Perks To Offer Your Employees This Summer

Summer is a time of fun and relaxation. Even for adults who work, summer can be a time of fun. As an employer, you have the ability to help your employees make the most of their summer by offering them perks and helping them celebrate their summer. Offering summer perks can show that you appreciate their hard work and value their work-life balance.

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Activity nights

One of the best parts of the summer is fun events such as concerts and trips. You can offer fun activities for your employees. These activity nights can be anything from game and trivia nights to ice cream socials and even outings and trips. You may even decide to host a team-building retreat. This will allow your employees to get to know each other while having fun. Going somewhere out of the office like a park or even a museum allows you to take advantage of the summer weather.

Gym memberships

Many people are looking to get more active over the summer months as they are preparing for vacations and just want to do more. You can aid in this desire for an active lifestyle by offering your employees free or reduced-cost gym memberships. If possible, you may even decide to have an on-site gym or fitness center for your employees. This is a perk that can extend long after the summer is over and will help promote employee health and wellness. Not only will this help your employees with their health goals, but it will also help your company by ensuring that your employees stay healthy and able to work.

Meals

Over the summer, your employees are likely budgeting for vacations and time off. This means they are being more cautious about how and where they spend money, including the grocery store. Offering lunches even once a week can help your employees save some money that can be used on vacations or other summer plans. Offer snacks throughout the day so they do not have to spend money on little purchases. If you have remote employees, the meals can be in the form of a meal kit or a gift card.

Flextime

Flextime is mostly used for remote employees, but it can also be applied to employees in the office. Employees may want to finish work earlier in the day so they can spend time with their families, especially if their kids have the summer off school. If your type of work permits, allow your employees to choose when to come in and leave. This allows them to come in earlier so they can leave earlier in the day. The main priority is that they get their work done, and offering flextime allows them to choose when they are most productive and gives them the incentive to spend time with loved ones.

Allow pets in the office

Pets are often a huge part of their owners’ lives, and this is true of your employees. Offer a day every so often over the summer months when employees can bring their pets to the workplace. Just be sure to check to see that no one is allergic to animals and have a designated policy for how to care for the animals’ needs while they are in the office. This includes dog walking and cat litter needs. Have a designated time when your employees gather to play with the pets and meet each other’s animals.

Lottery tickets

Lottery tickets are a fun way for employees to bond, even if they do not end up winning. Scratch-off tickets are inexpensive, so they can be given once every few weeks. It can be fun to have employees see if they are winners at the same time as a bonding experience. If someone wins, the money can aid them in their summer plans. Even if no one wins, it is a fun little distraction from the day, especially if there is a chance of winning big.

“Spirit days”

Back in grade school and even college, there were days where there was a designated theme and everyone got dressed up to celebrate. This was anything from wacky hair day to pajama day. Consider having a few themed “spirit days” to allow your employees to have a little bit of fun. As long as it is not distracting from their work, it can be fun to dress a bit more casually and have some fun seeing how everyone else interprets the theme. It can even be as simple as casual Fridays. Just be sure that your employees know to keep their attire work appropriate (no inappropriate language, etc.).

Incentives

Over the summer, your employees might be tempted to slow down productivity because they would rather be on vacation or doing things outdoors. If you notice this happening, create an incentive program where they are rewarded for completing something by a certain date. You may even have your employees compete over the summer and reward the winner with some sort of prize or bonus once the summer is over.

Summer can be a fun time, even for adults. If you are creative, you can allow your employees to tap into the fun and relaxation of the season.