Survey: More employers are offering incentives to participate in wellness programs

Employee wellness programs have been shown to provide workers with invaluable information on healthy living and stress management, which can result in reduced healthcare costs. However, they can’t do much good if workers don’t use them.

In a survey, human resources firm bswift found that the number of companies offering incentives for participation in wellness programs rose from 49 percent in 2010 to 68 percent in 2011.

Additionally, companies appear to be using health biometrics as a way to measure the outcomes of wellness programs and ensure that workers are getting results from them.

“On the wellness front, we’re seeing large and small companies investing significant time and money in biometric tests and wellness incentives as strategic tools to stimulate employee engagement and control costs,” said bswift CEO Rich Gallun.The survey also found that organizations are cutting back on administrative costs stemming from employee health benefits by using technology solutions. The researchers noted that companies who implement automated benefits administration processes stand to save an estimated $19 per employee.