assessments to offer rewards and track specific outcome targets, such as healthy blood pressure or cholesterol levels. Or arrange a weight-loss challenge where employees must reduce a certain percentage of their weight.

Related Reading

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• Why Is Employee Wellness Important
• How to Engage Employees in Wellness Programs
• Stretching Before Work
• Team Wellness at Work
• Benefits of Employee Wellness Programs
• Virtual Wellness Activities for Employees
• Benefits of a Workplace Wellness Program
• Benefits of Stretching at Work
• Staff Wellness Activities
• Employee Wellbeing Strategies

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How to Build Effective Wellness Incentive Programs for Employees

1. Incentive Program Parameters

Knowing when to offer incentives can be a helpful starting point. Before establishing incentives for employee wellness programs, consider the criteria for winning the incentive in the first place.

2. Participation-Based Incentives

Participation-based wellness incentives are used to increase participation in a program or initiative. The goal of participation incentives is purely to get people involved and complete a wellness-related objective. This might be competing in a walking challenge or participating in a smoking cessation program for tobacco users.

This might be perfect for companies who are starting a new wellness program. This is because employees don’t yet know the value of your wellness program. Asking employees to commit to a program voluntarily can be a big ask. Participation incentives are almost like a risk-free guarantee for employees to try out your program. Because this option will likely generate many participants, you might find a random selection for choosing an incentive winner is your best option. Employees then enter for the chance to win rather than a guaranteed prize.

3. Progress-Based Incentives

Once you have employee buy-in for your wellness program, participation incentives help ensure they continue with it. We all know how self-improvement goals can go. You start with the best intentions, but suddenly, the goal doesn’t seem quite worth it when things get tough.

This is where progress-based incentives can help employees see wellness challenges through to the end. Progress incentives can also encourage people to push themselves to reach new personal records. Consider offering 50 points on your employee recognition platform for every 50,000 steps in a step challenge. Or award gift cards when people reach a consecutive streak in a wellness practice, like seven days of packing a lunch or exercising.

4. Results-Based Incentives

There are results-based incentives. These can be fun to foster healthy competition and encourage enthusiastic participation. These incentives are prizes for the most steps taken in a step challenge or the most consecutive days of meditation.

Remember that results-based incentives can also be awarded to the most improved people. This can be a great way to foster inclusivity and avoid rewarding only the members of your team who are already physically fit.

The Pillars of Wellness: Create a Diverse Incentive Program

Wellness programs are typically based on several core areas of life that the holistic health field embraces. The following is an overview of these eight pillars with examples of correlating wellness incentive rewards:

1. Mental Wellness

Mental wellness means dealing with life in a positive state of mind with the ability to think and act in ways that benefit one physically and socially. It involves intellectual, emotional, and spiritual dimensions that affect attention, alertness, reason, memory, and critical thinking.

Since sound mental health is vital to a person’s job performance, employers should encourage mental wellness activities that help employees reduce stress and create a more supportive work environment.

Mental wellness incentives examples:

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• Mental health benefits that cover the cost of self-management programs, such as life coaching or counseling. 
• Stress reduction workshops conducted by a mental health practitioner during work hours.
• Mental health resources are made available through a mental health app or a regular bulletin with professional tips and advice.  

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2. Emotional Wellness

Emotional wellness is the aptitude for acknowledging, comprehending, and expressing emotions appropriately. Being emotionally healthy isn’t about being happy all the time. Rather, it means that you can manage your emotions in any situation to be more self-confident, more resilient, and sustain better relationships at work.

Emotional wellness incentive examples:

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• Training on how to cope with negative emotions, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
• Guided group mindfulness sessions that teach techniques, such as breathing exercises or meditation for boosting positive emotions and reducing stress.
• Events that encourage employees to have fun and connect.

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3. Work Environment

Work environment wellness is having an enjoyable relationship with your surroundings and resources at work. A work setting that employees find appealing and physically comfortable will create more job satisfaction and stimulate better performance.

Providing the best work environment possible includes ensuring that the lighting, temperature, and equipment are satisfactory and offering certain amenities that employees like. When it comes to remote/hybrid employees, it’s important that they also have all the equipment and tools they need to work comfortably.

Work environment wellness incentives examples:

There are numerous ways to augment employees’ well-being by enriching their work environment. Here are a few ideas:

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• A dedicated outdoor space where employees can work or take breaks in the fresh air.
• “Bring Your Pet to Work Days” to encourage a cheerful atmosphere.
• Frequent short work breaks to keep people from sitting or standing too long and developing eye strain, backaches, etc.

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4. Physical Wellness

Physical wellness is being in a physical condition where you have adequate energy to handle work and daily activities without fatigue or physical stress.

Optimal physical well-being requires practicing healthy behaviors, such as regular physical activity. It also entails avoiding unhealthy behaviors, such as excessive alcohol consumption and the use of tobacco and drugs.

Physical wellness incentives examples:
Employers can help employees take personal responsibility for their physical health with these common physical wellness incentives:

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• Physical activity challenges where teams compete with each other to log the most exercise or steps to earn a reward. 
• Resources for drug and alcohol abuse support and smoking cessation programs.
• Employee-led exercise or sports groups that permit leaving work early for participation.
• Reimbursement for gym memberships or onsite gym equipment and fitness classes.

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5. Financial Wellness

Financial wellness is the ability to make wise economic decisions that allow you to meet your financial obligations, plan for the future, and prepare for emergencies.

Being in difficult financial circumstances causes a great deal of stress. Helping your employees create practical fiscal habits gives them support to improve this area of their lives and prevent a loss of productivity.

Financial wellness incentives examples:

Financial wellness incentives focus on providing relevant information on how to save and spend properly and how to handle debt.  Strategies for promoting financial wellness include:

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• Free or subsidized access to professional financial advisors.
• Seminars that teach spending and debt management, investment strategies, and retirement planning.
• Personal budget planning software offerings.‍

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6. Social Wellness

Social wellness is building and maintaining meaningful relationships with other humans. Strong relationships with others at work foster collaboration and bring deeper fulfillment from the job.

Social wellness incentives examples:

Activities that encourage peer connection allow teams to get to know each other better and can help ease the social anxiety that some employees experience. Here are a few ideas:

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• Community volunteering days where teams serve together.
• Onsite teambuilding games or activities that don’t require specialized skills for participation.
• Company retreats where people can interact outside of work.

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7. Nutrition Wellness

Nutrition wellness is making food choices and habits that fuel a healthy body. The food we eat directly impacts our physical health and how we feel.

Nutrition wellness incentives examples:

Celebrating good nutrition in the workplace can help employees choose healthy food options that make them feel better. Some ways to promote this.

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• Healthy cooking classes with a professional chef.
• Providing nutritious snacks in employee break rooms. 
• Private sessions with a certified nutritionist. 

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8. Intellectual Wellness

Intellectual wellness is committing to continuous learning and critical thinking. It allows people to challenge themselves with exposure to new ideas and different sides of issues.

Employees with intellectual well-being benefit organizations because they are always looking to expand their skills, and their open minds help cultivate a more inclusive work environment.

Intellectual wellness incentives examples:

You can assist employees with developing their intellectual wellness in these ways:

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• Lunch and learn sessions on thought-provoking topics.
• Awards for earning continuing education certifications.
• Employee-organized book clubs.

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6 Key Elements of Creating Successful Wellness Incentives 

Health and wellness incentive programs that inform, inspire, and engage employees go a long way in incorporating well-being into workplace culture. Since organizations vary in size and culture, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but you should consider the following six essentials:

1. Get Management Buy-In

Management needs to have the buy-in that goes beyond approval and into participation. When leadership sets an example, it matters to the rest of the organization.

The American Psychological Association's work and well-being survey revealed that for companies with senior management that supported and got involved with wellness initiatives, 73% of employees said the organization helps them cultivate healthy lifestyles. 

Only 11% of employees within the companies that lacked leadership support for wellness said the same. HR professionals who become strategic HR business partners are in the best position to illustrate the value of this type of initiative to the business and get management on board.

Tips for HR:

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• Be well-versed in the benefits of wellness incentives.
• Present relevant data to leadership that shows how worthwhile the investment is.
• Demonstrate how employee wellness will contribute to achieving organizational goals.
• Seek input from management about incentives they would be enthusiastic about participating in.

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2. Conduct Research and Planning

It’s crucial to understand your audience by gathering information to determine what wellness incentive initiatives employees seek.

A State of Employee Well-being study by HR.com Research Institute has some interesting insights. It found that mental and emotional well-being has become prioritized over physical well-being for employer wellness programs. The significance went in the following order:

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• Mental and emotional (78%)
• Work environment (70%)
• Physical (66%)
• Financial (56%)
• Social (48%)
  

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Tips for HR:

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• Conduct employee wellness surveys to learn about their needs.
• Get input from team leaders to understand what types of incentives will be effective.
• Look for patterns in employee relations issues that reflect a need for wellness support.

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3. Determine Your Goals and Desired Outcome of the Program

You must set goals for any new wellness incentives initiative to know specifically what you’re trying to achieve and define what success looks like. Understanding the needs of employees and the organization will help you determine the point of the wellness incentives.

Is it reducing sick days and absenteeism? Decreasing smoke breaks and increasing productivity? Minimizing on-the-job injuries? Reducing employee stress and improving morale? Recruiting and retaining employees?

Tips for HR:

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• Invest in your goal-setting skills by learning how to set SMART goals.
• Connect your wellness incentives goals to existing business objectives by demonstrating how improved employee well-being makes them more achievable.
• Seek feedback from stakeholders before finalizing your goals.

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4. Get Employee Buy-In

Creating awareness for well-being needs and getting the word out to employees will set your program up for success. The more connected employees feel to wellness initiatives, the more likely they will participate.

Tips for HR:

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• Use diverse, customized communication methods to reach all audiences. (Internal messaging/email/mobile device reminders, leadership promo videos, interactive bulletin boards, etc.)
• Encourage middle managers to lead by example and tailor incentives for their teams.
• Find well-respected employees and leaders to share their experiences pursuing wellness for a positive outcome.

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5. Measure Effectiveness With Metrics

Gauging the effectiveness of your wellness incentives program is the only way to know if it’s adding value. Data will help you identify how many employees participate and what’s being accomplished. 

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Tips for HR:

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• Listed below are some of the employee well-being metrics you can track.
• Program access and participation numbers.
• Communication/program awareness.
• Employee satisfaction.
• Turnover.
• Changes in absenteeism.

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6. Evaluate the Efficacy and Adjust Accordingly

Acting on the insights you’ve learned from data analysis and making adjustments where necessary will help your wellness incentives program thrive.

Tips for HR:

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• Establish feedback channels for employees and managers to provide input and improvement ideas.
• Compare the program's most and least successful aspects to learn what works and what doesn’t.
• Explore ways to save employees and the company time or money.

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Related Reading

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• Workplace Stretching
• Workplace Wellness Program Ideas
• Stretching Exercises for Warehouse Workers
• Company Wellness Programs
• Successful Corporate Wellness Programs
• Employee Wellness Software
• Employee Wellness Program Ideas
• Corporate Wellness Initiatives
• Employee Wellbeing App
• Corporate Mobility Services
• Corporate Wellness Services

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What is the Best Way to Incentivize Employee Participation in Wellness Programs?

Each incentive plan will only work for some employees. Different incentive ideas motivate different individuals. By assessing your team’s needs, you can experiment with relevant incentive methods and find what fits best with your company culture. 

Offering a range of diverse incentives is crucial. Your wellness program can then cater to everyone. For example, you can offer cash rewards for achieving health goals and flexible work hours so employees can schedule wellness activities independently. 

Make Your Incentive Wellness Plans Challenging and Fun

Healthy competition doesn’t hurt anyone. So why don’t you tap into your employees’ natural competitive spirit and boost their morale? When you set challenging goals in front of people, they are more likely to stay engaged. 

For example, you can introduce a step count challenge where the employee with the most steps wins. It will foster camaraderie and encourage social support among participants. You can also gamify the competition by introducing rewards at specific milestones or creating virtual avatars.

Personalize Your Incentives

Every employee has:

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• Unique preferences
• Needs
• Goals

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The key to serving them is to adopt personalized incentives, which shows you’re committed to supporting your workforce. So,, get to know your employees on a deeper level. You can conduct assessments or surveys to discover their interests, health concerns, and preferred wellness activities. 

Use the data to offer tailored incentives that are easy to understand. For example, if an employee showcases an interest in weightlifting, a gym class subscription or gym apparel will be a meaningful incentive. Or if an employee is struggling with gaining weight, a health coach can significantly impact their wellness journey.

Communicate and Promote Incentives

Now that you have a tailored and well-timed incentive wellness program, employee engagement rates should hit the roof. It takes more than just a killer incentive program to make it work. Market your incentive idea on your active channels to remove roadblocks in employee engagement. Whether through emails, WhatsApp groups, colorful posters, or business communication platforms, your employees should see value in the wellness program. Therefore, package and market your incentive idea well. 

Highlight the program's benefits and how it can change the employees’ lives. And remember, you need to be consistent in communicating the plan and its details. The best way to do so is to share program achievements, success stories, and upcoming challenges daily. It will create buzz around the program and create a sense of excitement. 

Wellness Program Incentives Best Practices

Use incentives, but don’t make a big deal of them. Make a big deal out of the benefits. Make sure your employees know what all the benefits are. Give them a “What’s in it for me?” list. Never use punishments. Use both immediate incentives and more enormous benefits-based rewards. Start with incentives and transition toward intrinsic rewards.

Related Reading

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• Corporate Wellness Companies
• Calm Alternative
• Office Chair Stretches
• Best Stretches For Office Workers
• Desk Exercises At Work
• Sprout Alternatives
• Best Corporate Wellness Software
• Stretches For Warehouse Workers
• Companies With Employee Wellness Programs

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