Employers Debate Use and Efficacy of Wellness Incentives

When it comes to wellness, employers are moving toward cash incentives as a way to motivate employees, but it's still unclear whether positive or negative reinforcement works best -- and whether such efforts are seen by workers as encouragement or intimidation. A Human Resource Executive article examines the questions employers face when offering wellness incentives, including:

• How much financial incentive is enough?
• Is negative reinforcement OK?
• Who should be targeted: the well, the at-risk or the sick?
• Do financial incentives distract from what some experts say is the ultimate incentive, the employee's intrinsic desire for health?

The article mentions the Health & Productivity conference held this past February in San Francisco, and co-hosted by NBCH and the Integrated Benefits Institute.