Tips for Supporting Employee Well-being During Inflation

Inflation is now outpacing wages, in an environment where people have already been struggling to make ends meet. But inflation doesn't impact everyone equally. Lower-income households spend more of their income on basic necessities like utilities, groceries, and transportation - the stuff most immediately impacted by inflation, and the costs that are hardest to cut back on. For those with a lot of discretionary income, these increases can be annoying, but for those who are already living paycheck to paycheck, this can be the different between paying the bills and going into debt that will quickly spiral. So many people are already at a breaking point - working multiple jobs just to pay the bills, missing out on time for relaxation or connection with friends and family. And that's a lose-lose for everyone. People can't do their best work if they're worried about making rent, losing their car, or wondering if their kids are OK because they lack access to trustworthy childcare. They can't do their best work if they're running on 3-4 hours of sleep because of their long work hours and the stress that compounds over time when you can't take care of yourself. I would love to see employers, particularly those who pay lower wages, figure out how to support their employees through this period. Some ideas: 1. Provide direct financial support - wage increases or bonuses/supplements - commuter benefits - gift cards to support with groceries - childcare reimbursements - emergency funds that employees can tap into if they're struggling - no interest loans 2. Reduce employee expenses - more flexibility around work location - cut back on travel expectations - offer meals 3. Build community and take on the mental labor - organize employee carpools - provide lists of places people can go for support - create a free pantry where employees can donate/take home groceries/household supplies/clothing Financial stress isn't a personal issue that employees leave at the door. It shows up as burnout, missed days, turnover, healthcare costs, and lost productivity. While I think the primary reason to care about this is because we're all human and care about each other as people, it will absolutely impact your bottom line as well.

A salary increase is not the only way to support your people. Petrol is up. Electricity is up. School fees are up. Everything is/will be up 15-25%. 95% empl are still concerned abt how to manage life moving on. And the first conversation in every org is: we can't afford inflation adjustments. Fair enough as business profitability/metrics are to be prioritised too. But salary jumps are not needed necessarily. Here is what leadership/people teams can do to support the empl: 1) OPD health coverage: Support in claiming medical expenses upon need. Partner with insurance comp to provide discounted Parents insurance. Limited company expense. 2) Grocery support. Monthly hampers or partnerships with local stores. Discounted rates. No company investment 3) Interest-free salary advances. Let people access their own money to manage urgent costs. No company expense(just advanced exposure) 4) School fee partnerships. Tie up with schools for employee discounts. Its a big chunk of net income. No company expense 5) Solar support. Help employees install solar at home through an interest-free company loan recovered via payroll. Their electricity bill drops. Their stress drops. Partnerships with leading banks on discounted rates can help. No company expense 6) Electric scooter schemes. Petrol is burning through salaries. A subsidized e-scooter or an interest-free purchase loan changes someone's monthly math entirely. No company expense 7) Transport allowance. A fuel stipend, a company shuttle or subsidized Indrive/Yango credits. Getting to work should not cost 15-25% of someone's salary. Limited company expense 8) Hybrid work system. Every day at home is petrol saved, lunch saved, time saved. Reduces stress of travel time and petrol burn. Reduced company expense (reduced office utility cost) None of this replaces fair compensation. That conversation still needs to happen. But this backward integration can help employees cut 10-20% of their expense from net salary. Engaged employees=productive employees=higher profitability.

Let’s face it - current headlines spell a recipe for employee stress. Raging inflation, recession worries, international strife, social justice issues, and overall uncertainty pile onto already full work plates. As business leaders, keeping teams motivated despite swirling fears matters more than ever. Here are 5 strategies I lean into to curb burnout and boost morale during turbulent times: 1. Overcommunicate Context and Vision: Proactively address concerns through radical transparency and big picture framing. Our SOP is to hold quarterly all hands and monthly meetings grouped by level cohort and ramp up fireside chats and written memos when there are big changes happening. 2. Enable Flexibility and Choice: Where Possible Empower work-life balance and self-care priorities based on individuals’ needs. This includes our remote work policy and implementing employee engagement tools like Lattice to track feedback loops. 3. Spotlight Impact Through Community Stories: Connect employees to end customers and purpose beyond daily tasks. We leveled up on this over the past 2 years. We provide paid volunteer days to our employees and our People Operations team actively connects our employees with opportunities in their region or remotely to get involved monthly. Recently we added highlighting the social impact by our employees into our internal communications plan. 4. Incentivize Cross-Collaboration: Reduce silos by rewarding team-wide contributions outside core roles. We’ve increased cross team retreats and trainings to spark fresh connections as our employee base grows. 5. Celebrate the Humanity: Profile your employee’s talents beyond work through content spotlight segments. We can’t control the market we operate in, but as leaders we can make an impact on how we foster better collaboration to tackle the headwinds. Keeping spirits and productivity intact requires acknowledging modern anxieties directly while sustaining focus on goals ahead. Reminding your teams why the work matters and that they are valued beyond output unlocks loyalty despite swirling worries. What tactics succeeded at boosting team morale and preventing burnout spikes within your company amidst current volatility?

If your company has a January 1 effective date for benefits, then your employees are likely about to receive their first paycheck with higher insurance premium deductions. According to the New York Times, premiums are expected to increase an average of 9% this year. When everything from groceries to car insurance is getting more expensive, seeing premiums eat into their paychecks can be demoralizing for employees. What if you empowered them to take preventive actions to minimize the need for medical interventions and the costs that come with them? Here’s how: 🎯 Put your wellbeing programs front and center. Helping employees improve their sleeping habits, address stress, and lose weight sustainably today saves them from more costly medical issues tomorrow. Companies that have high engagement with their wellbeing programs, like MGM Resorts International and FactSet, integrate wellbeing programs into their culture. Wellbeing isn’t just a one-off promotion. It’s tied to their company objectives and manager performance, so it’s constantly reinforced, ultimately leading to higher engagement. 🔎 While you’re probably already surveying employees annually, how are you taking action on their responses? Employees expect to be surveyed, but they’re cynical about being heard. When you actively respond, not only does it build trust, but it also enables you to refine your programs and how you communicate them. A well-informed, engaged workforce is better equipped to make use of benefits programs effectively, creating a ripple effect of improved wellbeing and cost savings. 🫶 Emphasize personalization. Your workforce is complicated and diverse. How are you moving away from one-size-fits all programs to a more individualized approach? By focusing on customizable programs that allow employees to create their own personalized wellbeing journeys, they can find support for their specific needs and take a more holistic approach to solving their problems. For instance, a Grokker member who recently lost their husband found community in our Defeating Depression program, where another member commented that they weren’t alone and they’d also lost their partner. A tailored approach like this can help your team better cope with their grief through shared connection. ✨ Embrace AI to improve personalization. That’s what we’re doing with GrokkyAi, the conversational benefits agent that provides employees with instant relief for their holistic health challenges. Instead of going on a wild-goose chase to find benefits, employees can now talk about their issues and ask questions in plain language. Grokky responds with actionable, personalized answers and a customized care plan so employees get instant relief. No one likes to see healthcare premiums go up. By emphasizing preventive programs early and often, we can help mitigate those rising costs and ensure that employees get the care they need. #EmployeeWellbeing #HealthcareCosts

Are your employees dipping into your #savings to make ends meet? Recent news indicated that pandemic-era savings have dried up and folks are using the money they had saved to cover basic needs. Why? Because the #CostOfLiving continues to rise with #Inflation but #Salaries have not risen to meet the demand. In fact, some companies have dropped salary rates for #NewHires as a cost-savings measure. The #Economy is in bad shape and your #Employees are feeling it. When considering benefits and perks to attract and retain staff, think of options that help your employees keep their heads above water in these stressful financial times. Do you really need to #RTO? Offering #Remote work and #Flexibility can help save your staff a lot of money. Can you provide #StudentLoan benefits that help staff repay these huge burdens that will resume payments again in September? How about #ChildCare benefits? Or, if you’re pushing RTO as necessary, how about an on-site daycare to help employees reduce the high price burden of this major expense? Can you offer 100% premium coverage for employee #HealthCare instead of 75% or 85%? Can you reduce travel requirements? While travel is often reimbursed, those who travel often for business know that there are still costly out-of-pocket expenses like extra childcare, elder care providers, pet sitters, and on-the-road incidentals that companies don’t cover. Are there benefits programs that you can offer which would provide cost-savings for food, utilities, home services, and other common household needs? If you expect your employees to use their personal #SmartPhones for work purposes, can you provide a stipend that covers phone plan usage? There ARE ways for companies to help their employees make ends meet in these challenging economic times. Efforts made to help employees thrive can lead to strong staff #Retention. #HelpingHand #KindnessMatters #RetentionStrategy #OpenToWork #OpenToNewOpportunities #HireThisPerson #RecruitMe #JobSeeker  #ReadyToWork #SingleWorkingMom #CommunicationsJobs #CommsJobs #MarketingJobs #CPGJobs #PublicRelationsJobs #MarketingJobs #Recruiters