wellness incentives for the workplace

Reward employees with wellness incentives like gThankYou! Certificates for Groceries or Fruits & Vegetables. (Photo via U.S. Department of Agriculture, Flickr)

Wellness incentives help reward and encourage healthy employee choices like regular exercise, annual checkups, smoking cessation and nutritious cooking.
If your company isn’t already using wellness incentives, now’s a great time to start!
May is Global Employee Health and Fitness Month, with Employee Health and Fitness Day celebrated the third Wednesday of the month.
All month, organizations across the country are raising awareness about the benefits of a healthy workplace.
Healthy employees are better employees.
A study of more than 20,000 employees at three large, geographically dispersed U.S. companies found that employees who exercised more and ate more fruits and vegetables had better performance and much lower absenteeism than their less health-conscious coworkers.
This month, hel equip your employees with the knowledge and tools they need to improve their wellbeing — and help them develop habits that will last year-round! Incentivizing healthy choices is a great way to reinforce the benefits and encourage longterm lifestyle changes.

Employee Health & Fitness Month: How to Get Involved

According to Health.gov, this month is the perfect opportunity to start or promote a workplace wellness program.
What sets apart excellent wellness programs? CEOs who are committed to them.
A blog post by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion explains that employers, as providers of workplace wellness programs, “have a tremendous opportunity to help their employees see the value of adopting healthier behaviors so they can live healthier lives.”
But it isn’t enough for a wellness program to be an HR side project. It must have the full support of leadership: “Studies of employee wellness programs consistently find that executive leadership is critical to employee engagement. If employees believe creating a culture of physical activity is an executive priority, employees are more likely to be physically active.”
The government office encourages company leadership everywhere to sign the “CEO Pledge” as an “evidence-based strategy” for improving employee wellbeing. The pledge states:

For the betterment of my company, our employees, their families and the community, I pledge to improve employee health and wellness by providing opportunities and resources for physical activity before, during or after the workday, and to enhance my own health and wellness by engaging in regular physical activity.

Molly Yatso Butz, USA Today columnist and Oshkosh Community YMCA health and wellness director, identifies big benefits for companies and CEOs willing to make the commitment.
For companies, these benefits include:

  • Enhanced employee productivity
  • Lower overall healthcare costs
  • Fewer hospitalizations for employees with chronic illness
  • Reduced injuries and illness
  • Less absenteeism and “presenteeism”

Employees also experience benefits:

  • Lower levels of stress
  • Increased wellbeing
  • Improved physical fitness and mental health
  • Healthier body weight

“Now is the time to bring new life to an existing wellness program or start a new program at your workplace,” she writes. “During the month of May, employers should consider bringing an activity to their workforce that encourages movement, offers a health message, is fun, and that anyone, regardless of their current fitness level, can participate in.”

The Best Wellness Incentives to Reward Employees

Workplace wellness incentivesActivity possibilities for Employee Health & Fitness Month abound! Summer is around the corner, and employees will be excited to participate in workplace activities that promote fitness, health and the outdoors, like Bike to Work Day.
Wellness incentives ensure that the initial excitement of starting a new health activity will last and develop into a sustainable habit.
Share wellness incentives that further enhance employees’ healthy choices — a gift certificate for groceries, or fruits and vegetables, redeemable at virtually any grocery store nationwide!
The healthy and practical gift of gThankYou! Fruits & Vegetables Gift Certificates or gThankYou! Grocery Gift Certificates encourages employees to cook fresh meals at home or grab nutritious snacks to bring to work.
Best of all, gThankYou food gift certificates are a gift of choice — employees get to decide what, when and where to shop. They’re wellness incentives that help build a culture of workplace wellbeing.
Global Employee Health & Fitness Month is just the beginning. Here’s to year-round employee health!

Free Resource: Your Day-to-Day Employee Engagement Calendar

We all need inspiration to make employee appreciation a daily habit. gThankYou’s Day-to-Day Employee Celebration Calendar gives you the tools and inspiration to build a culture of appreciation every day of the year. Be inspired; download yours today, absolutely free.

“In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day — or to celebrate each special day.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru, coach and author

Here’s to a happier workplace!

About gThankYou, LLC

Turkey Gift CertificatesHam Gift Certificates, and Turkey Or Ham Gift Certificates by gThankYou are America’s favorite employee gifts and can be redeemed for any brand (Turkey, Ham, or Turkey Or Ham), at virtually any grocery store in the U.S.
gThankYou, LLC provides company leaders with a variety of easy, meaningful and affordable ways to recognize and reward employees, holiday time or anytime. gThankYou! Certificates of Gratitude and our free Enclosure Cards are personalizable including incorporating your company logo. And, nearly all orders ship same day.

To learn more about gThankYou, watch our “About Us” Video and visit gThankYou today!

gThankYou, LLC (www.gthankyou.com) is based in Madison, Wisconsin. Contact: Rick Kiley, Chief ThankYou! Officer, gThankYou, LLC at info@gthankyou.com or 888-609-2234.

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“G” logo and “Certificates of Gratitude” are trademarks and “gThankYou” is a registered trademark of gThankYou, LLC.

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Gift Certificates

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How gThankYou Certificates Work

Step 1

Order Certificates

Choose the gThankYou Certificates you want and order them online or by telephone.

Step 2

Ship directly to your business

Your order is delivered by UPS. Nearly all orders ship the day received. Overnight shipping is available.

Step 3

Distribute to your employees

Personalize your gThankYou Certificates with Giver name or logo (both optional) and give them to employees.

Step 4

Redeem at any grocery store

Recipients redeem Certificates at major U.S. grocery stores and select the items they want.