GiftCard Partners Blog

Stress in the American workplace is front and center for organizational leaders at companies of all sizes across the country. Management is constantly balancing the general stress that comes with work, and the negative effects that stress has on company culture and employee health. As corporate wellness initiatives gain prevalence as a solution to the cost of stress here are some staggering statistics that illustrate the importance of corporate wellness and stress management in the workplace.

Innovation is key to business success. Your organization is constantly striving to stay ahead of the innovation curve, and innovate faster than competitors. The best way to promote innovation in your organization is workforce investment. Investing in your employees is a great way to show support and build a rapport with employees that will increase job satisfaction and retention rates across your organization, leading to a more productive and innovative workforce. Here are 3 easy employee investment strategies that will promote innovation in your organization.

Build Trust: Building trust with and for your employees is crucial to fostering an innovative environment. You have to trust your employees to innovate along with your organization's vision and direction, while employees need to trust their employer and trust their job security to go out of their comfort zone at work and find innovative ways to get things done.

Cultivate Passion: Set an example with your enthusiasm. No one is motivated by someone who is just getting their job done. Employees look up to other employees who are invested in their work. Employee investment starts at the top, when management is enthused with their positions, so will lower level employees. If you are passionate, the people you lead will also be passionate, and passion often leads to innovation.

Inspire Loyalty: When management is loyal to an organization, employee loyalty will follow. Investing in your employees by providing small rewards for milestones reached with a company, such as an annual anniversary, or even a semi-annual anniversary is a great way to show employees their organization cares.

Small denomination gift cards to retailers such as Albertsons to help curb employee grocery costs are a great way to show employees that you both notice and appreciate their hard work and dedication, while controlling organizational costs simultaneously.

Employee incentives have become a common way for employers to invest in their employees and raise job satisfaction and retention rates within their organization. In a world where job security is scarce, and employees are always looking to climb to the next opportunity, employee incentives have become a great way for employers to give back to their workforce. The key to success for incentive programs is to ensure that the employee rewards are effective in raising employee loyalty and job satisfaction. Below are 3 employee rewards that are common in employee incentive programs, but not always the most successful, and some ways to improve these particular incentives to drive desired outcomes.

Looking to reward employees and show them you care? Showing organizational support with employee rewards for a job well done can be an easy, low-cost way to invest in your workforce. Here are 3 easy ways to incorporate employee rewards into your employee loyalty and recognition strategy.
Take your team out: Using simple gestures like a team lunch out, or a group happy hour after work, or even an activity like a team bowling night, is a great way to reward employees. Getting your team together outside of the office is a great way to bring people together, and form interpersonal relationships while rewarding your employees for the hard work they do. Investing in hard work, and rewarding employees is a great way to keep employees satisfied at work, and raise productivity and retention rates.
Time off: Reward employees with extra time off, or flexible work hours for hard work, or a job well done on a specific project; it’s another low-cost reward strategy that resonates with employees. Time is valuable to employees, especially personal time. Giving employees extra personal time, as a reward is a great strategy to perpetuate desired behavior, and show other employees that going above and beyond will be noticed and rewarded by management.

We are wondering what impact employee wellness programs have on stress levels and mental health. The
American Psychological Association (APA) reports that 69% of employees claim work is a significant source of stress and 41% say they typically feel tense or stressed out during the workday. 51% of employees said they were less productive at work as a result of stress and 52% report that they have made the decision to leave their job based on workplace stress. These are scary statistics to any employer looking to manage workplace wellness, increase employee motivation and engagement or improve employee retention rates.
Safety Daily Advisor outlines some low-cost and simple changes that anyone can make to help manage their workplace stress and overall employee wellness levels .