Return to Work Perks Offered by Employers

Highlight: Apart from financial safety, the thing that job seekers nowadays consider is employee benefits. Providing these benefits plans might help the organisation attract great talents. Read to find some awesome perks a company can offer its employees to bring them back to offices after lockdown, and how Fibe can help.

Employees are, no doubt, an organisation’s most valuable asset. But organisations often fail to recognise that salaries are more a threshold than an effective measure to keep the employees happy and engaged. Back to work perks and incentives remain a great opportunity for companies to utilize the untapped potential and take advantage of the talent pool.

The post-covid times, especially, have reinvigorated the appeal of these non-monetary benefits as a great way to bring employees back to office after lockdown and push them to work full-time from there. Many companies, including Google, Deliveroo, DailyPay etc., are opting for the carrot over the stick and offering special return-to-work perks.

5 Perks to Include in the Updated Compensation Plan

Figuring out how to welcome employees back to the office after lockdown? Here are some of the most popular work back to work perks to consider:

1. Paid time-off: Proactive companies provide open vacation or Paid time-offs for their employees. The employees can take as much vacation time as they need. In return, they have to meet the deadlines and produce high-quality work. These kind of back to work benefits will actually motivate employees to not only return, but give their best shot in the work they do.
   
   A study shows that long-term happiness is achieved from good experiences, not material things. An open vacation policy boosts employees’ productivity and efficiency. The only catch is that employees should meet deadlines and produce results. Companies adopting these policies notice a win-win ownership mindset in the employees. These employees think for themselves and the growth of the company.
   
2. Offer a Flexible Schedule: Logging more hours into the employee’s work schedule does not guarantee higher productivity. Organisations should act proactively and give them a chance to explore their most productive times of the day. A traditional workweek is outdated in 2022 and it’s high time employers realize this, especially if they’re looking to introduce return to office perks.
   
   Having a hybrid work model and giving employees the flexibility to work for some days in a week from wherever they feel comfortable – whether office or home – can help organisations bring more workers to their desks post-pandemic.
   
   Allowing employees to have time outside of the office improves their mental health. A study showed an increment of 12% in employees’ productivity levels who possess mental well-being. A better option is reducing the working days to 4 per week. Clearly, return to work benefits like these improve outcomes not just for the employee, but also for the organization as a whole.
   
3. App-based Wellness Programs: Proactive companies are adopting app-based wellness programs for their employees. These apps give employees a space to choose numerous wellness packages related to mental health, financial wellness, life coaching, exercises etc. 88% of workers consider that health and wellness programs give employers a competitive edge when it comes to company culture – for both current and prospective employees.
   
   Online wellness programs are a great idea for back to work benefits allowing employees to take these classes at home or from their desks without fearing health risks. Plus, there is something for everyone to choose and benefit from and this will significantly attract more employees back to office after lockdown.
   
4. Rest and Relaxation Perks: Adding return to office perks beyond work desks and PCs, such as cafeterias, gyms, shopping complexes, creches etc., can help employees maintain work-life balance and encourage them to return to offices. Employees can be given free memberships or coupons for these utilities. These changes would help improve the mental well-being of employees and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Happy employees are the most productive ones. What could be a better perk than this?
   
5. Celebration Perks: Have you heard about Google organising the return-to-work celebration? The concept is interesting. This could be a great opportunity for the employees to build relationships with the new and existing employees.
   
   These kinds of return to office perks come with many benefits. First, it might boost the level of excitement in an employee to return to work. Second, it might leave them curious about the purpose of the celebration. The celebration could be related to the company’s success or some new offers. The more employees are aware of the benefits of returning to office, the more motivated they will be.
   
   Celebrating birthdays and individual successes, meetups, organising weekend parties, fun activities or interaction sessions could be a ritual to keep the workplace brimming with life and a second home for employees.
   
6. Provision of Food: Free meals may work as an employee-retention magnet and give a big boost to their productivity. A Harvard Business Review study stated, “employees typically consume one or several meals plus snacks during work hours,” emphasising the importance of their food.
   
   The company can pay for some of the employees’ meals, offer them food discounts or provide longer meal breaks. Organising occasional lunch and dinner meets can also yield better results.

Bringing people back to office after lockdown won’t be easy in a situation where Covid-19 has not fully vanished. Companies need to build their work engagement policies, work compensation plans, and return to work benefits from scratch to meet employees’ needs in the new normal. As organisations look forward to their employees returning to offices or working on a balanced hybrid work model, new negotiations between the employees and employers on the benefits of returning to the office are bound to change the dynamics and hierarchy of back-to-work benefits.

Fibe offers employee financial wellness programs in tandem with organisations and a catalogue of financial services such as instant loans, salary advances and much more. It helps employees set their finances on track while they work their way to success.