GiftCard Partners Blog

New regulations have recently taken effect as part of the Affordable Care Act allowing employers providing health care benefits to employees to steer their workforce toward healthier lifestyles and away from disease causing habits. The new rules enforced last week as part of the law by the Obama Administration guide employees through a classic carrot and stick rewards program. Employees who participate in wellness programs, set goals to live a healthier life, and work towards those goals can be rewarded both financially and with non-monetary rewards, while employees who continue to exhibit unhealthy behaviors; or who not working to eliminate preventable conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol can be penalized similarly. Any outcome based program such as smoking cessation or weight loss programs are often required to have a "cycle of failure and renewed effort" to give employees multiple chances to achieve their goals. These new rules reinforce the effectiveness of the carrot and stick reward/disincentive strategy, rewarding good behavior and penalizing bad behavior. It shows that strategy is financially sound for any size business and can in fact help manage the ever-rising cost of providing health care benefits. Finding rewards that fit each occassion and have value for your employees is key to programmatic success. Gift cards are a great way to fix cost while providing a choice for employees. Using gift cards allow an employee to choose a brand that they value and will use. For health and wellness programs providing a variety of health and wellness retailers such as NutriSystem, GNC, and CVS/Pharmacy show employees that their employer is supportive of their concerted effort to live a healthy lifestyle. Equally important is finding the balance in the disincentives handed out to employees who do not participate in health and wellness programs. The sticks cannot be so big that it makes and employee unhappy with the organization, or makes them wholly averse to ever participating. The stick should be big enough to push employees in a healthier direction. A widely used disincentive is a higher monthly premium for employees not enrolled in the program- encouraging employees to take the step without turning them off totally.

Yo-Fi Wellness is churning some serious waves in the sea of corporate wellness incentives! As employer healthcare costs continue to rise; innovative wellness incentives continue to offer companies of all sizes the latest in corporate wellness incentives and wellness gifts for employees. This online platform brings healthy living initiatives to employees through inspiring and instructive video programs, on any device. Offering expert yoga, fitness, nutrition and meditation video content, Yo-Fi Wellness empowers employees to live a healthier lifestyle, reducing absenteeism in the workplace and improving employee productivity. The Yo-Fi Wellness digital platform is the perfect solution to providing corporate gifts, incentives and rewards via gift cards and e-Certs.

June is National Employee Wellness Month and in honor of this month we’re celebrating ‘Employee Wellness Monday.’ Today we sit down with two employees from GiftCard Partners to talk about their daily routines and learn what they do in order to stay on the right track when it comes to their health and wellness.
What steps do you take during your workday to ensure that you’re staying healthy, energized and alert?
Deb: I start my day, every day, by going to the gym at 5:30AM for 60-90 minutes. The workout contains 30-60 minutes of cardio, and 25-30 minutes of weights. Weather permitting- I will bike 15-20 miles on the weekend. I have started writing down what I eat as well through
myfitnesspal.com.
Melina: Since I’ve taken the big step (for me at least) to try my first triathlon, I’ve begun a new routine this month. By the way, this “iron girl” triathlon is a beginner one (Thank God) which consists of a half mile swim, 12 mile bike ride and wraps up with a 3 mile run.  I’ve started running up to 3 miles 3-4 times a week. I try to do it in the morning or early evening to avoid the heat of mid-day. I also ride my bike on weekends with my fellow triathloners to get used to the hilly terrain. As for the swim, well we just hit over 80 degrees this week so I’ll be starting 50 laps in the pool tonight!! PS I drink LOTS of water all day long at my desk to stay well hydrated.
What happens when you don’t stick to this routine?
Deb: I stick to this routine, because if I don’t I feel grouchy and tired and my family and coworkers don’t like me. The only time I don’t exercise is when I can’t logistically because of travel or my asthma has kicked up to the extent I just can’t do anything.
Melina: I’ll probably come in last! Not to mention the possibility of not being able to finish it. Truth be told, I just feel better and more productive with work and around my family when I’ve had some form of exercise each day.
What advice would you give someone who is looking to get healthier during their 9-5 work week?
Deb: Keep a schedule- and do it early in the day as life usually does get in the way.  Then you stay energized the whole day!
Melina: Find the time to get that body moving regardless of the type or intensity of the exercise. It really helps to re-energize so you can be more productive throughout the day.
Rewarding Your Employees for Their Healthy Choices
Want to reward or recognize your workforce this month for putting in the extra effort to stay healthy? Our gift card clients make it easy to reward your workforce for their healthy behavior with convenient and flexible volume discounts on bulk orders.

Employers are increasingly adding health and wellness programs to employee benefits packages to both help control organizational costs of providing healthcare benefits and to keep employees healthy and productive at work. However, it is not enough to just have the program available- you have to educate your employees about it so they know it is there and all of the ways it can help them set and reach their health and wellness goals.To say it another way- most of us have seen the movie Field of Dreams, it happens to be one of my personal favorites- health and wellness programs cannot be dependent on Ray Kinsella's "If you build it, they will come" mentality. These programs take more work to train employees on the benefits and ensure that your workforce is aware of all that their employers is making available. According to a recent whitepaper from Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company 52% of employees at organizations where health and wellness programs are being offered either don't know they exist at all or are unaware of what they encompass. Making short education sessions available or required can change that statistic easily. To ensure your organization maximizes the investment in their employees health and wellness program providing small incentives to employees who enroll in the program is a great motivator. Small denomination gift cards to health and wellness retailers like GNC, CVS/Pharmacy, or Nutrisystem can help kick start any employee's work towards a health and wellness goal, and reminds them that their employer will be there to help and support them every step of the way. That kind of lasting impact will make for a happier, enduring, and more productive workforce throughout the life of the program and beyond.

GiftCard Partners and CVS/pharmacy recently co-sponsored a webinar called Healthcare Reform’s Impact on Wellness - How to Incentivize Employees to Engage in Healthy Behavior. Speakers included Jonathan Edelheit, Editor in Chief of Benefits Live Magazine, Vanessa Cullerton, Senior Manager of Employee Wellness for the Hillshire Brands Company, Stacey Nelson, Manager of Health and Welfare for Sprint; and our own Edward Shulkin, President of GiftCard Partners.