GiftCard Partners Blog

March is National Nutrition Month^®, a yearly initiative from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that encourages people to make informed food choices and build healthy eating habits. This year, the theme is "Beyond the Table," focusing on the different ways and places people eat, such as at home, school, work, or events. It also addresses the impact of our food choices on the environment, including how we produce, transport, and prepare our foods.

Workplace wellness programs come in many shapes and sizes. Some focus on mitigating long-term health risks like smoking or obesity, while others address immediate health problems, or chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes. Whatever components your program focuses on, motivating behavioral change or encouraging involvement can be difficult, especially when it comes to physical activity or exercise. This is typically where the rewards aspect comes into play. Using rewards in workplace wellness is a powerful tool, if utilized correctly. A new study done at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, finds that the fear of losing rewards (in this case money) works better to motivate employees to get more physically active than having the opportunity to win it.

As employee wellness programs increase in popularity, hi-tech wellness can help employers engage employees in their programs and keeps programs light and fun. The range of ways to incorporate technology into wellness programs is growing. Between apps, wearables, and dashboards, hi-tech wellness is becoming a tool to drive wellness program success for employers and employees alike. Here are three ways that hi-tech wellness can work for you.

We talked before about the shift in reward and incentive programs. Employers must now take into account that each workplace is usually comprised of 3 different generations, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. Each of these generations defines a “valuable reward” in different ways. This shift in rewarding now involves turning away from the idea of general cash rewards and taking a more personalized approach to the individuals you are trying to motivate or reward.

In just two weeks, the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, LA will be filled with hundreds of companies who will gather to discuss the latest trends in the payments industry at the All Payments Expo 2016. GiftCard Partners will be there taking part in the discussion, and we are hoping you will be there too! Over 80 speakers will be featured at this year's APEX, including: Erin Wood, Director Card Programmer, from Subway, Dan Springer, President, from Great Lakes Scrip Center, Matt Davies, CEO, from Powerhouse Brands, Sarah Quinlan, SVP, from
MasterCard...and many, many more!