The Effect of Workplace Incentives with Regards to the Well-Being of the Employees

Abstract

Nowadays, health is not only valued for the individual, but many jobs have recognized that a healthy workforce contributes to a company’s productivity and reduces health care costs, meaning that the value of human resources is an important pillar of the competitiveness of businesses and organizations (Nyitrainé Garaj, 2015; Péter, 2018; Bácsné et al., 2017). The main focus of our research was to examine the effect of incentives used in workplace health promotion on the well-being of the employees and on promoting healthy lifestyle. The data for our primary research was collected via questionnaire. The survey has been designed to provide information about the lifestyle of the average Hungarian employees, the fringe benefits as the incentives of physical activity and their utilization. Beyond this we were interested in finding out if there should be an initiation on the employers’ side regarding physical activity would there be an inclination within the employees for its usage. The result of the survey (N=133) shows that since white collar workers spend the majority of their days with little to no physical activity while working, sough out more sporting activities outside work. The data also suggest a health conscious behaviour among the respondents with high scoring driving factors for physical activity such as the importance of health, stress relief etc. Furthermore, results showed that after receiving these incentives employees engaged more frequently in sporting activities and that there is a willingness for use among those not receiving it.