Data and Research February 18, 2016

Employee Wellness Motivated More by Loss than Gain

A study sheds light on the effect of employer wellness program incentive designs.
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Employer wellness program financial incentives framed as a loss are most effective for achieving physical activity goals, a study found.

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and other entities tested the effectiveness of three methods to frame financial incentives to increase physical activity among overweight and obese adults. For 13 weeks, 281 overweight or obese employees at the University of Pennsylvania were given a goal of 7,000 steps per day and were randomly assigned to a control group with daily feedback or to a group with one of three financial incentive programs with daily feedback.

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The three financial incentive programs included a gain incentive ($1.40 given each day that the goal was achieved), lottery incentive (daily eligibility [expected value approximately $1.40] if goal was achieved), or loss incentive ($42 allocated monthly upfront and $1.40 removed each day the goal was not achieved). Participants were followed for another 13 weeks with daily performance feedback but no incentives.

People with no financial incentive performed their 7,000 steps for about 30% of days, compared to 35% of days for those in the gain incentive group and 36% in the lottery incentive group. By contrast, the mean proportion of participant-days achieving the goal for the loss incentive group was 45%.

The research notes that in adjusted analyses, only the loss-incentive group had a significantly greater mean proportion of participant-days achieving the goal than the control group.

Commenting on the research, corporate wellness strategist David Roddenberry, CEO of wellness provider HealthyWage, notes, “This study reiterates the importance of the ‘stick’ in the design of a workplace wellness incentive program. We advocate program participants ‘pay to play’ and make an investment out of their own pocket in order to win rewards (in our case large cash prizes) for losing weight and/or getting more active in the program. Instead of only doling out cash incentives for health, employers should utilize both the carrot and the stick, and design voluntary programs that give those interested and ready to make a change the opportunity to be more effective at obtaining their goals with a cash prize.”

The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Benefits February 18, 2016

Tips for Communicating About ACA Reporting to Employees

Jellyvision shares tips for employers to prevent employees from inundating the benefits office with questions.
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Starting this year, employers must provide a Form 1095-C proof of health insurance to employees to help them with filing their tax returns.

According to a recent survey by ADP, 83% percent of mid-sized employers and 57% of large employers don’t think their employees clearly understand the forms or how they may be related to their 2015 tax filing obligations.

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Jellyvision, an employee benefits communication technology company, shared with PLANSPONSOR some tips for employers to use when educating participants about the form:

  • Use conversational language, not technical language;
  • Don’t tell employees what they don’t need to know—all they need to know is what the form is and what to do with it;
  • Leverage existing communications like intranets, payroll portals or manager meetings to notify employees that they will be receiving this form; and
  • Be strategic and timely—consider sending three emails about the 1095 over the next two months.

Jellyvision CEO Amanda Lannert says, “The better companies can get the information across now, the fewer freak-outs they’ll be dealing with the next few months. Institutions—especially the government—oftentimes can’t help but make simple things mind-numbingly hard by doing things like not speaking like a person and using numbers instead of simple language to describe forms. At Jellyvision, our mission is to squash confusing, boring communication and replace it something helpful and delightful.”

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