Benefits and Compensation

Employee Wellness Programs: Why Heart Rate Should Replace Step Count

By Liz Dickinson, founder and CEO of Mio Global

Every year, we see more and more fitness trackers finding a home on wrists. The general increase in fitness and healthy living—as our healthcare system is shifting—has positioned wearables as a valuable tool, especially for fitness tracking. According to a recent study from Forrester, one in six people now own a smartwatch or fitness tracker.

With the demand for fitness wearables soaring, many corporations have introduced them into employee wellness programs in hopes that their employees will live more active lifestyles—ultimately showing a return on investment and reducing the bottom line. These wellness programs involve incentives such as gift cards to encourage employees to reach a step count goal that is monitored by their wearable.

However, employees are getting pretty creative with ways to cheat the system. A pedometer, no matter how technologically advanced, can be cheated multiple ways. The problem we’re facing is that, by using goals like 10,000 steps, we are giving employees a “one-size-fits-all” approach to fitness monitoring.

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