It has been over a year and the definition of the ‘new normal’ continues to evolve. As people all over the world adjust to these rapidly shifting paradigms, the impact of the ongoing global health crisis on our wellbeing has been undeniable.
People have been driven towards prioritizing their health and mental wellbeing over much else. A more optimistic point of view would be that physical and mental wellbeing has assumed their rightful place because of the pandemic.
With the onset of the pandemic, working from home went from being a privilege to a necessity and this shift came with risks to employee wellbeing and a new kind of burnout driven by feelings of isolation, job insecurity, and the blurring of boundaries between work and personal life.
As everyone began to explore these uncharted waters of remote working and virtual workspaces, leaders globally are being prompted to re-evaluate their employee experience strategies, to navigate through this dynamic, hybrid work arrangement.
Integration of employee wellness in the overall EX Strategy has gained a lot of importance. The realm of Rewards and Recognition is thus widening to integrate meaningful and relevant programs. In the pre-Covid world, R&R policies were essentially driven by rewarding performance.
However, in the post-Covid world, these policies are being revamped to not only drive and reward performance but also ensure that employees feel connected to the organization and can set and achieve wellbeing goals.
The introduction of physical and mental wellbeing into organizational frameworks has been ongoing. Today, several large and small organizations are offering benefits like memberships to wellness apps, access to fitness centers, along with introducing initiatives such as company-wide walkathons, virtual yoga sessions, physical and mental wellbeing sessions with experts, and vaccination drives for employees and their family members.
Wellbeing Initiatives as a Part of Rewards & Recognition Programs
Many people in the current scenario are juggling with situations like dealing with the loss of a loved one, household chores, family responsibilities, health risks, financial instability paired with prolonged work hours, resulting to wellness gaining centerstage. Taking measures to support employees through these turbulent times is rapidly becoming a priority. To ensure effective delivery of wellness initiatives, organizations could take some key steps in this direction:
Personalization is Key- There is no “one size fits all” solution to Rewards and Recognition. Since every employee has different motivations/ drive on the personal as well as professional front, employers could look at tailor-made solutions to foster those. For example, data collected from careful employee listening can help craft relevant R&R frameworks
Go Mobile- As people continue to work from anywhere, it is important for organizations to ensure that their wellness initiatives are mobile and can be opted from anywhere. With apps and virtual modules, such programs can be consumed by employees at their own time. To do that, employers can take support from various mobile apps and deploy technology for the effective delivery of wellness programs.
Involve Peers- While recognizing and appraising employee efforts and contributions, it can be a good idea to invite colleagues to participate in celebrating individual accomplishments. This in turn inculcates a sense of belonging, especially when individuals are working remotely and feeling isolated. However, it is also important to remember that not all employees seek public recognition.
Paying attention to physical and mental wellness can help individuals manage stress, anxiety, and boost productivity. It can also make employees stay connected to a common goal and organizational purpose.
To ensure better work culture, organizations are increasingly expanding their R&R Programs by including wellness, gamifying rewards, creating leader boards and much more, which in turn boosts participation and helps enhance their Quality of Life.
While you plan your R&R and Wellness strategies, do consider leveraging digital solutions that can help deliver personalized, mobile offerings to engage employees in today’s Work from Anywhere world.
