5 Benefits Your Employees Actually Want During The Pandemic

Despite continuing to navigate working from home and a global pandemic, there are still many ways employers can ensure their employees are happy and successful.

While there was already a fundamental shift towards remote working, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition faster. As of today, 4.7 million people are working from home. It is universally acknowledged in the business world that happy employees are productive employees. But even when your staff is asked to operate from home, it is not going to be an easy task for them in these uncertain times.

As a manager, it is your responsibility to ensure remote readiness amongst your employees amidst the chaos. And one way to do so by offering them ample benefits. But not all businesses are sure about which benefits their employees would be most interested in at this hour - beyond the bare minimum of competitive salaries and bonuses.

So if you are drawing up your remote work guide and wondering how to improve work-life for your employees, here are five benefits you should consider.

1. Workstation support

Depending on the job, most employees will require a similar infrastructure to do their jobs, such as an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. While laptops are convenient, they would still need a webcam and cords and cables.

In some scenarios, they may not even have a proper chair and table. Or, an on-site printer may be necessary with a fast broadband internet connection. All of that should also be considered. Assign your staff a budget for them to purchase a baseline kit of their liking.

2. Learning and development opportunities

In an ever-changing business world, upgrading skills and expanding one’s knowledge base is the best way to stay relevant. Given the general slowdown in business due to COVID-19, employees are at greater risk of being laid off if they don’t supply any value to evolving company needs.

You can help your staff upskill even now by organizing a free online workshop for them, paying for a long-term online course of their choice, or have senior professionals take Zoom lessons with them on topics ranging from negotiation to a core technical skill.

3. Health and wellness benefits

The cost of healthcare is on the rise each year. This year, its importance has grown manifold with an increasing number of employees relying on employee health insurance plans to take care of unprecedented medical emergencies.

As a manager, you can devise comprehensive health savings plans for them - depending upon company budget, government regulations, and other external factors. This move offers an excellent way to boost employee satisfaction and release apparent stress as you are helping them out with a significant expense.

4. Flexible work timings

A Staples survey indicates that nearly 90 percent of employees want flexible work arrangements. Even if you are struggling to manage a remote-only team right now, offer your employees the option of choosing their work timings. It’s the least you can do!

Since the lines between work-life and home life have blurred since March, every employee is trying their best to juggle work, home, and in some cases, children and the elderly. If you allow flexible working hours, they will be less stressed and better focused on the job. Plus, thanks to communication tools such as Slack or Trello, staying in touch with your team will be easy no matter where they are, so you needn’t worry about work or conversations not happening on time.

5. Seasonal benefits

Given that leisure travel is a strict no-no, it is not surprising to see a lesser number of people applying for leaves. After all, travel is the biggest reason why any employee would take an off. However, you can still encourage your staff to take off-days.

Also, it is too early to say how the summers and Christmas season will pan out, but many employees are on vacation during this time. Stick to normalcy and allow your staff to shut their laptops an hour early during the summers.

Consider shutting down the office entirely for the holiday season so that everyone can enjoy themselves. Announce at the earliest so that your employees know that they can still take leaves even if they have to come back to the office later this year.

The last word

Always put your employees first. Think about their welfare. If they are in a happy space, comfortable, and focused, they are highly likely to perform well. And in these times, every company needs an army of charged-up employees! So, get creative and provide ample benefits to your employees. Good luck!


Hazel Raoult is a freelance marketing writer and works with PRmention. She has 6+ years of experience in writing about business, entrepreneurship, marketing and all things SaaS. Hazel loves to split her time between writing, editing, and hanging out with her family.