Smoking at work is not what it used to be. In the days of Don Draper, it was something everyone did, all the time, whether they were at work or home. Now, it's difficult to find a restaurant that even has a smoking section. According to a recent SHRM study that addresses smoking at work, employers have smoking cessation programs on their minds. According to the survey, 47% of responding employers restrict their employees smoking in some way during working hours.
- 58% limit where employees can smoke
- 30% limit the number of times employees can smoke during the course of the work day
- 31% ban smoking altogether
Many employers are finding that smoking can be distracting and disruptive to the workday. Not to mention it has obvious and proven health risks that raise costs for healthcare and strain the employee/employer relationship.
So how are you going to get your employees to quit without being too pushy?
Remember that old saying “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink?” What if you provide so much proverbial water, that it can't be ignored? Under the Affordable Care Act, employers can incentivize smoking cessation through premium deductions of up to 50%. Creating a well of education on healthy, smoke-free lifestyles not only helps give employees a starting point, but it can have a real financial impact on both your employees and your business. Want to add an extra incentive to your program outside of a healthcare premium deduction? CVS/pharmacy is both a leader in smoking cessation (eliminating all tobacco products in 2014) and in health and wellness program rewards.
With a suite of gift cards, CVS/pharmacy offers rewards for every employee and every wellness-related program. The CVS/pharmacy Select® Card is a selectively filtered gift card that debits on only health-related items, eliminating things like candy and sodas. Smoking cessation seems like an easy win, or maybe even obvious but it can lead to healthier living for employees and lower costs for employers.
