Wellness Dollars Ideas for Employees and Employers

Employers are increasing turning to wellness programs to support core business objectives of engagement, culture, staff retention as well as boosting health and reducing rising health costs. At GoJoe, we've broken down the who, what and why of Wellness Dollars as well as the some useful ideas on how best to spend them on your team. ‍

What are Wellness Dollars?

Wellness dollars are funds or budgets allocated by insurance companies to their corporate clients. These funds are then made available to the corporate to spend on wellness programs within their employee base with the aim of improving the health, fitness and overall wellbeing of their teams. By improving the health and wellbeing of their employees, organisations can look to reduce the volume of health insurance claims and potentially reduce their premiums or stabilise rising health costs.

How to use Wellness Dollars?

Wellness dollars are available through corporate health insurance policies. If you’re interested in accessing the dollars, contact your health insurer to see if they offer these as part of your policy. Insurers such as Cigna and Aetna offer wellness dollars as part of their policies.

If your insurer does offer wellness dollars you can ask them about the types of programs available via the initiative. These may include options such as digital health platforms, step challenges, gym or class memberships, and nutrition support.

Once you’ve established whether you have access to wellness dollars and what programs are permitted for use via your policy, you can start planning how best to support your employees and their health and wellbeing. Funds are often then reimbursed by the insurer on completion of the program with proof of expenditure.  

If your insurer doesn’t offer wellness dollars, or they do and it isn’t part of your policy, then this is something you can look to integrate at your next renewal.

7 Ideas for using Wellness Dollars for employees and employee wellbeing:

1. Step Challenges and Team Challenges: Fully inclusive, corporate step challengessuch as GoJoe’s offering are a great way to get people active, have fun and connect as a group
2. Employee Wellness Apps: Total wellness platforms help you engage and reward employees year-round and are perfect way to offer health benefit equity across an organisation. GoJoe’s corporate wellness platform is proven to engage employees year-round and boost health and wellbeing for users of all levels
3. Gym and Fitness Classes: Discounts and one-off passes help reduce the barrier to entry for employees to get active and utilise local facilities and expertise
4. Mental Health Support: Covering counselling, mindfulness apps, or workshops help support mental health of teams
5. Health Incentives: Offering rewards or reimbursements for healthy behaviours like participating in health screenings, smoking cessation, or weight management programs
6. Nutrition and Healthy Eating: Cooking classes and healthy eating subscription services help employees learn how to boost their health via their food prep and intake
7. Wearables and Tech: Investing in a wearable such as Apple Watches, Garmin devices and Fitbits are a way of helping employees keep track of their exercise habits and create new ones to increase exercise levels and improve health. They can also track activity and their stats via apps such as GoJoe

Benefits for Employers for using Wellness Dollars with their Employees:

• Reduced Health Costs: By improving the health and wellbeing of their teams, employers can expect reductions in costs related to absenteeism, MSK, mental health and an overall fall in health insurance claims which will have a positive impact on their premiums
  • GoJoe’s corporate wellness app helped NatWest Group reduce their absenteeism costs by 10% in 18 months
• Increased Employee Engagement: Modern work practises mean teams these days are often remote or hybrid and incredibly busy. As a result, encouraging employees to engage in anything company-wide is harder than ever. Wellness programs are highly effective in bringing people together and engaging them in initiatives that give teams a morale boost
  • GoJoe averages 90% engagement on its leading corporate step challenges, guaranteeing value of investment and a big wellness boost
• Improved Employee Productivity and Retention: Healthier companies are proven to outperform and be more resilient than those who don’t invest in wellness. Healthier employees who feel looked after are more productive and more likely to remain in post
• Boost in Culture: By investing in the wellness of teams, employers demonstrate their commitment to them as people and see improved, healthier culture as a result
  • 67% of Hilti’s staff felt more positively about Hilti as an employer following the roll out of GoJoe

Benefits for Employees of Wellness Dollars

• Improved Access to Wellness Programs: Employees can benefit from subsidised gym memberships, fitness classes, and health and wellness apps like GoJoe, making it easier to prioritise their physical and mental well-being
• Incentives for Healthy Behaviours: Wellness dollars often fund employee rewards for healthy activities, such as completing fitness challenges or participating in health screenings, creating extra motivation to stay active
• Enhanced Work-Life Balance: Employers may use wellness dollars to offer stress management resources, mental health support, or meditation apps, helping employees maintain a healthier balance between work and personal life
• Reduced Out-of-Pocket Costs: By using wellness dollars to fund preventive health initiatives, employees can save on healthcare expenses in the long run by avoiding costly treatments for preventable conditions
• Increased Engagement and Morale: Wellness programs foster a sense of community, especially with team-based challenges or rewards, boosting employee engagement and overall job satisfaction

‍