GiftCard Partners Blog

Implementing employee wellness programs can save your organization money in both employee absenteeism and employee productivity, and can help control costs of health care benefits. Here are a few ways to ensure the implementation of your wellness programs is successful.
Make Sure the Program Is Comprehensive: Make sure your health and wellness programs focus on all aspects of employees' everyday lives. Build a community of wellness, focusing on every day areas of concern like exercise, healthy eating and stress management. Build community by creating an office running club, softball league or weight loss group.
Engage Employees: Center your wellness programs around results, while engaging employees into the program. Ensure employees set goals, whether they are weight loss related, fitness related, or focused on healthy eating (does anyone really 
need that 3rd cup of coffee?). On the other side, reward employees for reaching their goals, or for investing themselves in the program. Small rewards like small denomination gift cards to healthy retailers like 
GNC or CVS/pharmacy will be a treat for employees, showing them that their employer cares for their well-being and wants to help them down the road of healthy behavior.

Workplace stress is an increasingly common issue, affecting both employee well-being and company performance. According to the American Institute of Stress, job-related stress is the primary source of stress for American adults, with 83% of U.S. workers reporting stress-related symptoms. This stress not only impacts individual health but also costs American businesses a staggering $300 billion annually due to absenteeism, turnover, and reduced productivity.

Big companies, small businesses and even colleges are making necessary changes as they prepare to comply with the Affordable Care Act. Employees at the University of Minnesota are looking for ways to reduce their health care premiums and the university has provided them a way, in the form of their University Wellness Program. When employees participate in the Wellness Program they are awarded  points for completing healthy activities and can save up to $400 on their premiums in a single year. But it’s not all about the money. While employees enjoy the lower premiums, the University sees the potential in investing in their employees’ health and wellness as a way to increase morale and retention. Keep reading more about the University Wellness Program in,
As health care costs increase, University employees try to save, from Minnesota Daily. Want to kick start your Wellness Program? Health-focused incentives are a great way to reward healthy behavior in a positive way, gift cards to Whole Foods Market or CVS/pharmacy help keep employees on the right track outside of work.

The realm of Corporate Health & Wellness is vast and changing constantly. GiftCard Partners is dedicated to keeping you up-to-date on the latest in corporate wellness, health and wellness program strategies, creating a healthy workplace, and more…enter the CVS/pharmacy eNewsletter. This
quarterly enews is a great way to stay current with all the news, trends and technologies in the Corporate Wellness industry. This issue highlights:

By now you are probably familiar with the new laws that took effect as part of the Affordable Care Act earlier this summer. Employers can now offer incentives totaling 30% of total plan cost (they used to only be able to offer 20%) to employees who are healthy, taking preventative measures to stay healthy, or meeting goals to get healthier. The idea is that employers should encourage wellness (not just for the greater good of society) because it cuts down on absenteeism and the cost of health care benefits for the employer…and the benefits keep coming. A review of 72 studies in the American Journal of Health Promotion revealed these staggering figures: