HCW Benefits Blog

Contributor:
Twyla Hutchins, RN, BSN, COHN-S, Medical Management Officer
Hill, Chesson & Woody

America has spoken and the results are clear. Overwhelmingly, employees now believe in providing incentives for positive behavior change. It is beneficial when you put a carrot out in front of someone to entice them to improve their health. On the contrary, less than a third were willing to endorse the stick approach for unhealthy behaviors. That's interesting, since behavioral science tells us that people will react stronger to something that is being taken away than to a nice carrot. 

Either way, employers are in the perfect position to incent behavior change when they design and implement an outcomes - based wellness program.  I am enthusiastic that more employers will adopt this concept after seeing these results. Wellness guru, Dee Edington Ph.D., believes in paying people for positive behaviors. If you reward the healthy people, the unhealthy will figure it out and get on board. I am with Dee. We need to reward healthy outcomes. I believe that what is rewarded will be sustained. So, thank you America for realizing that we need to support the positive. Let’s give those healthy folks a nod — and those unhealthy — well, maybe a PROD.