Working from home is a dream of most people. But there are some challenges attached to it. You must ensure that your employees are equally motivated, productive, and focused on working from the office as they are from home. It can be challenging for any business owner because it requires you to have good communication skills to motivate them to work from the office.
In a recent report, CNBC says that 50 percent of companies want their employees back to work from the office after almost two years since the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, 52% of employees are eyeing a full-time remote work profile as they offer more flexibility and work-life balance.
The above stats indicate how challenging it can be to convince your employees to work in person at the office. So, we have compiled some strategies to help boost morale among employees who work from home.
Introduce a Place for Relaxation
Sometimes, employees are required to work under stressful conditions. For example, they may be working on projects that require a lot of attention, or they might need to get their hands dirty and do some heavy lifting. In these cases, the business owner needs to provide them with a place where they can relax and unwind after their shift is over.
Here are a few examples of places where employees can relax:
- A quiet room in the office where they can read or listen to music
- A garden outside the building
- An area designated as a lounge with sofas
Have Lunch Catering for Employees
A great way to show your employees that you care is to ensure lunch catering. It is a nice gesture showing that you are thinking of them. It also builds camaraderie and team spirit among the employees as they eat together. It can reflect on their job performance when they return to work after lunch, as they will be more relaxed and cheerful if they have lunch together as a group.
Having lunch with colleagues at work is not just about satisfying hunger but also about bonding with each other. It can be an excellent factor in motivating employees to work from the office. A friendship grows when they share food experiences over some good conversation.
Therefore, business lunch catering can help build relationships among co-workers, which ultimately leads to better productivity in the long run. These relationships also help create an environment where people feel comfortable working together as one unit.
Provide More Benefits to Employees
Providing more benefits can effectively motivate employees to work from the office in your business startup. For example, you can provide health, dental, life, and child care benefits. In addition, your workers will feel more secure knowing that they have these things in place if anything unfortunate happens to them or their families.
You can also offer tax benefits for those working from the office, such as a lower tax rate on their income than if they were working from home.
Enhance Company Culture by Arranging Corporate Events
Corporate events play a very crucial role in the company’s culture. These events bring employees together and make them feel like one team. Employees usually enjoy these sessions where they can enjoy leisure time or learn something new. In addition, a corporate event is an encouraging factor for employees to work from the office. Here are some steps to organize a corporate event for your startup business:
- Choose an appropriate theme
- Plan the budget accordingly
- Select an ideal venue that fits your budget
- Designate someone to manage the program and logistics of the event
You can also consider hiring experts who are good at coordinating these things on your behalf.
Reward System and Appreciation
A reward system is a great way to motivate employees to start working from the office. The rewards can be money, promotion, or other things significant to an employee. You can even create a reward program for your employees and can reward them for their efforts and loyalty to the company’s growth.
A recent survey found that 91% of HR managers believe rewards and recognitions make employees more connected to work. At the same time, 92% of employees are motivated to repeat their good work on getting a reward or recognition for their work. Also, 40% of employed Americans would put more effort to work if their work is recognized somehow by their employers. Therefore, proper reward and recognition programs can help convince your staff to work in person from the office.
Implement Flexible Working Hours
You can award flexible working hours to motivate employees to work from the office. It will encourage them because they know they can use their time according to their requirement. In addition, when you allow your workers to work from home for some periods can make them feel valued and appreciated. For example, to motivate your employees to start working from the office, you can ask them to come to the office 3-4 days a week, while the remaining days they can work from home.
Offer Help with Childcare
Childcare can be a key issue for working parents. It can be expensive, difficult to find, and hard to arrange. Childcare is also a distraction from their work and an enormous time sink. The more help you can offer in this area, your employees will be better off.
One way to bring working parents to the office is by offering free or discounted childcare on-site. Another option is providing a concierge service where employees can drop off their kids at work and pick them up later in the day.
Encourage Employees to Take Days Off When They Want To
Another great way to motivate your employees is by encouraging them to take days off when they want. Sometimes people need some time away from their job for themselves before going back into the office again.
Create a Work Environment Where Employees Feel Comfortable, Motivated, and Inspired
Employees are the most vital asset of any business. You can build the best product in the world with a team of satisfied and happy employees. But if you don’t have enough talented people working on it, or if they’re not motivated to do their best work, then there’s no way that your startup will succeed.
You can always motivate your employees by making them feel comfortable, happy, and inspired. It will help improve workers’ productivity, ultimately leading to better results for your business startup.