Gold’s Gym and other franchises are privately owned. This means you probably have opportunities in your town to negotiate with such gyms to get free passes for your EAP clients. You'll boost worksite wellness, too. This is a very cool draw to improve your EAP utilization, and it works. I've done it.
The Gold’s Gym in our area (Arlington Virginia) agreed to give us one month passes for clients who we felt needed to take better advantage of opportunities to improve their health. Good preventative health means pursuing an exercise program, and what better way to get started than with a one-month free pass to a local gym. Word of mouth that the EAP offers clients free passes to a local gym can increase your EAP utilization. It doesn't take much. Just make this a quiet way in which your EAP helps employees. Don't promote it. Simply let it happen and watch the vote of confidence your EAP will soon get.
Imagine being able to hand a free monthly pass to an employee suffering with depression. You know reactive depression and milder depressive disorders benefit from exercise, so visit the local gym. Meet with the decision maker and claim the high ground on this improving the EAP utilization strategy.
