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“You hear a lot about the use of incentives in workplace health promotion programs, but do they really work? Temple University in Philadelphia is betting that they do,” Business and Legal Resources reports.

“Temple’s comprehensive, voluntary wellness program provides incentives for those who take steps to maintain and improve their overall health. The program, Total Wellness, is available to employees enrolled in either of the university’s health plans.”

“So, can a similar program work at your company? One source of insight is a study of more than 800 large and mid-size U.S. employers conducted by the consulting firm Aon Hewitt.”

“Aon Hewitt found that 83 percent of respondents provide incentives for participating in health programs. Of those, 79 percent offer some form of reward, 5 percent provide incentives in the form of a consequence, and 16 percent offer both. When monetary awards were used, most were between $50 and $500; about 18 percent offered more than $500. More than half the companies surveyed said they have seen improved health behaviors and/or an increase in employee engagement with incentives. And nearly half pointed to a positive impact on morale, satisfaction, or attitudes.”