More faculty and staff are finding themselves pacing this year — and talking about it.
Footsteps have become a new topic of conversation since the UM System Wellness Program began offering full rebates on a Fitbit device if employees reach one million steps.
“I’ll go to meetings and I’ll hear somebody say, ‘How many steps have you gotten today?’ or ‘Where are you on your goal to getting 10,000 steps?’” Residential Life Director Frankie Minor said. “I think one of the goals of the program is to promote greater health awareness.”
The program, Million Steps, began this year under the Healthy For Life incentives program. Full or part-time employees on the MU health insurance plan can receive a full rebate on a Fitbit purchased from the Mizzou Store once the person reaches one million steps. Employees are also eligible for other prizes at each million-step mile marker at the program’s discretion.
The Healthy For Life program consists of a two-tier program and employees must complete activities in each tier in order to be eligible for the full $450 incentive. One of the new activities the program has added to the second tier is the Million Step program.
The Department of Residential Life was one of the first MU departments to start providing Fitbits for employees in order to kickstart their participation in the Healthy For Life incentives program.
“One of the things we discovered is that the initial cost of the Fitbit, even though you can get reimbursed for it with the benchmarks, was a deterrent for some of our staff participating,” Minor said.
ResLife is purchasing the Fitbits up front, but when the employees reach a million steps the department will then receive the rebate and the employee gets to keep the Fitbit, ResLife Training Coordinator Jennifer McGarr said. The Mizzou Store sells several Fitbit devices at prices less than retail. The Fitbit Flex is priced at $80 and the Fitbit Zip goes for $45.
“As the training coordinator I’ve been going out and making sure they, the employees of residential life, understand how to setup the device … so that they may actively participate in the wellness incentive program,” McGarr said. “I think It’s a tremendously generous program for the office of UM Benefits to be offering to employees.”
According to UM System 2015 Wellness Incentive website, employees can earn points with this program for economic incentives.
“This year My Total Rewards/UM Benefits has decided to spice things up and create a $450 wellness incentive. There are a number of activities that employees can do to earn points toward this wellness incentive,” McGarr said.
There are about 50 employees in ResLife participating in this offer by the department, Minor said.
The social networking aspect of Fitbit can be a motivator for some to get involved with the program.
“Something that’s been motivating to me is using the Fitbit app on my phone because now you can do challenges with each other … if you’re Fitbit friends with people,” Dobbs Area Coordinator for ResLife Heidi Shearer said.
The use of Fitbit has made it a popular option among employees because of its effortless assimilation to daily life, she said.
“I think it is clearly a motivator for some, and it’s something that everybody is already doing. People are already taking steps and walking, so it isn’t something that additional,” Shearer said.