A recent story in USA TODAY (9/11/07) said that a study showed that financial incentives can make a difference in employee behavior.

A joint effort by RTI International and the University of North Carolina did a study with more than 200 overweight or obese employees.

According to the article, one third were given no financial incentive for any weight loss achieved after three months. One-third were given $7 for every 1% drop in their body weight, and the remaining third were given $14 for every 1% decrease.

The results are intriguing. Those with no financial incentive lost an average of 2 pounds. Those with the $7 offer lost 3 pounds, on average. And those in the group with the $14 incentive lost 5 pounds!

Just as importantly, employees in the latter group ($14) were reported as five times more likely to lose 5% or more of their weight.

Since it was only a three-month study, the researchers can not say whether any weight loss will be sustained. Still, the initial results seem to suggest the utility of offering a financial incentive to employees to modify their behavior.

Will it pay off for the employer? Potentially, through reduced medical bills, reduced workers comp costs, reduced disability costs, and improved employee presence and productivity. This was not tracked in the study.

And keep in mind that right now the higher costs associated with the health problems and healthcare costs associated with those employees who are overweight are actually being borne by all employees. This is because the cost gets shifted into the premiums for all employees and because other employees often have to pick up the slack for a worker who is home sick or off at a doctor’s visit.

So what do you think: Should employers take the point on this issue and pay employees be (or become) healthier?