Is Your Workplace Participating in National Work & Family Month?
One of the healthiest and best possible workplace incentives is the feeling of moving closer to work-family-life balance. This is a topic that we at GiftCard Partners (GCP) know a lot about, not just because we provide gift card incentives to companies across America; but GCP is an entirely remote workplace. This allows us to achieve the best possible work and family balance. Forrester Research’s U.S. Telecommuting Forecast notes that 43% of the American workforce could be remote by 20161. This may not be or become a reality for your company, but there are steps all companies can take to promote work-family-life balance.
Gamification Boosts Employee Engagement
We have talked quite a bit about gamification for all kinds of employee incentives in this space. But this is
big news. Adding gamification to an employee engagement strategy alone raises overall employee engagement by 29%. To quantify that in popular social media standards
, gamification raises social sharing on Facebook and Twitter by 22% and raises content exploration by 68% according to VentureBeat. So now that we know it works, and before everyone rushes to implement gamification and peer recognition programs
, it is important to understand
how gamification can raise the bar on your employee engagement initiatives. Gamification builds personal connections. In order for employees to compete against each other and recognize each other's accomplishments and good work
, they have to get to know each other. It is those relationships and increased peer interaction that keeps employees engaged at work. It also keeps them happy and loyal, so implementing gamification can be a great way to maintain a positive, productive and healthy work environment.
For more information on implementing gamification for increased employee engagement check out this article from Maritz Motivation Solutions.
Employee Recognition for National Work & Family Month
National Work & Family Month (NWFM) isn’t just a conceptual idea to prompt employers to take work life balance seriously. The U.S. Senate has declared this an annual event, stating that “reducing the conflict between work and family life should be a national priority."1 Utilize the month of October to celebrate your workers’ families, personal interests, and personal goals. You could hold month-long inter-office contests with prizes that reward for their enthusiasm and participation, offer spot-rewards for employee recognition, encourage folks to share their work-life and work-family balance ideas, and hold prize drawings. What are America’s most prized rewards? Gift cards. They make the perfect reward for workplace events and celebrations. Albertsons gift cards for high quality foods and treats for loved ones, Speedway gas and Autozone gift cards to show appreciation for the long commutes that take away from family time, The Children’s Place for outfitting young families…you get the picture.
What Incentives Do Employees Want?
Delivering employee incentives can only be effective if the incentives available are satisfying to employees. Here are a few popular employee incentives according to a new
Wicke's For Business article.
Travel Packages: Sending employees on a trip for a job well done on a big project, or as part of a bonus is becoming an increasingly popular option for employers. It creates a memorable experience for employees and carries a fixed cost for employers.
Gift Cards: Gift cards to popular retailers such as
CVS/Pharmacy,
Boston Market and
Crutchfield carry the same flexibility of cash but have better trophy value. Employees are more likely to use the gift card on a special occasion, rather than cash bonuses that often get rolled in to paying bills and household costs.
Social Rewards: Giving public praise and socializing employee rewards is a great way to reinforce desired behavior. Public praise does not only reward one employee for a job well done, but it shoes other employees what management is looking for in employee performance.
Corporate Wellness: Fostering Employee Health in the Workplace Through Meditation
The answer for the slow, tired feeling at work used to be reaching for a cup of strong black coffee but for a well-known company in California the cure comes from something a little more natural, meditation. Meditation is a growing trend, not just with Google, but with several other big names like
of Twitter and Facebook that are making contemplative practices key features within their companies. “Across the Valley, quiet contemplation is seen as the new caffeine, the fuel that allegedly unlocks productivity and creative bursts,” writes Wired writer Noah Shachtman in his article
Enlightenment Engineers. You don’t need to be a company as large as Google or Facebook to take advantage of this growing trend.
Yo-Fi Wellness is a company devoted to employee wellness and offers the latest in corporate wellness incentives for companies of any size. Meditation, yoga, fitness and nutrition are all offered on their online platform, bringing healthy living initiatives to employees through inspiring and instructive video programs. Corporate wellness is directly related to a company’s bottom line so it’s important to find the best way to incorporate it in your organization. Set a tone of health with your employees. Whether it be through education, engagement or motivation with incentives, find out what works best for them.
