Where do gifts for employees fit in our future working environments?
Who would have predicted where we’d be as we head towards Spring 2021?
Gifts for employees and employee incentives are probably more important than ever before.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the workforce and working environment forever, and working life as we know in the future – will be different. It’s why gifts for employees should be factored into company thinking over the coming months and years.
Just how the “office” will look like over the next 10 years, and how it will develop, is hard to predict, but in true Asda for Business style, we’ve had a go.
1.Technology and the digital workforce
Technology is the driving force behind how we will operate in the workplace of the future. This doesn’t mean that “robots” and other methods of working will replace humans – it just means that we’ll work alongside them. Technology also helps with creating data (see point five), which is then directly used to improve how we work. Technology in the workplace will aid existing employees in a way it never has before. We don’t just mean how they communicate, because it will help improve the existing workforce and their skillset.
2. Further use of artificial intelligence
Companies are already using artificial intelligence, and workers are increasingly becoming more used to, and accepting of its role in the workplace. Artificial intelligence will help to improve staff productivity and helps optimize the workplace for improved output.
3. Stronger focus on mental health
For so many of us, work is a major part of our lives. And, until recently, employee mental health might not necessarily have been high on the company “to do” list. Having a job that’s demanding whilst fulfilling, can have a positive impact on mental health – but it’s important that we don’t overdo things.
In the future, companies will have a more prominent mental health policy, outlining how employees’ mental health will be supported throughout their employment. Who knows, we may even see the emergence of mental health departments, with specialists focusing on different elements of mental health.
4. Geography and team distribution
Company teams and departments might not necessarily be based in the town or city of the company head office. Due to the increasing ways in which we are able to communicate with one another, we will be able to conduct tasks remotely, share tasks and briefs with different countries, and work across different time zones, with staff having “different” working days. You could argue that we are already at this point.
5. Data power
Data will be introduced and used as a way to improve how people work. By using data, companies will understand better how people work, what environment they best work in, when they operate, and when the best time is for them to interact with others. It is predicted that data will very much be at the heart of increasing productivity levels. Automation is likely to increase, so the data used to help when employees will work, will be more critical.
As we are all gearing up for an unknown future, Asda for Business gift cards are the ultimate gifts for employees.
Staff wellbeing is the thing these days. And rightly so, given the uncertainty and pressures in the workplace. Looking after its people is perhaps the number one priority of any modern-thinking organisation. Of course, there are many ways to do that, and reward schemes as well, as simply saying thank you, can play a small, but very significant part. If you’re looking for customer reward schemes, staff incentives or employee benefits, do it now with Asda for business, and give your employees far more than a gift!
From weekly shops to weekend home makeover essentials. Give them an Asda for Business gift card, and if you want to speed things up with an e-gift card, these can now be redeemed on thousands of products at groceries.asda.com as well as in any one of our 600 stores and online at George.com.