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Patrick A. McCoy
Critical Thinking
Ken Heiges
5/19/2014
Company Perks: Gyms and Day Care Help
Find a job with good benefits are not as readily available as they were even ten years
ago. Benefits that were standard like health insurance, 401K and Life Insurance in the days of a
booming economy. Today, people are considered lucky if they can get full time and a PPO.
However, if one was savvy enough to earn a lucrative degree and land a job that not only has
the basics of medical and retirement plans, some perks like an on-site gym and child day-care
look like a dream. Some companies see the value in these types of benefits, and they are
indeed helpful for the employee and employer alike.
Since the days of Jack Lalanne, people have known the benefits of exercise. Gyms are
convenient because they have a wide diversity of options for the optimum health. Cardio
equipment like stationary bikes, elliptical machines, treadmills, rowing machines, and seated
rope climbers. There are more options for strength training; free weights, cable machines and
the intimidating squat rack. Then comes the versatility of the pool, and the therapeutic therapy
of the sauna and steam room. Gyms usually also have a staff of fitness professionals who teach
classes as well as provide one on one personal training. All the latest health related activities
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are led by a licensed instructors, such as Pilates, yoga, spinning (guided bicycling cardio) and
even kickboxing.
Several entities within the US Government have long advocated the benefits of exercise.
One such bureau gives the following benefits of exercise:
Control your weight
Reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease
Reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
Reduce your risk of some cancers
Strengthen your bones and muscles
Improve your mental health and mood
Improve your ability to do daily activities and prevent falls, if you're an older
adult
Increase your chances of living longer (cdc.gov)
Bottom line, exercise makes you healthier, happier, and living longer. The quality of life is
drastically improved with regular exercise.
The benefits of an employer funded gym perk are beneficial to both the employer and
the employee alike. For the employee, the money saved for gym membership are upwards
$500 a year (24hourfitness.com). Additionally, having a gym at the workplace means not taking
the extra time to drive to another location to work out, and the associated fuel costs. For the
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employer, a cost to benefit analysis reveals that employers can profit $1.15 to $5.52 per dollar
spent (McCormack and Yorkey). Employees are also heathier, happier and less likely to call in
sick or use their medical benefits as much.
Opponents to corporate sponsored on-site gyms will argue that because it isnt worth
the effort. A 2010 study indicates that only 28% of employees will participate in an on-site gym
(National Business Group on Health 17). This is still far from being a reason to completely
disregard a program. 28% is still 28%, which means over a quarter of your employees are
improving their health and wellbeing, a substantial number to be sure.
Another fact opponents to corporate gym wellness programs is the fact the IRS may tax
your benefits as income. If your gym membership offered by your company is considered a
fringe benefit, the IRS could tax you on the fair market value (FMV) at your standard income tax
rate. However, the IRS will only tax your gym membership if the gym is on a separate premises
as your workplace. They allow an exemption if the gym is an on-site facility at the workplace,
and it is largely used by employees and/or family members (Lafving).
On-site child care is another great benefit businesses can offer. With todays economy
both parents need to be having an income, not to mention single parents, and child-care is
increasingly problematic. Parents are spending thousands of dollars a year on child care, and a
majority of them are citing issues with the availability of child care as causing lost time at work.
With corporate sponsored on-site child care, the program can be very beneficial to both the
employee and the employer
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A main concern is the cost of child care, which averages $11,666 a year, and can be as
much as $18,000 in some states. Baby and toddler care are most expensive, averaging over
$10,000 a year in some coastal states like New York, Washington and California, and even in
mid-western states like Minnesota, Colorado and Illinois. Coming up close behind is preschooler
child care, topping $8,000 in the aforementioned states, and including states like Rhode Island
and Pennsylvania (Child Care Aware of America).
Another concern with child care is lost time at work due to complications with child
care. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, provides us with statistical data regarding child
care, although a variety of reasons were given as to why employees bring their children to
work, such as convenience of practice and sick child needs, most respondents 64% indicated
the lack of available child care as the primary reason (Secret, 338). The Canadian Imperial Bank
of Commerce opened their own corporate sponsored child care, with optimistic results. Over
68% of parents indicated they would definitely have missed work if they had not been able to
use the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Childrens Center, netting productivity
savings of nearly $400,000. Furthermore, in its first year, use of the CIBC Childrens Center by
the 800 employees enrolled in the program resulted in 2,528 work days savedthe equivalent
of 10 work years (Bright Horizons 1-2).
Opponents will say that business has no place in child care that will cause an undue
burden on businesses. This has been easily explained as untrue in the previous statistic from
Bright Horizons, as the CIBC Childrens Center model can easily be applied to American
businesses, given them hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, as well as years of work
days of productivity onsite child care in the work place will provide. Opponents will also say
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costs of operating a child care facility, providing insurance, and a properly licensed staff is
prohibitively expensive. Fortunately the IRS will allow Employers to deduct up to 25% of their
onsite childcare, and there is currently support in congress to raise this to 35% (Ines).
In the corporate world, jobs with good pay and benefits are becoming increasingly
competitive. Although the economy is slowly recovering, business should be creating new ways
to attract and retain quality employees. Benefits like wellness programs with onsite gyms and
childcare for employees will go a long way to improve quality of life, job security, and increased
productivity.

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Sources Cited
"24 Hour Fitness Membership Sales." 24 Hour Fitness. Web. 19 May 2014.
Innes, Stephanie. "A Solution: Workplace Child Care Eases the Strain." Arizona Daily Star. 10
Aug. 2013. Web. 19 May 2014.
Bright Horizons, Inc. The real savings from employer sponsored child care: Investment impact
study results. Bright Horizons. 2005.
Childcare Aware of America. "Cost of Care." Our Nations Leading Voice For Child Care |. Web.
19 May 2014.
Lafving, Brandon. "Why Your Employer's Gym Membership Perk May Cost You at Tax Time." US
Tax Center. Web. 19 May 2014.
McCormak, Betsy N., and Mike Yorkey. "Fit Over 40 For Dummies." Google Books. Web. 19 May
2014.
The National Business Group on Health. "Results of the Workplace Wellness Evaluation."
Healthy Weight Commit.org. Oct. 2010. Web.
"Physical Activity and Health." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 16 Feb. 2011. Web. 19 May 2014.
Secret, M. Parenting in the workplace: Child care options for consideration. Journal of
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Applied Behavioral Science, 41, 326-347. Web