The COVID-19 pandemic gave companies new insight into the challenges their employees face daily—both at work and at home—and how one affects the other. With a majority of people working from home, employers got a glimpse into their team’s personal lives. Many leaders realized that employees needed more support, especially relating to their life experience, which includes:
- Mental and physical health
- Financial wellness
- Family concerns and needs
All these factors create challenges that affect staff members’ ability to do their best work. The good news is when organizations know how to support employees’ life experience, they could see a 21% increase in the number of employees who become high performers.
If you’d like to reap business benefits by helping take care of your staff, we’ve got tips and branded employee gifts that can help.
Tip #1: Communicate with your staff members
The first step in supporting employees’ life experience is asking them what they need in order to do their job effectively. For best results, gather this information through:
- One-on-one staff and manager check-ins
- Monthly or quarterly surveys on staff needs
Examine the data to create new procedures that will help most of your staff members—while the one-on-one discussions can help you address more personal needs.
Tip #2: Support wellness and mental health
In 2020, more than 21% of adults reported symptoms of depression and anxiety—a significant increase from past years. As we continue to recover from COVID-19, this number is likely to remain high, making mental wellness support critical for employee life experience.
Here’s how you can help staff:
- Provide counselling resources
- Offer mental health days off
- Host virtual or in-person yoga, pilates and meditation classes
Support these life experience boosters with the help of branded employee gifts. For example, make it easy to get started with team yoga classes by giving participants a yoga mat. Encourage your team to prioritize their mental health by giving everyone a brain stress reliever with the website or phone number of a service provider. Or add a bit of fun into their day with a 15-minute colouring break, complete with an adult colouring book.
Tip #3: Create flexible work arrangements
Due to COVID-19, the percentage of Canadians working remotely went from 4% to 20%. And with more than one-third of staff members saying they would consider leaving their job if they have to return to the office, offering a flexible work policy went from “nice-to-have” to “need-to-have.”
Ensure team members who are working remotely have all the tools they need. Consider giving everyone branded employee gifts, like ear buds with a microphone or a desk caddy with office supplies.
Tip #4: Take time to highlight staff wins
When employees have conflicting office and life needs, it’s common to feel like they’re letting their team members down—which creates a great deal of anxiety.
Help them alleviate this concern by highlighting that you appreciate the work they’re doing. Give out team wins weekly or monthly for things like projects completed under a tight deadline or collaborating to help solve a problem.
Better life, better work
When your employees know you’ve got their back, they’re going to be better able to do their job. Once you know how to support employees’ life experience, your team will feel less stressed and more productive. And that’s a win for all!