Employers have a stake in their staff’s health. It’s not just a matter of keeping health insurance premiums in check which is a consideration in countries without universal healthcare. It’s also about maximizing employee engagement and productivity, and even happiness.

Promoting health habits is no easy task, and most corporate wellness programs focus on the potential long-term benefits. But to reap such benefits, firms would do well to use a short-term lens. What can they do to make it easier for employees to repeat a desired behavior today, tomorrow, and the day after?

There’s an analogy to be made with new year’s resolutions, which we all love to make but promptly drop. Our resolutions tend to concern things that are “good for us” in the long-term, such as exercising to “improve our health” or saving money to “grow our retirement fund.” We rarely choose resolutions that we can sustain; instead, we focus on the most challenging ones. We also fail to consider how our beloved habits may hamper our willingness to follow through with our new goals.

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