Wellness Program Incentives

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or improve upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that are able to help meet any wellness program budget! The Corporate Health Promotion Program ideas are divided into topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Administer an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Establish a Employee Health Promotion Program Committee
• Choose medical programs that cover costs for weight management and smoking cessation
• Waive co-pay or reimburse for preventive health care visits
• Put up pamphlets on a variety of wellness issues for staff members to take
• Organize a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of subject matters of interest to workers
• Identify staff members who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other staff members
• Create and reward periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Establish monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Put up a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Put up messages from national health observances during the month
• Offer healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Develop a benefits fair
• Sponsor business fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Develop employer health & wellness fairs or other on-Site activities

Nutrition Programs

• Provide free, healthy snacks for workers (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Provide healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at business events
• Offer information to employees about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Create a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock snack machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or snack machines (10¡ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Offer a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Have handouts available on a variety of healthy eating subject matters
• Include nutrition articles in corporation newsletters
• Have a healthy food tasting contest Free
• Provide educational sessions at lunchtime-time on a variety of diet issues of interest
• Develop an employee healthy meal cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all workers

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Consider offering flexible work schedules so that employees are able to participate in weight-loss programs
• Subsidize registration expenditures for weight-management programs
• Offer a support group to help staff members who are trying to lose weight
• Locate registered dieticians near your workplace as a resource for staff members who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight control
• Provide individual counseling for staff members trying to lose weight
• Provide onsite fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Provide an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Allow flexible work schedules to encourage physical activity
• Create a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Create accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Encourage staff members to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Create a fitness center with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairwells more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Provide reduced fitness center membership fees to all employees
• Provide facilities for workers to secure bikes
• Schedule 5 – 10 minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund fitness center membership for workers who take part a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or corporation sports team
• Encourage stairwell use and incentives/rewards
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Promote & support area walks or fitness activities
• Urge walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Give periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage physical activity
• Provide educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Create a smoke-free grounds
• Organize a tobacco-free workplace
• Encourage the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s no cost Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) for tobacco replacement products
• Partially fund the cost of smoking cessation sessions
• Give brochures and information on health effects from tobacco use and smoking cessation
• Schedule awareness sessions to excite employees to try to quit tobacco use
• Provide worksite tobacco cessation seminars

Employee Health Screening

• Discount medical insurance premiums or lower co-payments for employees who take part in screenings and who take part in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure monitoring equipment
• Offer flu shots for workers and family members
• Offer Health Risk Assessments to all employees, including counseling and follow-up
• Provide periodic Blood Pressure screenings and follow-up
• Provide periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood glucose, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Allow flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Offer and reward an Employee Assistance Program
• Provide information on substance abuse prevention
• Offer pamphlets and information on stress management and mental health
• Offer brochures and information on work life balance, such as monetary planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Offer supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, organization stressors, etc.
• Evaluate business policies and work schedules to identify business stressors
• Review the EAP to ensure it is meeting the needs of the workers and corporation
• Have educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Schedule seminars on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance topics