The Wall Street Journal explores incentive based wellness programs for workers that reduce company's health care costs and foster a "more collegial environment." As it turns out, healthy workers are less grouchy.
Excerpt:
Wesley Willows got help from Tangerine Wellness Inc., a Boston firm
that designs incentive-based weight-loss programs. The retirement
community now spends $20,000 to $30,000 a year on the program, Mr.
Pratt says, including Tangerine's fees and cash rewards for workers.
Employees earn $3 for every 1% of body weight they lose. In addition,
at the end of a quarter, each member of the winning team receives as
much as $50, and second-place-team members a little less.
Health-insurance claims at the company, meanwhile, for the 12 months
ended in August 2007 — a period that includes the first six months of
the program — dropped 19% to less than $640,000. And for the 12 months
ended in March 2008, turnover plunged 30% — a benefit Mr. Pratt
attributes to a more collegial environment.
During her time at Glenbrook, Erin focused on client engagements in business payments, cross-border transactions, bill payment, and the intersection of corporate finance, banking, and ERP/accounting. She has nearly twenty years of experience leading increasingly complex payment initiatives for corporate clients and advising financial institutions and payment technologists on the development of their payment capabilities.
Erin is also the founder of Forte Financial, a consulting firm focused on corporate finance efficiency, technology, and process improvement. She is a past president of the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco and also a two-term past president of the San Francisco Treasury Management Association. Erin is no longer with Glenbrook, but contributed greatly during her time at the firm.