8 Tips for Appreciating Your Best Remote Employees

This paradigm shift may mean that there may be fewer in-office workers when conditions permit them to return to work within an office.

Remote workers also bring with them several challenges for an organization. One of the lesser-addressed issues that crop up is employee appreciation.

This article is going to visit some ways you can show your remote workers appreciation and keep up the productivity in the workplace.

8 Tips for Appreciating Your Remote Employees

1. Provide the appropriate equipment to work from home

One of the best employee appreciation ideas for remote workers is providing them proper office equipment. Remote workers notoriously suffer from back and neck pain, bad posture, and carpal tunnel because of at-home working conditions, which will slowly erode an employee’s health over time. Your company can combat these anticipated health issues by providing a catalog of ergonomic office equipment that alleviates these stressors.

2. Don’t hesitate to surprise your employees with random gift

Let your employees know you’re thinking of them from afar by sending flowers or gifts to celebrate a special occasion! This employee appreciation idea is especially great if your remote worker is celebrating a work anniversary or birthday remotely. Hitting these milestones alone at home can feel underwhelming, but a small gesture of appreciation from the company goes a long way to combat these feelings of isolation. If you’re using a corporate perks platform, you can even get discounts on flower delivery.

3. Offer them takeout discounts!

Not only does this employee appreciation idea help alleviate some stress for your employees, but it helps restaurants as well, which are in desperate need of support during COVID-19. The number of seated diners in restaurants has declined an alarming 64% percent compared to 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions. While this decline is necessary for the safety of public health, restaurants need to take drastic measures to stay afloat while they wait to reopen dining rooms. Gift cards and takeout orders are how they are staying in business.

4. Don’t forget about happy hour!

Stella Ryan, a business writer at Paper Fellows and state of writing says- “A quick and easy way to demonstrate employee appreciation is by setting up after-hours virtual happy hours with employees. Your workers can enjoy a beverage of their choice — whether it’s a glass of wine or a glass of water — catch up on what’s happening outside of work, and even play online games together.”

5. Offer development courses

Offer your employees to grow their career through your business! Employees working remotely might be feeling a little lost when it comes to their professional development. Working from home every day doesn’t provide the same social benefits that working out of an office does, and as in-person interactions with management reduce with new remote work schedules, some employees are wondering what the next step is in their careers.

Alex Black, a project manager at Essay Roo and Boom Essays says-“ Just because many businesses aren’t operating in an office doesn’t mean you can’t still invest in employees’ professional development. One way to appreciate your employees and ensure they have a clear understanding of their career paths is to offer online learning and development courses.”

6. Virtual book club

If you have a group of literary employees who have a passion for the written word, a great employee appreciation idea is to start a virtual book club. Employees love having a social outlet to talk about their favorite books, and you can foster this passion by setting up a monthly recurring calendar invite to talk about all things books and provide small rewards for employees who have finished that month’s reading. You can also start an internal chat channel dedicated to what employees are reading and assign the next month’s book club pick there.

7. Personalize your recognition

It’s a well-known fact that employee recognition should be highly specific. One simple employee appreciation idea is to send personalized recognition to an employee who has been responsive, helpful, and on top of their work now that your company has transitioned to remote work.

8. Make a virtual wellness program

One way to show appreciation for employees and (incentivize them during COVID-19) is to create a virtual employee wellness program. Employee wellness programs demonstrate that you are invested in your employees’ health and wellbeing during these strange times and give you the opportunity to reward them.