The transition from fall to winter comes with cooler weather, the end of daylight savings time, the holidays, and the coming of a new year. These are exciting times, but they can also lead employees to feel distracted or unfocused especially when working remote. With this How-To we hope to share some tips and ideas on how to keep your employees motivated during this time of the year.
Holiday Boxes
We are so excited to announce that we have curated holiday themed snack boxes to send to your employees working remotely. The boxes have been created to bring holiday joy to people working at home and are full of individually sized treats ranging from protein bars, jerky, holiday themed cookies, tea, and coffee. The assortment varies based on availability and preferences. Please let us know if you are interested and would like more details!
Mental Health & A Support System
A very important part of an employee’s motivation and development is their mental health. A company can have a positive effect on mental health by showing their support. A supportive work environment has become even more essential, with the added stress and uncertainty of coronavirus.
Below are some tips on how to show your employees how much you care and want to support them in this changing environment:
- Make sure teams have open lines of communication with their managers/leaders if they ever want to reach out
- Make sure they feel informed by making sure they have access to all updates within the company, specifically all Coronavirus related updates
- If possible, share information for people experiencing stress and anxiety
- These could be as simple as sharing links to articles or videos related to developing healthy habits when confronted with change. Such as: short meditation videos or refocusing tips
Host Scheduled Video Meetings
Whether employees are working remote or on-site practicing social distancing a video meeting can create that sense of community that employees are accustomed to when working in an office. Hosting a bi-weekly or monthly meeting for employee groups/teams can have a major impact on employees still feeling like they are part of a team and provides them with much needed face-to-face time.
Below are tips on how to set up the meeting:
- Schedule it 1-2 weeks in advance and make sure the teams know that it is re-occurring
- Start with an agenda, to guide employees through the session and get work done while having the element of teamwork
- Allow for free time at the beginning to encourage employee engagement
- Pose a light “ice breaker” question for all to answer
Create Fun Outlets For Your Employees While Working
When working remotely employees no longer have the habitual “mind-breaks” that they may have had before such as: a quick walk to the breakroom, a chat around the coffee pot, a special treat to celebrate a special occasion within the office. It could be beneficial to create these outlets for employees to have adult non-work talk time within the structure of working remote.
Some ways to set these up are:
- Creating a creative/team channel on which people can chat about non-work-related items and encourage involvement by prompting the thread with a daily light talking point or topic
- Topics such as: new snacking habits, workout routines, work-from-home buddies (kids, pets, etc.)
- Send employees snack boxes and set up a video meet for “unboxing” within the team.
We hope that you’ve been well and have stayed safe, and we are looking forward to delivering you Happiness!
Article by Carly Corippo
Some of you may already know Carly Corippo as your account manager, but she also has a strong background in nutrition. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences from California State University Chico while working throughout the community in different nutrition and wellness focused internships. After college, Carly started working here at Associated and is your go-to gal for all wellness and nutrition related questions or tips!
