Finder survey says that getting in shape is one of millennials' top New Year resolutions. Be it the dress we wish to fit into or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, we all desire to get in shape at one point or another.
Striving to achieve your fitness goals can test your limits and patience. And most of us hardly find time to exercise or follow a fitness routine besides the 9 to 5 hustle. But what if you are rewarded for your fitness?
Today, employees' health and wellness have become a topmost priority. But most of you lack motivation and determination. So, corporate wellness programs must include rewards and incentives to enhance employee participation.
Rewards for fitness are the best ways to keep employees looking into their wellness. Let's find out how and why.
Why Is Fitness Important In The Workplace?
Promoting health and fitness is the surefire way to achieve an individual's full potential. Corporate wellness programs are well-known among companies seeking productive employees.
Here are our top five reasons to promote fitness among your employees:
- Keeps a check on employees’ mental health
- Motivates employees to face challenges
- Boost interpersonal relationships
- Reduces severe health risks
- Save healthcare cost
How Rewards For Fitness Boosts Employees' Wellness Participation?
We agree that losing weight and getting healthy are challenging goals. It requires one's full commitment and focus. But you can make the entire process fun and much easier to achieve with rewards.
You would be amazed to find its practical application during a corporate wellness program.
A detailed study carried out by researchers from the University of Minnesota estimated the effect of participation in the fitness rewards program.
They observed a 95% increase in participation throughout the experiment.
An incentive for exercising encourages a higher level of participation.
Besides boosting wellness and reaching new health goals, rewarding your employees reinforce new habits and enlighten them to continue their fitness journey.
Vantage Fit makes it easy to reward healthy habits at scale. Employees earn Vantage Points for completing activities like daily step goals, challenge milestones, and streaks. These points can be redeemed across a wide range of options, including shopping, travel, entertainment, and fitness brands.
Milestones are recognized along the way, not just at the end. From a first 10,000-step day to a 30-day streak, employees receive digital badges that acknowledge their progress and keep motivation going beyond a single challenge cycle.
Rachel Arthur, Director of Benefits & Wellness at Brazosport ISD, saw exactly this dynamic play out with her team:
"It's a great way to log activities. Employees are also rewarded with points, recognition and prizes."
— Rachel Arthur, Director of Benefits & Wellness, Brazosport ISD
5 Rewards For Fitness Benefits In Wellness Program
1. Boost The Effectiveness Of Wellness Programs
Wellness programs cost thousands of dollars, but have you ever considered their effectiveness? Without employee participation in these programs, achieving those health goals becomes slim. It's high time to consider the factors for the lower interest among employees.
Whatever the reason, rewards for fitness are your answer to boosting employee engagement. A study shows that employees enrolled in programs without wellness incentives have a low participation ratio compared to employees with a proper incentivization strategy.
They observed a 60% engagement ratio surge, positively impacting participants' health and well-being.
For instance: Are you more inclined to set a goal of 10,000 steps per day if the incentive is a new Apple Watch or if the goal is to lower your cholesterol? It has been shown that incentives with price levels can motivate staff to participate in a wellness program.
Gift items like insulated sports bottles, running shoes, fit bands, free fitness classes, smoothie makers, gym trinkets, and so forth. Pairing incentives with gamification mechanics — leaderboards, badges, and streak tracking — compounds the effect further, turning one-time participants into consistent contributors.
2. Boosts Team Spirit
Employees who work together share common fitness goals with their co-workers. So, organizing a group exercise will teach them the value of teamwork.
Reward their exceptional team spirit for making the program a success. Also, acknowledge their team-based incentive plans. It will encourage them to continue their fitness journey with others. It will also help them to keep a competitive edge and aim for higher fitness points.
3. Considers Employee Morale
What do we mean by boosting employee morale? It is an intrinsic factor that determines an employee's attitude, satisfaction, and outlook at the workplace.
Rewards for fitness are one of the factors that boost employees' participation in fitness programs. Employees who keep up with their high spirits are more confident than those who don't follow any wellness incentive program.
4. Promote Culture Of Wellness
Wellness incentives can be a powerful medium for boosting health and well-being in the workplace. Regardless of monetary or non-monetary rewards, the feeling of being recognized is surreal. Research on the benefits of employee wellness programs consistently shows that when recognition is built into the program structure, participation sustains itself long after the initial launch.
Employees complete wellness challenges that identify areas for improvement. Such as losing weight, smoking cessation, eating healthy, and beginning an exercise routine.
5. Keeps Your Employees Inspired
Our employees feel motivated post-workout and are, thus, more productive in their work and satisfied with their job. They also motivate one another to continue working out! The link between movement, recognition, and output is why employee wellness and productivity research consistently points to fitness rewards as a driver of both.
Exercising during work can reduce stress, increase energy, and improve overall mood. It makes you feel great after!
Well, now you get the idea? Even though it might seem like a carrot-and-stick policy, the sole motto of offering exercise rewards is to boost fitness. It helps in bringing out the competitive spirit among co-workers to achieve wellness.
Final Words
With the sole purpose of improving employees’ health and reducing healthcare costs, a fitness reward system helps your wellness program stand out. It helps gain your employees’ interest and inspires them to keep up with their wellness journey.
When supported by a wellness platform like Vantage Fit, you may witness a significant increase in participation rates. With lucrative redeemable rewards like gift cards that employees can redeem from the app within seconds, the return on a wellness investment becomes measurable and lasting.
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