School employees earn ‘wellness’ dollars without breaking a sweat

Employees of the Des Moines Public Schools can forget about “no pain, no gain” when it comes to working out.

Next school year, both the fit and flabby will be eligible to receive a Fitbit, one of the trendiest pieces of workout gear, and the only place the pain might be felt is in the public’s wallet.

DMPS plans to spend $375,000 to provide free Fitbits for employees participating in its Healthy U Wellness Program.

A Fitbit is a wristband that tracks the user’s movements. It’s basically a high-tech pedometer that can also be worn overnight to track the user’s sleep patterns. The information collected is downloaded to the user’s computer to create a record of activity and calories burnt each day.

“Getting the Fitbit is one way that we can incentivize our employees to think about being more active to maybe use it as a motivational tool,” DMPS Wellness Coordinator Tammy Steinwandt told WHO-TV.

Getting paid $200 for participating in the wellness program may be an even greater motivation, especially since participants in the program won’t have to break a sweat to earn that money.

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