Employee wellness programs are popular among businesses seeking to increase productivity and cut health care costs. However, many firms have struggled to reap those benefits due to low employee motivation. New research from Brigham Young University finds the problem may lie in how the employees are choosing to reward themselves.
Previous research shows that when choosing between different incentive options, employees prefer cash rewards. According to Bill Heninger, Steve Smith and David Wood's study published online in Management Accounting Research, cash might not be the most effective incentive. Its replacement? Gift cards.
On the other hand, a small cash bonus does not hold as much hedonic value as a tangible item. This puts the gift card in a "sweet spot" between the other two rewards.
The research does not yet suggest that organizations should exclude other incentives and only offer gift cards. "At the very least, we can say that gift cards seem to help," said Smith.