Offering gym memberships to employees

Companies are looking for ways to help their employees get in shape. Several companies have begun offering gym memberships to their employees as an extra incentive to lose weight. Companies also offer incentives to their employees as motivation to lose weight. Obese employees are raising the healthcare costs as much as smoking employees so it is important to companies to do something about it.

Several companies have adopted a zero-tolerance policy and they are actually charging their employees that are overweight. If that isn't motivation to lose weight, employers may have to start taking drastic action like firing employees. Since so may overweight employees feel the sting of discrimination in the workplace, it is time for them to start taking action to improve their health.

Studies have found that employees that take care of themselves live longer and don't become sick as easily as other people. Healthy employees also present a positive image to the people they work with. Employers don't like to send people that are obese to meetings with investors because there is often the miss-conception that they are lazy because they do not take care of themselves. What many people fail to recognize is that obesity can be passed on through genetics. Some people do have health conditions that make it harder to control their weight, but it can be done. The best thing an employer can do is start offering gym memberships to their employees and require them to use the gym passes at least 2-3 times a week.

If a person can walk each day for at least 30 minutes, they will add an extra 2 hours to their life expectancy. Employers can help their employees use the gym memberships by having them sign a contract. When they sign the contract, they are agreeing to use the membership 2-3 times a week. If they fail to do so, they will be forced to pay the monthly membership fees for the gym. Most gyms require that you sign a one year contract in order to use their facilities so you need to hold your employees accountable for their contracts if they do not use them on their own.

One way to motivate them to use their gym contract is to extend their lunch hour by 15 minutes. If they know they have extra time to exercise, they may run over to the gym and walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Some people will even get a complete upper body or lower body workout in during their lunch hour. You can help to inspire them by going to the gym on your own. Go during lunch or before or after work. When you actually use the gym, the employees may follow your example and take advantage of the gym.

Offer a fitness challenge to your employees. You need to offer a big reward to the employee that loses the most weight or the employee that improves their overall health. Some companies offer large cash incentives like $1,000 others offer smaller incentives like a half-day off work. The fitness challenge with a good reward will inspire many people to participate and to lose the weight. If your company is willing to pay for your weight loss, why not take advantage of it? Gym memberships can cost anywhere from $20 - $60 a month. If your employer is willing to cover this cost, you should participate. Several gyms offer classes like strength training, weight loss, yoga, spinning, and Pilates. All of these classes are designed to improve your physical and mental health.

From a cost/benefit standpoint, investing in gym memberships for your employees is a smart decision. When employees improve their physical bodies, they increase their productivity at the office, morale is higher, and illness is not as prevalent.