What’s at the top of your workers’ holiday wish list? Not books or a bottle of wine. Our recent study, Resetting Normal, found that just 33% of employees agree that their manager adequately recognizes staff contributions, so your workers don’t just want, but need, recognition this time of year.

Does that data seem too low to reflect your team? Think again. Managers regularly overestimate their own performance and underestimate their employees’ needs for regular check-ins and appreciation.

To close this gap, incorporate a strategy for employee recognition into your organization. Here are our top reward and recognition ideas for your team:

Take employee recognition public

Dedicate a staff meeting to recognize milestones reached by your employees this year. Not only will it boost the morale of those acknowledged, but it’ll also signal to others behaviors valued at your organization and energize your workforce.

If an employee outperforms expectations and the next staff meeting isn’t for a few days, show appreciation now. Send a public message to your team’s group chat describing your employee’s accomplishment and encourage colleagues to congratulate them. Don’t wait for the official Employee Appreciation Day (is it marked on your calendar?) to publicly acknowledge your employees for a job well done.

Send a care package

It’s been a tough year for everyone. Don’t skimp and send just a card to your employees. Many companies have sprung up across the US since the start of the pandemic offering customized care packages for workers. Send one to your employees and they’ll feel extra appreciated for receiving a variety of gifts.

The more you give, the more you get back. Companies that spend more than 1% of payroll on employee rewards and gifts see an 85% increase in engagement– than those that spend a lower amount see 11% less in return.

Encourage peer-to-peer recognition

Remote working and hybrid offices are making it harder for employees to feel connected to each other. The Global Culture Report for 2022 found that almost half of employees interacted with fewer people at work over the past year, while 57% say they engage in fewer work-related social activities. Developing a peer-to-peer recognition program not only creates an outlet for employee appreciation but also fosters comradery and connections amongst colleagues. It’s a win-win.

Luckily there are plenty of online tools available where workers can acknowledge other team members while earning rewards such as gift cards and donations to their choice of charity. Incorporate one into your workplace and you’ll have a recognition program that runs itself.

Combine employee rewards with a charity fundraiser

Want to take team comradery to the next level while also showing employee appreciation? Set up a charity fundraiser where workers can donate their time/money, work together and earn rewards like extra days off or early release.

Make sure to get your team’s input on which charity to donate to. If the logistics of setting up a fundraiser are too difficult, donate in their name instead. They’ll appreciate their voice being heard, leading to increased employee engagement.

Show appreciation 1-on-1

1 in 3 workers reported feeling disconnected from their leaders in 2021. Take the time to meet 1-on-1 with your team members to show appreciation and highlight specific accomplishments they’ve achieved. If you can’t do the 1-on-1 in person, pick a video call instead of the phone- seeing each other’s faces will help create a connection and make the employee recognition feel more personable.

This is especially true for younger workers who need closer mentoring and feel more isolated than their older colleagues. Carve out time in your calendar to meet regularly with them- they’ll feel more connected, more appreciated, and more likely to stay with your company for the long haul.

Still stuck? Look to your employees

Need more reward and recognition ideas? Look no further than your own workers. Create a survey where employees can pick their preferred way to be acknowledged or simply ask team members during your next 1-on-1 or staff meeting. You’re guaranteed to recognize your employees in a way that’s best for them.

And don’t forget to take these ideas and incorporate them into plans for the official Employee Appreciation Day, specialized workplace holidays, and developing an employee rewards program for your company.

While the end of the year is a crucial time to acknowledge your employees, your company needs to create a year-round recognition program to keep workers engaged. At Adecco, we’re dedicated to helping your organization do just that. Read our article on how to develop an effective recognition and rewards program or download our ‘Resetting Normal’ report for more workplace insights.

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From missed deadlines to rescheduled meetings to overwhelmed employees, unplanned absences can drag down workplace productivity by as much as a third. The effects of workers regularly missing work include low morale, frustrated clients, and a unsteady bottom line. So, what’s behind the rise in employee absenteeism, and why’s it happening now? We look at the five top drivers.

Physical health

Illness, injury, and medical appointments are the most reported reasons for missing work. At the same time, absences related to chronic health complaints like diabetes or obesity cost US employers more than $36 billion a year. And thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, more workers called in sick in 2020 than at any time in two decades, with an average of 1.5 million people a month missing work, at a cost that will take decades to make up.

Mental health

As employees grapple with lives altered by the pandemic, huge swathes feel burnt out or struggle with their mental health. Depression and anxiety cost the global economy an estimated $1 trillion each year in lost productivity. Often workplace mental health concerns can be tied to poor health and safety, inadequate communication, poor leadership, or a lack of control over one’s work.

Childcare and eldercare

Managing work while raising kids or looking after older loved ones has always been the ultimate balancing act. After the start of the pandemic, childcare-related absences soared to 250% of the 20-year average. Millions of Americans (mostly women) called out of work or even left the workforce entirely to look after children or relatives at home. Many experts point to a lack of inclusion in the workplace as an often-overlooked absenteeism driver.

Transportation

Bad weather, car problems, late buses. A long commute increases the risk of absenteeism and poor productivity, especially among low-income workers and disadvantaged groups. Over 40% of American adults would not be able to cover an emergency car repair bill of $400. In fact, employees themselves can take a financial hit from absenteeism, especially if they’re unsalaried or depend on tips or commissions. The problem can compound and leave many without the means to travel to work.

Bullying and harassment

As many as 30% of Americans have been bullied at one point or another in the workplace. Overt or subtle, bullying and harassment make work intolerable for employees, pushing many to call in sick. In addition to uncontrolled absenteeism, this leads to long-term personal consequences for the victim, fiscal consequences for the company, and adverse effects on non-target coworkers.

If you’re concerned that absenteeism becoming a problem for your business, we can help you tailor your HR practices to better support you and your workforce.

When you partner with Adecco, we’ll help you get a handle these challenges and build an adaptive, resilient workforce strategy. We can help you evaluate your current flexibility provisions, and consult with you on new, attendance-boosting accommodations, employee transportation, wellbeing support, and inclusion. You’ll get access to our deep candidate pipeline, innovative staffing tools, and resources to help you improve retention.

From white papers to case studies to research papers, we have a wealth of insight on the issues surrounding absenteeism. Also: read our tips on keeping your pandemic-weary workforce energized, tackling ‘ghosting coasting,’ and how to manage remote teams effectively.

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We’ve heard a lot about the labor crunch in recent months. But there’s another trend developing among America’s workforce. It’s called ghosting coasting, and it’s happening right now. Find out what it is, why people are doing it, and how employers can buck the trend.

What’s ghosting coasting?

There are over a million more positions open in America right now than workers looking to fill them. Increasingly, new hires are working for a few weeks and moving on to catch a better-paid job or the next sign-on incentive. That’s ‘ghosting coasting.’ The trend is especially prevalent in the service industry, but this year, it’s becoming a big problem in manufacturing and other sectors.

Why are people doing it?

Economists have pointed to ‘disincentives’ like expanded unemployment benefits. But there are deeper reasons. In the last 18 months, workers have turned themselves inside out looking after their careers and children at home. They often bore the brunt of the pandemic’s economic burden. Burnout is another factor: Workers are frustrated with what they consider low wages, poor benefits, and difficult working hours. In addition, store and restaurant workers face regular COVID-19 exposure and are often tasked with acting as mask-mandate enforcers.

What can employers do about it?

Avoiding ghosting coasting means getting creative (and honest) about how to recruit, reward, retain, and nurture talent. Here’s what you can do:

Level-up your value proposition

What can you offer your workers beyond paychecks? Reward the value they create by helping them thrive in life and their careers. You can offer valuable training and upskilling opportunities (for free via our Aspire Academy), so they’re working for you and for their future.

Beware bad hires

Backed into a corner, employers are hiring at warp speed. But don’t compromise the integrity of your hiring process. It’s still important to verify and prescreen each candidate, but you can also make sure that outdated internal policies don’t arbitrarily exclude well-qualified candidates, like those who have nontraditional work history or those with a criminal background.

Look after loyal workers

If you need to operate with a skeletal crew, adjust your operating hours accordingly. If you’re not already drafting temporary workers, start now. If you can afford it, consider closing for a day for some much-needed rest and to protect workers from burnout. Even, developing an organizational purpose can help your employees feel valued and motivated.

Shake up incentives

Attendance bonuses. Free food. Longer breaks. Employers need a toolbox of benefits to stay ahead of the curve in the war for talent. Go beyond gimmicks. As the pandemic continues, workers gravitate to employers genuinely invested in their well-being. You can add meaningful benefits and perks, like flexible shifts, daycare stipends, or transportation to and from work.

Get wages right

Our data shows that people are 60% more likely to return to work if the pay rate falls above the 75th percentile. Determining the right wages can be tricky without real-time market data and decades of experience in staffing. That’s why tools like our salary calculator can help you set the proper pay for the workers you need.

Our working world has changed. At Adecco, we can help you develop a tailor-made plan that makes sense for your budget and can be scaled up or down at any point.

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Good-bye pajama pants – hello necktie?

Even before the pandemic, cultural transformations were pushing many American businesses away from formal attire. From Goldman Sachs to JP Morgan, even the most traditional stalwarts were relaxing dress codes in the hope of encouraging innovation, creativity, and individual autonomy. As workers return to the office after 18 months of working in sweatpants, the thought of returning to pre-pandemic wardrobes feels dull and oppressive to many. To help your employees make the transition – and avoid awkward fashion faux pas – you should be proactive and set clear standards.

Below, read six steps you can take to get your company’s back-to-work dress code just right:

Start with why

Many may not enjoy giving up their freedom, but your people will find your policy easier if you can provide a good reason for it – you can even consider asking for their input. For example: Just as our doctor’s scrubs and stethoscope gives us trust in her competence, the right office attire can boost your clients’ confidence in your people’s professionalism, creativity – and what your brand stands for.

Choose attire that reflects your brand

Is your culture creative and ‘start-up’? Or is it more staid, traditional, and corporate? By matching your brand ethos and corporate purpose, you can appeal to the people you want to hire and retain. Conventional thinking says that a more formal dress code will encourage your employees to take their work more seriously. But it can also stifle individuality. On the other hand, a casual dress code can give employees freedom to be themselves, serving as an attractive recruitment perk and retention mechanism.

Be clear

Your client-facing workers will have different expectations than those working in your contact center. An effective dress code is easy to understand and not open to individual interpretation. Give specific, visual examples of which clothes work and which clothes don’t. What does ‘business casual’ mean in detail? Does ‘casual’ include flip-flops and baseball caps? Make sure you explain and document your dress code policy in your employee handbook and on your employee intranet. And remember, certain employee segments like second-chance hires, younger workers, and workers who have been remote for a long time.

Build in wiggle-room

After the tumult of the pandemic, workers need re-energizing and may want to ‘dress happy.’ Before setting a prescriptive dress code, ask yourself: is this rule necessary? What’s the business reason? Do the benefits of having a polished-looking workforce outweigh the benefits of allowing your employees to feel comfortable in their own skin at work? Giving employees some freedom is a straightforward way to help them feel happier and more in control as they return to the office.

Be fair

You can use your dress code to stand against the subtle forms of discrimination that can creep into any workplace. For example, people of color regularly face discrimination in corporate America simply for wearing their natural hair to work. Other policies ruling out head coverings can discriminate against followers of certain faiths. And cultural norms around appropriate ‘male’ and ‘female’ clothing can exclude gender non-conforming employees. Use your dress code to make it clear that differences are something to celebrate in your workplace. And always have your legal team review any policies before sharing.

Don’t shy away from enforcement

A policy is useless if not enforced. Make sure your workers understand the repercussions of non-compliance, with appropriate and well-documented reprimands. For a first-time offense, a quiet word is probably enough. But if employees are repeatedly failing to follow the rules, you’ll have to react swiftly and firmly to uphold standards.

Clothing still matters, and perception is powerful. Creating an office dress code that’s fair, flexible, and enforceable is not easy, but we can help you find the middle ground between sneakers and dress shoes.

Learn more about how we help businesses of all sizes navigate today’s tricky labor environment. And for more insights on the complex, unfolding issues shaping our working world take a look at our freshly launched research Resetting Normal: Defining The New Era Of Work.

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This year, more than ever, there are many factors, concerns, and considerations affecting people and their approach to work and working. Some people are leaving jobs primarily because they are offered a much higher salary. Others are taking positions that allow them to work remotely a hundred percent of the time. And there are some employees who are quitting without a new job lined up because they want to take some time off and reassess their lives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For these reasons and others, we’re still in a very different and evolving period as we move into the second half of 2021. The word I have been using to describe the world we live in today is “unsteady.” And if there is one thing I have learned after decades of hiring people for our company and recruiting candidates for clients, it is that almost all employees want stability and steadiness from their employer more than just about anything else.

PREMIUM CONTENT: North America Temporary Worker Survey 2021: Full Report

With that in mind, we recently held an offsite management meeting with the theme, “Steady state in unsteady times,” to talk about what we as a company should do to make sure we are functioning as steadily as possible for all our stakeholders. A key takeaway was that while it may be necessary to adopt new approaches or adjust certain aspects relative to our business and operations based on this unique moment in time, it was important that we remain as committed as ever to our fundamental tenets.

Simply put, to ensure that employees and others recognize that our company in fact is in a steady state, we need to demonstrate steadiness in all our words and, most importantly, actions. Here are three guiding principles we are adhering to, now more than ever:

• Be prepared to walk away. None of us wants to lose a good employee or revenue opportunity, but once you are convinced that you have made a fair, reasonable, and mutually-beneficial offer you do need to be prepared to walk away if you cannot come to an agreement.
• Stay within the guardrails. As with the previous point, we want to be as flexible, adaptable, and accommodating as possible with requests from employees or candidates; at the same time, it is essential that we have established guardrails that we stay within so that people know we are applying them equitably.
• Get closer to people. All things being generally equal, it is still true that people are firing their bosses and not the company when they decide to leave. Making time to actively listen to and engage with team members and acting on what they tell you whenever you can, is a top priority for every supervisor.

Predicting what is next is more difficult than ever. And there are seemingly more factors impacting our businesses that are out of our control. Focusing on what we can control by making decisions and implementing practices through the lens of achieving a steady state can yield benefits in practically every area of your company.

MORE: Handling post-Covid opportunities

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