When Your Boss Says Jump
You may see a payoff in working out at work
By Christine Larson
6/26/06
Mike Bowling, a network administrator at Discovery Communications, spends a typical day at his Silver
Spring, Md., office troubleshooting E-mail systems, restoring data, maintaining network security--and
crunching out dozens of push-ups and sit-ups. He and his fellow competitors in the company's fourth annual
Body Challenge meet after hours for "Boot Camp" class with "the Sarge," who pummels them into shape
during an hour of calisthenics, weight training, and running. "I could only do about 10 sit-ups and 20 pushups last month, but now we're doing 70 to 100 push-ups in every class and about 150 sit-ups," says
Bowling, 35, who is also running wind sprints for the first time since high school. He's down 13 pounds since
January.
As the cost of employee healthcare grows by 10 percent or more each year, corporate America is instituting
preventive measures: everything from Pilates class to belly dancing to lavishly equipped gyms. "We are
trying to do whatever we can to encourage employees to stay healthy," says Evelyne Steward, vice
president of Discovery's LifeWorks department, whose wellness program consists of health and nutrition
classes, weight-loss groups, and an on-site clinic as well as the eight-week-long Body Challenge. Other
fitness offerings include a 20-minute, low-sweat "executive workout" and yoga classes. Last year, 66 percent
of companies surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management offered wellness programs, up
from 53 percent in 2001. The number offering weight-loss programs like Weight Watchers grew from 17
percent to 29 percent; while companies aren't rushing en masse to outfit their own gyms, more than a third
now subsidize the cost of fitness club memberships.
Bottom line. Investing in fitness can provide an immediate return. In the first two years of the Body
Challenge, the 800 or so (of 6,000) Discovery employees participating lost a collective 4,600 pounds; these
and less dramatic results from across the wellness program "have had a positive impact on our health
insurance costs," says Steward. Clif Bar, the energy-bar maker in Berkeley, Calif., spends about $1,000 per
employee each year providing about 150 staffers with a free gym, three personal trainers, 24 classes a
week, and a paid 30-minute workout break every day. "I consider it money very well spent," says David
Jericoff, executive vice president of people, noting that yearly savings in insurance premiums are in the
"double-digit percents."
"The investment is very small, and the returns are large," agrees Andrew Scibelli, head of health
management programs at Florida Power & Light Co. in Juno Beach, Fla., whose fitness programs cost the
company less than $100 per employee. FPL tracked results for five years after the 1991 launch and saw a
drop-off in insurance claims for cardiovascular disease, cerebral vascular disease, and some cancers. More
recently, the weight management program has proved itself as a way to help workers control their diabetes.
A 2005 survey by consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide of more than 500 companies found that those
most serious about prodding workers to get healthy saw healthcare costs rise just 5 percent over two years;
at the other end of the spectrum, increases ran as high as 11.5 percent.
A focus on fitness brings other payoffs, too, executives say--in recruitment and retention, employee morale,
and productivity. At Discovery, for example, 92 percent of managers surveyed about the Body Challenge
reported an increase in their work group's effectiveness, morale, and motivation. "Healthier employees are
more productive and more satisfied," says Greg Heaslip, vice president of benefits at PepsiCo, whose
fitness options at its headquarters in Purchase, N.Y., sound suited to a Club Med brochure: sand volleyball,
tennis and basketball courts, a pool, and a 24-7 gym offering yoga, Pilates, tai chi, belly dancing, and more.
Of course, even the glitziest facilities often appeal most to those who need them least. "A CFO at one
company once said to me, 'I wonder if these fitness centers really work. It's only the healthy people that are
in there,'" says Scibelli. "My response is, those are the people you want to attract. It's easier to keep people
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healthy than return them back to health." And the hope is that with the right kind of nudge, desk potatoes will
follow. "We have a saying around here," says Heaslip. "Good health is its own reward--but incentives help."
Bribed. Indeed, the use of gift certificates, charitable donations, prizes, and other financial incentives has
increased dramatically in the past few years as employers have realized the power of whipping employees
into shape. "Paying to encourage lifestyle change is revolutionary," says Helen Darling, president of the
National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit association of corporations dedicated to improving
healthcare cost and quality. "Five years ago, people didn't do that." Today, some 36 percent of firms with
more than 1,000 employees do.
At PepsiCo, for example, employees can earn $100 for spending 24 weeks wearing a pedometer, clocking
an extra 2,000 steps a day, and cutting out 100 daily calories. For every 25 visits they log at the fitness
center, workers earn discounts on dry cleaning and items from the company store, or free meals in the
corporate cafeteria. ("No bacon and eggs," says Frank LoCastro, Pepsi's manager of corporate health and
fitness.)
"Whenever I notice membership dropping, I offer a competition," says Jennifer Wilcox, fitness program
manager at the Wilmington, Del., U.S. headquarters of pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Putting star
stickers on a chart for people who show up at exercise class has boosted average attendance from eight to
11 people. Overall, about 9 percent of the 5,000 employees at headquarters use the gym three times a week
or more.
Some companies dangle a discount on the cost of health insurance. Acroprint Time Recorder Co., a maker
of time clocks and attendance software in Raleigh, N.C., awards employees who complete the company's
"Three Million Step Challenge" a 15 percent break on their premiums. Competitors wear a pedometer and
aim for at least 10,000 steps a day (Healy column, Page 70). Those who reach the 3 million mark in a year
get the discount; at 4 million, they get an extra paid day off, too. At Florida Power & Light, premiums saved
can add up to about $260 a year if both employee and spouse participate.
For Diane Aull, 46, the webmaster at Acroprint, the savings have amounted to about $40 a month--well
worth the ribbing she has received along the way. "My family thinks I've lost my mind," she says. She keeps
her pedometer on her bedside table so that she never misses a step. She has programmed a reminder on
her computer, which every two hours flashes, "Get up and walk!" And at night, while her husband and son
watch TV, she stands by the sofa and walks in place. "I lost 8 pounds without changing my diet," she says.
Even her 5-year-old son, Daniel, has noticed. "Mom's pretty thin now," he responded recently when staffers
at his day-care center interviewed the kids about their mothers.
How to make sure the in-house challenges don't get old? Some companies are upping the ante. This year,
Discovery's Body Challengers are taking on AOL. Participants at both companies are recording their
workouts at a website, accumulating points; the winning team will take a trophy home from the joint
company picnic later this summer. Compared with last year, more competitors have been joining up.
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