Elon Musk isn’t the only one requiring employees to head back to the mothership. All over the US, nearly half of all CEOs are saying it’s time to come back to the office, citing the need for more visibility, collaboration and productivity.
As many begrudgingly return, workplace wellness is going to be a hot topic and one that all bosses will need to pay particular attention to in order to retain and attract top talent.
There are a number of ways to boost morale and the actual “health” of your office. A few things to consider if you’re one of those at the top:
1. Flexible holidays. The idea of flexible holidays is really just another PTO day but one that seems to resonate really well with employees. Essentially they get to pick any traditional work day out of the year to be considered a paid holiday.
2. Work from home hybrid options. More than half of all workers aren’t particularly excited to return to the office 5 days a week. Look for opportunities to create a hybrid schedule where certain departments or teams come to the office on alternating days and the full staff is required just once or twice a week.
3. Make sure your office is clean. Go beyond the obvious surface cleaning- but clean what you can’t see as well. Is the air in your office making you sick? Cleaner air is proven to not only improve employee productivity but also lower absenteeism as a whole. Now that you finally got them back into the office, you don’t want them calling in sick.
4. Consider allowing pets. Studies actually show that allowing dogs in the workplace will help reduce stress and increase productivity and morale. So if you’re going to insist your employees head back to the office, give them the option of bringing fido along with them. Just be sure you set some rules and consider installing an air purification system to help any of your employees who have pet allergies.
5. One of the biggest perks of working from home for many was saving on gas money and food costs of eating out for lunch. If you are going to require staff to come in, consider catering lunch once or twice a week for the staff or a weekly gas gift card raffle.
Brandon Taylor – CEO, Greentech
Following a Nationwide search, Greentech Environmental announced Brandon Taylor as its new CEO. Taylor joined Greentech Environmental in 2019 as CFO/COO. Prior to joining Greentech, Taylor held several management roles in multinational energy organizations. Taylor’s leadership helped make 2020 Greentech Environmental’s most successful year in the company’s history so far.