Brighten Their Day--How to Keep Up Employee Morale with Perks
How do you keep your people from going postal? Obviously, that’s somewhat of a hyperbole when it comes to overworked employees, but the truth is that businesses across the spread are losing thousands of dollars in productivity because of sick, frustrated, or overtired employees.
The best way to combat employee burnout is to cater to the basic needs of life, namely food, shelter, and rest. Food provides energy, shelter (like a clean breakroom) provides comfort, and rest provides balance. Here’s some quick and easy perks for brightening your employee’s work days:
Food
1. Get a soda machine in your breakroom - this is very different from a vending machine! Small soda dispensers, like the ones found in fast food restaurants, can do wonders for sugar-craved workers
2. Provide spoons, forks, knives, napkins, plates, cups, and bowls for your employees in the breakroom so it’s easier for them to bring food from home. No one wants to lug around their flatware, and this keeps employees close during lunch breaks so they can socialize more easily.
3. Once a week or so, bring some bagels and cream cheese (and maybe toss in some fruit too!) so your workers can get a good breakfast in them. It’s the most important meal of the day, yet the one most often skipped.
Shelter
1. Consider having two, maybe even three microwaves in your breakroom. Nothing saps hard-earned break time like waiting in line for 15 minutes just to get your food warmed up.
2. Stick a ping pong table or foosball board in the breakroom. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a few tables provided and some cheap card games (like Rook and Uno) available for employees to use. This will definitely give the company a more inviting, social atmosphere. Be sure to check often and replace missing ping pong equipment and such!
3. Post flyers and pamphlets about upcoming community events (family things, parades, service projects, concerts, movies, etc.) on a bulletin board and encourage your employees to put stuff on it as well.
Rest
1. The flexible work schedule has become extremely popular, especially in office-type jobs. One way to go about this is allow employees to work an extra hour Mon-Thurs, and then get off on Friday four hours early for the weekend.
2. For outstanding employees, offer them the chance to get an extra paid day off if they complete certain work-related projects early.
3. Schedule for an extra half hour in the lunch break on the last Friday of each month, giving your workers the boost they need at the end of a busy work cycle. This could also mean giving employees a paid break sometime during the last week of the month.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to simple perks. Employees will reward employers who brighten their day with more effort and loyalty to the company. When morale goes down, productivity goes down, and that is not something you want to deal with in your small business.
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