Jan 2, 2008 11:14 am US/Eastern
Companies Rewarding Workers' Healthy Habits
Workers Get Cash For Eating Better, Having Kids Eat Healthy
By Alexis Christoforous, CBS 2 HD News
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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New figures suggest that a large proportion of the population is clinically obese. (Photo Illustration by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
How's this for incentive to stick to your new year's resolutions: cold hard cash. Many companies are offering a little extra in your paycheck to help you shed the pounds.
Not only does Stefanie Chiras' company pay her to develop computer memory sub-systems, but a little extra to eat right.
"Having work sponsor it makes you kind of feel like someone is buying into It," said Chiras. "And then certainly the cash at the end of the day is an incentive."
Chiras works for IBM. She gets an additional $150 in her paycheck for tracking her eating habits online and losing weight.
"When I reach for that next unhealthy thing, I think, oh, but I have to log it in to the tool."
IBM launched its voluntary wellness incentive program four years ago – handing each employee up to $300 a year for completing healthy eating, exercise and preventative care programs.
Health care bills for corporate America are skyrocketing. Each year, IBM spends about $2 billion globally, and obese workers are driving up the cost.
Researchers say offering cash incentives to employees is actually a low-cost way to motivate them to cut out the fat and get on the treadmill.
Eric Finkelstein, author 'The Fattening of America', said, "It is essentially costless for the firm. If nobody loses any weight then they don't spend any money."
So many IBM employees have lost weight, stopped smoking or otherwise improved their health that the company has paid out $130 million, but it's saving about three times as much.
This year, IBM also plans to give workers money if their children develop healthier eating habits.
Dr. Paul Grundy, director of Strategic Initiatives at IBM, told CBS: "Frankly speaking, we don't know why everybody wouldn't do this because it really does make a great deal of sense."
Chiras credits the company policy with getting her back into shape after having a baby a year and a half ago. She says she'll spend some of her extra cash to take her daughter on her first trip to the zoo.
As part of it's wellness program, most IBM medical options cover routine preventive services at 100 percent if it's done "in-network."
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