GiftCard Partners Blog

Technology has made working from home a more common occurrence than ever before. Gallup’s 2015 annual Work and Education poll showed that 37 percent of U.S. workers indicated they have worked from home, up almost 30 percent since 1995. So how are you going to engage so many remote employees this year? With an increased number of companies providing flexible schedules and the ability for many employees to work remotely at least part of the time, it is important to have a plan to motivate, inform engage remote employees to ensure success.

When typing the word “motivation” into Amazon’s bookstore you’ll discover there are over 100,000 books related to motivation: The Motivation Manifesto, 77 Ways to Get Motivated, Drive: The Surprise Truth About What Motivates Us; the list goes on and on.

But all that helpful advice must be taken with a grain of salt now that managers are motivating a multi-generational workforce. Three generations now make up today’s workforce.

Look around the office and you’ll see Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and who could forget all those Millennials. According to Pew Research Center’s 2015 study, U.S. Labor Force by Generation, Baby Boomers make up 44.6 million, Generation Xers make up 52.7 million, and Millennials make up 53.5 million of the U.S. labor force.

So why is this so important? Because each generation is motivated by different values, work styles, communication tactics, job responsibilities, and rewards.

Employee wellness programs are becoming an increasingly important part of employee benefits packages. Knowing the different types of wellness programs in the market can help your HR staff have a better understanding of what your unique workforce needs are and how to best market the program to your employees. Having the optional benefit of a wellness program may not be at the top of a candidates list when deciding on what organization they want to work for, but providing a well organized, well-marketed program can help your organization stand out as one that values the health and well-being of their employees. Here are three of the most prevalent types of wellness programs.

Employee recognition is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic investment in your workforce. Research from Gallup shows that organizations with strong recognition programs experience 59% lower turnover rates and see significant boosts in productivity. Writing an employee recognition letter is a thoughtful and cost-effective way to highlight achievements, build morale, and reinforce positive behaviors.

 At the end of last year, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), held their annual Global Wellness Summit in Mexico City. GWI went into the summit showcasing their goal of providing an education foundation that focuses on informing both the public and private sectors about preventative health & wellness. At this year’s summit, GWI identified what they see as the top 10 future shifts in corporate wellness. Here are the shifts in corporate wellness they found most critical to corporate wellness programs: