We all want to be healthier, but let’s face it: Making good health choices is difficult for many. But the performance boosts we get when we’re feeling good should be a strong incentive to start making those lifestyle changes. For example, Gallup reports that lower well-being is linked to an estimated 19.1 million new chronic conditions across the U.S. full-time working population.
One employer who cares about both their employees’ and customers’ health might surprise you: It’s life insurance giant John Hancock. “Our whole mission and purpose has become helping people live longer, healthier, better lives,” says Brooks Tingle, CEO of John Hancock.
John Hancock’s tactics to help people live longer and better are backed by behavioral science, and you can use them, too, to boost longevity. Longevity is something John Hancock knows well. “We had a claim not too long ago where the client had been a client for 99 years. His parents bought him a policy on his first birthday, and he died shortly after his 100th birthday. Who else has relationships with customers that last 100 years?” says Brooks.
Three tricks John Hancock — and behavioral scientists — use to boost health
1: Remove barriers
Before we can start any new habit, we must first identify what’s getting in the way of us being consistant. Is it time? Is it money? Is it motivation? Is it the environment? Is it avoiding getting tests done because you fear the results? Getting clear on what’s holding you back and removing that from the equation will better set you up for success.
One example of a barrier to better health that’s quite prevalent in the U.S. is access to high-quality and nutritious food. According to Bayer, there are over 6,500 food deserts in the U.S. “One of the barriers to people eating healthy food is the cost. Oftentimes, the healthiest foods are the most expensive and the least healthy, the cheapest. We offer our customers a 25% discount on fresh fruit and vegetables in over 17,000 grocery stores nationwide. And it’s amazing to see the change in people’s behavior, even just from that discount, and how it makes a difference,” says Brooks.
Therefore, if you’re looking to make a change, you first need to have an honest conversation with yourself about what’s holding you back.
2: Make the right choice easy to do
“One of our mottos is making the right choice the easy choice,” says Brooks. The science agrees: One of the easiest ways to do this is to remove temptation before it has a chance to lure you into the proverbial behavioral dark side. This is known as a “Ulysses contract,” and it’s based on the story in Homer’s Odyssey where Ulysses didn’t trust himself not to fall to the lure of the sirens’ song, so he tied himself to the mast so he wouldn’t be tempted to dive overboard.
A practical example would be if you don’t want to succumb to late-night snacking, don’t keep snacks in the house. That way, you only have to have willpower when you’re grocery shopping — and not at the end of the day when you’re tired.
3: Reward yourself
While some would argue good health practices reap their own reward in the form of more energy and improved health markers, many of us want a more immediate reward. One example of a smart reward system is John Hancock’s Vitality Program, where one of the rewards is the opportunity to earn a free Apple Watch.
“Policyholders can claim a free Apple Watch, and if they hit their activity goals for the month, they pay nothing. If they don’t hit their goals, they pay 1/24 of the retail cost of the watch back over the next 24 months,” says Brooks.
This tactic is especially effective because it incorporates loss aversion, which is where we try to avoid the pain of losing something important to us. One way to evoke this emotion is to give a reward or bonus in advance, but then take it back if the bonus criteria isn’t met down the line. “I’ll never forget this own woman who was quite affluent,” recounts Brooks. “She said that she didn’t think twice about spending $30 on a glass of wine at her favorite restaurant, but she’d never make that payment on her Apple Watch. So, she does what it takes to meet her health goals.”
John Hancock has some interesting data on which rewards people prioritize based on age. They shared that customers under 40 prefer the free Apple Watch, those ages 41 – 60 prefer travel perks, and those aged 61 and above prefer an Amazon Prime membership.
Another reward tactic to try is temptation bundling, where you pair up something fun with something not-so-fun to do so that you get a reward — but only as long as you’re also doing an activity that makes progress toward your goals. For example, in one study, researchers would only let participants listen to an in-demand audiobook when they were at the gym. That group visited the gym 51% more often than the control group who didn’t have that enticing audiobook to listen to.
Work smarter, not harder
Spring is the perfect time to re-commit to your health goals. By making a plan of action that includes being realistic about what’s holding you back, removing barriers, making good choices as easy as possible to do, and rewarding yourself along the way, you’ll be much better set up for success.
