A discount program offering employees an Apple Watch at the discount price of $25 would be dependent upon allowing the boss to track their activity to insure that they meet certain fitness goals. The program is an attempt to improve the general health of employees, and has already been adopted by a number of companies such as Amgen, Lockton, United Healthcare and DaVita HealthCare Partners.
The idea is that employees who wish to purchase the watch at the discounted price will need to follow a 2-year health and fitness program and achieve monthly goals. Their progress will be monitored by supervisors, and if the employee misses goals they have to pay the company back for the watch.
Apple representatives say the goals are all reasonable, but are challenging enough to prompt people to change their exercise habits. The programs are usually voluntary, but participants must be willing to share their activity data to qualify for rewards. Program officials say the data typically goes to outside administrators and not directly to the boss.
Vitality is initially bringing the discount/fitness/reward program to U.S. employees and has also been testing it since December in South Africa. The disease-prevention and lifestyle program provider offers more immediate payoffs for healthy lifestyle changes than the health benefits that may not be apparent for years.
Vitality requires that participants earn additional points by getting flu shots and completing questionnaires, or staying within healthy limits for such measures as cholesterol and blood pressure. Smokers can get points for joining stop-smoking programs.
DaVita HealthCare Partners found that health care spending by their employees was significantly reduced after it offered the tracker-based incentives. Some insurance companies, such as John Hancock, are offering the program to their consumers in exchange for discounts on premiums.
The programs is definitely Apple friendly. Vitality does not offer, nor plan to offer, anything similar for Androids, so an iPhone is required.