The power of employee rewards
Adopting healthier habits isn’t always easy, which is why it takes the right combination of nudges and incentives to unlock better employee health and wellbeing
We all know that being active and eating healthy food is good for us. Yet despite knowing this, many of us struggle to maintain healthy choices, long term. Most of us get healthier at certain points of the year – January or in the run up to summer – but give up after about a month.
Behavioural science has taught us that we have a disconnect between our current and future selves. That’s why we struggle to picture ourselves when we’re older – benefitting from being healthy now. We want to see a quick return on investment.
The same goes for positive work behaviours, like being on time, sticking to deadlines and taking the initiative. If it’s not already a habit, then it’s hard to keep it going every day.
You may have noticed that your employees adopt healthy work habits when their appraisals are coming up. But can’t keep them going. Why? Because the reward of a possible pay increase has gone.
The solution is to have always-on rewards, so you can encourage positive behaviour, immediately after. That way they’re more likely to repeat that behaviour. Here are some useful tips on how to find the right rewards to help keep your employees engaged and healthy all year round.
Tip to offering the right rewards
Keep it short and sweet
Known as present bias – people tend to value immediate rewards more than future ones. That’s why short-term rewards that are easy to achieve usually work best. For example, finishing work early on Fridays when you get all your jobs done.
Try to be creative
Even with limited resources, a creative approach to rewards can still pay dividends, such as unlimited annual leave or public praise. Encourage managers and team members to regularly do shout-outs on Teams.
Make it memorable
Vouchers are less likely to be forgotten than cash and experiences tend to make us happier than money. We’ve also seen through behavioural economics that the perceived value of monetary amounts can vary, so non-cash items, such as personalised gifts, can help address this.
Let them flow
You need not limit yourself to just offering one reward – they can be combined to boost the total value available, or to provide a choice of rewards. Both of which can broaden the appeal and motivate a wider range of employees. Use a system of escalation, so people can do more to unlock further rewards. For example, organise a steps challenge at work. This delivers on-going praise while the challenge is in full flow and could finish with a trophy or gift for the winning team.
Offer a reward and a saving
Some businesses offer free nutritious snacks (like a piece of fruit), while charging for soft drinks and chocolate bars. This strategy uses the concept of loss aversion, to motivate workers to avoid losses by choosing the healthier option when it’s free.
How the Vitality Programme uses rewards
The Vitality Programme is the world’s largest health promotion programme linked to insurance. It’s built into all our insurance plans, including our business health insurance. It’s designed to help your employees understand their health and stay healthy.
They get an annual health check to help them keep tabs on their physical and mental wellbeing. They also get financial support, including savings on gym memberships and healthy foods, to make positive lifestyle choices easier.
And to reinforce healthy choices, such as exercising and meditating, we give them regular rewards.
And our stats[1] show it works:
Physical activity
- 87% of Vitality members reach recommended weekly exercise guidelines compared to 71% of the population
- +22% increase in physical activity for Vitality members after one year
Nutrition
- -27% reduction in the consumption of fatty foods after one year
- +11% increase in the consumption of fruit and vegetable after one year
Discover how we can help you to encourage your employees to live a healthier life and reward them, and your business, for doing so.
[1] Vitality and ONS data 2020-2023
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