How To Get Employees To Have Better Health Habits

Employers’ biggest impediment to reducing health benefit costs is persuading employees to change unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking. Some employers try incentives, others try penalties, most try neither. But one thing is becoming clear as health care costs go up and that is the need to try something.

Studies show that if incentives don’t work, employers are more likely to resort to penalties. With no end in sight to the steady rise in health care costs and more federal mandates to provide health care, employers have little choice but to try to persuade employees to share the burden one way or another.

What is your company’s approach?