Many organisations make some attempt to treat employees well – with recognition and reward systems, flexible approaches to leave, healthcare and so on. The trouble with such ‘benefits’ is that they quickly get absorbed into ‘the expected’ rather than being regarded as an ‘extra’.
If you want something to have a longer-term effect on employee well-being – and even more importantly, on employee productivity – then you need to select’ benefits’ that have a more direct effect on employee performance.
For example, why not institute a transport system to get employees to work – saving them the hassle and stress of doing it for themselves. You can make it part of your environmental strategy since any form of shared transport is almost certain to be less resource intensive than lots of cars arriving with one individual.
But more importantly, your employees should arrive fresher, less-stressed and ready to go. They should be more productive, more content, more engaged with the organisation.
So you can treat your employees well, help the planet and raise productivity. Win-win-win. What’s not to like?