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June 28, 2021
Pandemic or not, remote work isn’t going anywhere. Organizations need to constantly be figuring out how to give their employees the best work experience possible. Employees need to figure out what they can do to make their work lives as positive as possible. Workplace giving can help employees stay committed and engaged, particularly when you have a distributed workforce.
Human connection matters, inside and outside of work. With remote work, it’s easy for many employees to go days on end without interacting much with another person.
“For a while, being home by yourself can feel like a treat,” says Steve Pemberton, Chief Human Resources Officer of WorkHuman, to FastCompany. “Then reality sets in. We begin to see a longer-term impact on mental health, and that affects productivity and efficiency. A healthy organization can’t achieve without healthy people.”
Luckily many organizations have found ways to counteract this. During the pandemic, the rate of one-on-one meetings went up by 18 percent, according to Substack. This shows that often employees would rather add meetings than lose those connections.
Salespeople have also had more opportunities for collaboration with customers and prospects. Managers have even spent an average of 8 hours of increased time collaborating with their employees each week. However, there is one significant, overlooked way to build connection and collaboration at the workplace: charitable giving.
Given the challenges of remote work, charitable giving can be even more impactful than it would be in person. It’s a positive, agenda-less way to improve employee engagement among virtual teams.
First, you’re helping an organization committed to uplifting a group of environment. Not only will they be grateful, but you and your employees will feel good about helping causes in need.
Secondly, it’s an easy way to bring people together and get to know each other outside of their day-to-day responsibilities. Thirdly, you certainly don’t need an office. These days, the right app can make giving possible in just a few swipes.
How can you get others interested in a remote charitable giving program? Start a committee. You’ll find that many of your employees will want to participate because they’re genuinely interested in coming together to help a cause. Look at it as an opportunity for creating meaning for your employees and helping them feel connected to the work they’re doing.
Of course, if you want leadership buy-in, you can show how workplace giving can elevate your brand equity. Nearly 65 percent of millennials said they would not take a job at a company that was socially responsible, according to the Governance and Accountability Institute.
Consumers will also look more favorably if your brand is committed to helping communities and the environment. Bottom line: giving programs will help you with customer and talent acquisition. You’ll also be able to build valuable ties in the community.
Appoint a leader for your workplace giving committee. However, make sure everyone gets a say in which cause they want to help, why, and how much help you want to give a charitable organization.
You can pick different organizations at different points in the year. For example, in one half-year period, you can decide to help an animal-focused organization like the Puppy Jake Foundation. In another quarter, you can focus on a children’s group. Even if people don’t want to be actively involved, you can still ask them for input on what causes to help. The cross-functional collaboration will strengthen employee ties to your organization and give them a sense of belonging.
To counteract remote employee loneliness and disengagement, create opportunities for meaning with charitable giving. It should be a fun, uplifting process that will make your employees happy and proud to work for you. To get started, check out Grateful™Cards to make giving quick and easy.