Businesses are taking the wellness of their employees to heart. Some are even putting their money where their mouth is.
Recently, insurance giant Aetna – which has a large office in downtown Cincinnati – announced that it was stepping up its workplace wellness efforts, including a program that incentivizes employees to get enough sleep. By using technology, specifically Fitbit wellness trackers, employees can prove they’re getting at least seven hours of sleep a night.
The program is based on recent research that found that seven hours is the recommended amount of daily sleep, since cognitive function decreases greatly if the threshold isn’t met.
Employees who participate in the company’s Healthy Lifestyles program earn $25 for every 20 nights in which they sleep seven hours or more, with a cap of $300 per year. Workers that max out their sleep earnings can earn up to an additional $200 a year by logging other healthy activities, though.
Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini touted the program to CNBC, adding the company benefits as well as his people.
“It’s going to show up in our bottom line and [Wall Street’s] confidence that we can do it quarter, after quarter, after quarter; year after year,” he said.
While Aetna’s program is unique, its effort to keep its workforce healthy isn’t, especially in Cincinnati.
Several local firms show up year-in and year-out on lists touting wellness leaders across the country including an annual honor roll produced by the website Interactive Health.
As the site just published it’s 2016 list of honorees, several local companies are making yet another appearance on the list by taking employee wellness to heart with incentives, free or discounted gym memberships, top-tier insurance coverage and other benefits.
Among the repeat honorees are Standard Textile – the specialty fabric firm with locations in Kenwood and Hebron that has comprehensive annual health evaluation screenings for both associates and spouses and wellness incentives of up to $3,600 annually. To help workers, the company has an on-site fitness center, personalized health and wellness coaching, nutrition consultants, and group fitness classes.
Others, like Monfort Heights-based Johnson Investment Counsel and Fort Thomas’ Kohrs Lonnemann Heil (KLH) Engineers, received nods for their in-house health efforts, including programs to help employees live healthier, more active lives. Totes-Isotoner, the multi-national firm with a location in Springdale earned note for incentive programs for employees keeping active and reducing healthcare costs, while Vega Americas, Inc., with a location in Madisonville, made another appearance on Interactive Health’s list – the firm has become a staple of the annual honor roll.
Cintas is another repeat honoree.
“Achieving recognition as one of the Healthiest Companies in America shows our commitment to our employee-partners as they work to improve their health each year,” said Jennifer Mueller, the company’s vice president of human resources.
“These winners are a perfect example of how health outcomes can be improved throughout America,” said Cathy Kenworthy, president and CEO of Interactive Health.
For a complete list of this year’s Interactive Health honorees, visit www.interactivehealthinc.com.
