Awesome perks such as gym memberships, free lunches and onsite chair massage have become increasingly popular ways to reward employees. But the COVID pandemic has caused most companies to make the move to developing remote teams. That said, providing perks for remote employees to manage stress can help a dispersed team feel connected. This can make a huge impact on employee's happiness at work. In fact, studies have shown that feeling appreciated increases office morale and employee retention. Read on for our suggestions to celebrate your remote team!
Creative Perks for Remote Employees
Host a remote team lunch
Many in-person offices provide lunch as a delicious perk for their employees. Create the same experience for your remote team! Send your employees a remote team lunch stipend, perhaps on Grubhub, UberEats or a similar food delivery service. To make the experience a team bonding exercise, ask everyone to order their remote team lunch meal on the same day and time. Then, host a video call where everyone can connect and chat while they take their lunch break. If your team is large and a full office meeting might get chaotic, try pairing two departments to meet and chat.
Mail your team a fun surprise
Celebrate your awesome virtual team with a sweet surprise delivered via snail mail! Everyone loves to receive mail, and it can be a fun way to feel connected with colleagues. You might mail birthday hats and balloons to team members celebrating a birthday (or send them to the whole team and require they wear their flare at the next video meeting!). Easter is coming up soon--celebrate by sending a few treats inside plastic eggs! Or keep it simple, with handwritten notes from managers to their teams, recognizing how hard everyone has been working and showing their appreciation! Sometimes acknowledgement is the best perk of all.
Workspace improvement benefits
A home office makes a big difference in the life of a remote worker. An ergonomic office means less discomfort and reduced injuries, plus having a space set aside for work helps your employees focus on their work. Giving each employee a stipend to purchase items, such as a sit stand desk topper, noise cancelling headphones, an essential oil diffuser, or a new chair, to make their home office more comfortable and productive can be great perks to manage remote employee stress.
Offer schedule flexibility
Working from home means that it’s easier than ever to allow your team some additional flexibility in their hours. This is an especially beneficial perk for remote employees that may be balancing childcare and work. Flexible scheduling has been proven to improve productivity, so don’t be afraid of allowing a little more room for change in your employee's schedules!
Wellness benefits including 24/7 mental health counseling
We have this one covered! We provide the easiest way to bring health and wellness directly to your staff, with personalized virtual yoga, and guided meditation classes they can take anywhere. Offering benefits that create a healthier workforce is good for your employees, as well as your bottom line. Wellness services such as virtual nutrition coaching can help your staff eat healthier (even when their fridge is steps away from their desk!). Personalized online yoga sessions, small group or one-on-one fitness classes led by our personal trainers keep your team motivated and moving (even if all the gyms are closed!). And mental health counseling and life coaching courses can help your team stay on track with their personal and professional goals during this time.
Interested in offering these virtual perks for remote employee stress management? We would love to help support you in this time of transition.
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Disclaimer
By participating in/reading the service/website/blog/email series on this website, you acknowledge that this is a personal website/blog and is for informational purposes and should not be seen as mental health care advice. You should consult with a licensed professional before you rely on this website/blog’s information. All things written on this website should not be seen as therapy treatment and should not take the place of therapy or any other health care or mental health advice. Always seek the advice of a mental health care professional or physician. The content on this blog is not meant to and does not substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
