Employee Health and Wellness

Is It Necessary to Incent Organizations to Initiate Employee Wellness Programs?

Employee Wellness Incentives may seem like an effective way to get employees excited about Employee Health Promotion – but is it wise?

This helps and encourages companies to understand the importance of maintaining a healthy staff members, not only for the welfare of its employees, but as well as the welfare of the corporate bottom line … then, yes, it could be necessary.

Tax Breaks as Employee Wellness Incentives

In 2007, two senators decided to band together to create the “Healthy Workforce Act.” This act is designed to encourage companies to keep employees healthy and prevent disease. The senators believed that having a country focused on “well care” versus “sick care” would decrease the overall costs of health care for everyone. They decided to start with America’s staff members.

The legislation, introduced by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and Oregon Senator Gordon Smith, states that businesses would receive a Employee Wellness incentive – a fifty percent tax credit – if they offer to their employees a Employee Wellness Program that meets the following criteria:

1) A health education and awareness component, which could include health risk assessments and health screenings.
2) A behavioral change component – such as counseling, seminars, or self-help materials to empower employees to lead healthier lifestyles.
3) A supportive environment component – including offering meaningful incentives to participating employees, such as a reduction in health premiums or allowing employees to engage in walking health promotion programs during the workday.
4) The creation of an employee engagement committee – which would tailor the Employee Wellness Program to the needs of the staff members at a particular organization.

If this legislation gets passed, many companies will be scrambling to offer Employee Wellness Programs in hopes of receiving the Employee Wellness Incentives.