It’s no secret that working in a stressful environment for a long time is not good for employees' work and health. As a manager, there are a few steps you can take to reduce the stress your employees face and help them feel supported and positive, even if their to-do lists are long.

If you're having a hard time managing your team remotely, you're not alone. Remote work has several benefits, such as lower employee turnover and better employee retention, making it easier for both employers and employees. However, keeping employees motivated during the COVID-19 outbreak can be challenging. Implementing creative solutions to fit a remote setting can help your virtual team adapt to changes and be comfortable with uncertainty.  Whether you're new to remote team management or have years of remote driving experience, this article will teach you how to energize and inspire members of your virtual team all from home.

Whether you're just starting an employee recognition program or improving an existing one, it is helpful to take a step back and ask yourself if you've really weighed all the options for each element of your program. Be a part of the 86%-88% of companies who set up a recognition program to increase employee engagement and create a culture of recognition. Here is how to get started on yours.

You want to create an employee incentive program that keeps both field and office teams motivated and engaged. This approach ensures that you stay on top of the incentives currently driving employee engagement, but what does this look like? Personalizing incentive programs is effective, impactful, and positively affects employee engagement. Here are some examples of incentives that have been proven to attract and motivate employees in the long run.

Creating a robust wellness program that focuses on all aspects of wellbeing can have a positive impact on an organization's corporate image, energy consumption, and productivity. The World Health Organization defines well-being not only as the absence of any disease or health problems, but also as the complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being. The eight dimensions of wellness include: emotional, physical, intellectual, financial, spiritual, occupational, social, and environmental. Minna B. Consulting, a mental health consulting practice, argues that each dimension of well-being serves as a useful benchmark for setting effective boundaries, which in turn can protect our mental health for challenging years like 2020. Taking action to grow and understand each dimension can set employees on the path to overall well-being and happiness.

With ever-increasing health insurance costs and the importance of employee health, employers should consider implementing a well-designed wellness program that benefits both employee health and employers' profits. Employees need to feel supported no matter how big or small the budget is. You can provide that support by offering a wellness program, which in turn can improve both the recruitment and retention of employees in your organization. Prioritizing employees’ well-being cuts health care costs, increases engagement, and reduces absenteeism. A wellness program that focuses on what employees most need and want takes a more proactive and informed approach to healthy living. Here is why you need a wellness program and how to get started.

Every small business relies upon its employees to keep the business alive. Sometimes, business owners don’t realize the degree of stress this places on the men and women whom they employ — and how feeling stressed leads to less-than-optimum work performance. On the other hand, while no one says it is the role of businesses to make people “happy,” few will dispute the idea that a fulfilled, upbeat employee is more productive than a worried, burned-out employee — every time. Here are tips for keeping your employees motivated, happy, and engaged on the job, which in turns leads to further growth for your business.

Recognizing employee performance is THE BEST way a company can increase productivity, reduce absences, and improve workforce engagement and retention. The results will be dramatic. 

Employee recognition programs, once considered a “nice” but non-essential component of human resources, have changed dramatically over the last several years. This shift parallels a growing understanding of the importance of retaining top-performing employees and re-engineering employee recognition as a core business function.

As much as we want to believe our employees’ energy levels and engagement shoot back up to 100 percent after the holidays each new year, the truth is motivation is not automatic. Employees still need to be motivated to be at their most productive, and it falls on you to get them inspired for the new year and every day to follow. Although there are plenty of managers out there who believe motivation requires hand-holding or flashy gestures, there are many ways to motivate your employees without taking too much of your time and theirs. Here are a few simple examples of employee incentives that can keep your team focused and motivated in the new year and beyond.