Because life can get in the way, sometimes a little encouragement just isn’t enough.
This is where Bryant University’s “Good Cent$” wellness program comes in.
Its 575 on-site faculty and employees are incentivized to earn reductions of up to $300 on their annual health care premiums by taking charge of their own well-being. They can earn points for performing various healthy activities, such as daily exercise and annual physicals, according to human resources generalist Melanie Cluley.
The Smithfield-based college established the program in 2009 as a means to “enhance the person as a whole; physically, emotionally, socially, intellectually and spiritually,” according to its mission statement.
As part of this, the university offers not only programs dedicated to general health, fitness and smoking cessation, but hosts a monthly “Wellness Wednesday” comprised of several workshops and seminars focused on a different theme: financial health, family health, low-vision awareness, the importance of humor, stress management and food preparation.
Meanwhile, the school introduced yet another incentive in 2013: Weight Watchers at Work. Introductory sessions were offered throughout the year, and employees who committed to at least nine sessions of the program’s full 12 weeks were fully reimbursed.
And the campus itself can serve as an inspiration – faculty and employees are encouraged to make use of its athletic facilities free of charge, Cluley said: those include group exercise classes, a gym, pool, outdoor track, cross country trails and basketball, volleyball, squash and racquetball courts.
