It’s no secret that employees have been leaving their jobs at an alarming rate. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 4 million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021 alone and resignations have been higher than normal since as far back as April 2021. A recent survey by Joblist shows no signs of this trend abating. In fact, it reports “close to three-quarters of workers are actively thinking about quitting their job.”
This exodus from the workforce is being referred to as “The Great Resignation” and though it’s affecting all industries, Harvard Business Review drilled down on some of the data to see who and what is driving the movement. They found that “resignation rates are highest among mid-career employees in the tech and healthcare spaces.” Even if this isn’t your industry or demographic, no one is immune to the underlying issues driving this trend.
Adam Klotz, an organizational psychologist credited with coining the term, gave some insight to Insider on how the past year has influenced employees’ mindsets. “From organizational research, we know that when human beings come into contact with death and illness in their lives, it causes them to take a step back and ask existential questions,” Klotz said. “Like, what gives me purpose and happiness in life, and does that match up with how I’m spending my right now? So, in many cases, those reflections will lead to life pivots.”
Though it seems like only continued turmoil in the foreseeable future, Klotz also sees some hope for healthy changes for both employers and employees. He predicts that one silver lining “would be if the world of work transitioned to a more healthy, sustainable place for employee wellbeing.” To that end, Jack Altman, CEO and co-founder of people management platform Lattice, recommends retaining talent by celebrating wins and showing employees you care about them by rewarding their work.
What better way to combine the two than with thoughtful perks that keep your team members engaged and healthy? Here are 5 ideas for perks that can help prioritize your employees’ wellbeing and keep your team intact.
For the third year in a row, paid time off topped HRExecutive’s perks poll. While remote work has come to many of the workplaces most affected by the Great Resignation, sometimes that flexibility isn’t enough. When employees are on the verge of leaving, extra time off can help them reevaluate their relationship with work and give them the time and space they need to return with a fresh mindset. Though not for every industry, it might even be worth exploring a 4-day workweek which has proven an “overwhelming success” in Iceland according to the BBC.
Indoor gyms may still be too close for comfort, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find alternative ways to encourage physical fitness. Before the winter months arrive, sponsor some group yoga or workout classes outdoors. If your team is distributed, offer a stipend for employees to find workout opportunities that suit them best in their area.
For those of you returning to the office, bring some excitement and healthy beverages back to the water cooler with flavored seltzer options like blackberry lime and strawberry lemongrass. Nothing compares to conscientious hydration when it comes to improving mental clarity and battling fatigue.
If employees are feeling a little stifled in their current role, by all means explore their career roadmap, but it also might be worth encouraging them to look outside work for other kinds of fulfillment. Google is known for offering up to $12,000 in tuition reimbursement each year. How can you help your team pursue their development outside of work?
We’re all a little rusty when it comes to socializing. Zoom friends just aren’t quite the same as in-person friends. Encourage cross-functional collaborations just for the fun of it to build deeper relationships between employees and foster a sense of camaraderie that makes employees want to come into work each day. Timberland is known for encouraging service sabbaticals equaling 40 hours of paid volunteer work per year. At Bevi, we’ve organized team hikes, axe-throwing competitions, barbecues, and more!
There’s no getting around it: money talks. We’re not suggesting you set up one of those booths where employees have 30 seconds to grab as much flying cash as they can (though your social media manager may now be thinking about how many views that would rack up on tik tok), but we are suggesting that hard work and persistence through a tough year and half deserve recognition and compensation. Much like the stipends and bonuses given early in the transition to working from home, consider recognizing the team that’s made it through the ups and downs together with a monetary thank you.
What are your thoughts on the Great Resignation? Have you been able to proactively stem the tide at your company? We’d love to add your tips to the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn!
With every day that passes, we get a little more excited about rejoining our coworkers in the office (and yes, we’re thinking about the office dogs, too). After a tough year away, getting back to business as usual is going to be an adjustment. It might feel like the first day of school after a longer than usual summer where we do our best to navigate our reconfigured workspaces, make some new friends, and figure out where to sit in the lunchroom.
To disperse some of the pre-return jitters, we’ve been thinking about the best way to ease the transition and get our whole team excited about returning to the office. During one of these brainstorming sessions, our wonderful office manager had the idea to welcome everyone back with a sustainable gift.
Snacks, office equipment, team-building experiences and more are all in the running at our office, and as we whittle down our list, we thought we’d share some ideas of eco-friendly return to office gifts in case it’s helpful inspiration for your office manager or HR team.
What’s better than a gift that actually helps everyone get to the office on day one? A bag made from recyclable materials that carries laptops, healthy snacks, and more will come in handy for the whole team.
Mafia’s bags, for example, are upcycled from kitesurf, windsurf, and boat sails, keeping these materials out of the landfill and giving you a sustainable bag with a story.
As a reader of this blog, you already know how important hydration is for you and your colleagues. If you’re already saving plastic at the office with a bottleless water dispenser, why not go the extra mile and save a cup, too?
Brands like S’well and custom specialists like Swag.com offer custom branding and group discounts. Keep in mind that most suppliers have a minimum order of 48 so smaller companies will likely have a few leftover for future hires.
We’ve talked a lot about using the return to the office as a natural time to reset healthy goals. Though not every team will be doing yoga together, there are millions of yogis out there so there’s a good chance this gift option will resonate with more than a few of your employees.
Yoga mats like this handmade, biodegradable hemp option have a minimal carbon footprint and provide a great team-building opportunity.
Studies show that green settings positively affect both mood and self-esteem so why not bring the garden right to your desk?
Crate Joy’s Succulents Box will send one plant per month for as low as $10. Before you know it, your office will be rivaling the closest public garden.
With their campaign to #eatthepeel, Rind’s dried whole fruit snacks promise more vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants than sugary competitors. Even better, by keeping the skin on their fruit, they diverted over 120,000 pounds of edible food waste in 2020.
Check out this list of other sustainable snack options that you could add to a personalized snack box for your employees.
Sustainable return to office gifts don’t have to be exclusively for use in and around the office. If your team has been trying to take their eco-friendly habits home with them, lend a hand by subsidizing a compost kit.
Package Free offers a small starter compost bin that’s great for apartments and they’re also known for their zero waste kits if you’re looking for another option to add on.
If you can’t get outside for an extended period of time, make sure to at least take a break from your screen and look Airbnb has virtual experiences like dance classes, magic shows, and trivia that would have a low carbon footprint for your team, but even better on the sustainable front might be a Loola Eco Edventure.
This impact “travel” lets you choose a UN goal and community to support from the comfort of your own home or office. For example, you could give a family a life-saving sanitation system that doubles up as a crop garden and join by video to see it implemented.
There’s nothing wrong with choosing one of the awesome gifts on this list, but if Marie Kondo (not to mention the experience of spending many days in a small apartment) has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes the most sustainable option isn’t physical.
For those still in a decluttering mode, offer one intangible option like a donation to a local farming non-profit or educational program that promotes sustainability. Paying it forward always pays off.
As you evaluate the best eco-friendly corporate gifts for your team, make sure the materials used to make them are renewable or have a low impact on the environment. It’s also a good idea to offer a selection of similarly-priced gifts so that each employee can find the gift that resonates the most with them.
What are you considering for sustainable/eco-friendly employee gifts? We’d love to hear your ideas on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn!
Staying healthy at the office has always been a minefield of breakroom donuts and long hours of questionable posture in a rolling chair. It may seem even more daunting as fully remote work winds down and you try to remember the best healthy lunch spots near the office and whether hitting the gym before or after work was better for your schedule.
Now is a great time to reset health goals and remember that taking care of your physical and mental wellbeing will help you be a better coworker in the long run. We’ve pulled together some common sense office health tips like staying hydrated as well as some whose impact you might not have realized were so important to staying healthy at the office.
Let’s get this one out of the way. Minding your health at the office isn’t just about diet and exercise. We still have to be vigilant about how we overlap in shared spaces, and washing your hands and following health guidelines will help make our return to work safe and permanent.
Another suggestion as we reimagine our offices is to implement touchless technology where possible with communal resources like coffee machines and water dispensers.
Fruit, vegetables, and dried nuts will fill you up and provide energy that lasts longer than the junk food in the vending machine. Your office may even be able to help the whole team improve their health at work by subscribing to a healthy snack service.
Another great way to avoid reaching for unhealthy yet convenient snacks is to pack your lunch ahead of time. Planning your meals allows you to hit all the right food groups and emphasize healthy fats, proteins, and vegetables.
Providing a smarter way to hydrate is literally what we do at Bevi so it’s safe to say that this is our favorite tip. It should be yours, too, as proper hydration increases oxygen throughout the body, improves mental clarity, and combats fatigue. One study showed that all of these benefits contribute to an increase in productivity, and staying hydrated will also prevent overeating.
Assuming you don’t get distracted by the sights and sounds near your office, fresh air and increased blood flow can only help your input at the next meeting. Try dialing in “remotely” while you take a couple of laps around the office park and you’ll hit your 10,000 steps in no time.
Speaking of steps, for those of us who aren’t in the penthouse, taking the stairs is another great way to add some movement to your work day. Start with skipping the elevator on the way down (hopefully to a healthy lunch!), and work up to climbing the stairs on your way back to your workspace.
If you can’t get outside for an extended period of time, make sure to at least take a break from your screen and look out the window at some greenery. An NIH study found that “contact with real or simulated green settings…has positive effects on mood, self-esteem and self-reported feelings of stress and depression.” Who knew that our verdant Zoom backgrounds were actually helping our coworkers?!
Setting intentions and honing your focus for just minutes per day can help you make better decisions. A Harvard Medical School study found that “meditation can change the…brain regions linked with memory, the sense of self, and regulation of emotions.” When stress levels rise, you’ll be better equipped to focus on the facts and get your job done with confidence and composure.
We’re all human, though, and sometimes no amount of mindfulness can prepare you for a particularly aggravating sequence of events. Instead of losing your temper with a coworker or a client, try stashing something squishy (though not squeaky, lest the office dogs come running) at your desk to unleash your fury on. Here are 18 possibilities that will fit on your desk.
Everything’s better together. Whether you’re meal planning or taking a midday walk, find a partner who can motivate you when you feel like skipping one of the goals you’ve set to improve your health at work.
Try standing up as you read this. Do you feel better? Does your whole body, including your mind, feel more engaged? There are many health benefits to standing desks including improving energy levels and reducing back pain.
One of the best parts of returning to the office will be face time with coworkers. Checking in on a personal level outside of collaboration on work-related tasks will lead to deeper, more communicative relationships and make everyone feel better in the office.
You’re not always going to choose the right snack and there will be times when you need to take the elevator or prioritize a deadline over your midday meditation. And that’s OK. Be kind to yourself as you return to work and remember that staying healthy is a lifelong journey.
How are you thinking about staying healthy as you return to work? We’d love to hear your health tips for the office on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn!
Let’s face it. We’ve been stressed, our routines have been upended, and it’s possible we’ve turned to some less than healthy snacks to get us through it (I can’t be the only one who tried every Ben and Jerry’s flavor, can I?). But as we’re about to turn a corner and head back to the office, let’s leave some bad habits at home and get a fresh start wherever possible, including in the snack basket.
We’ve compiled a list of our favorite healthy office snacks, from sustainable brands to subscription snack services and even a few treats because sometimes a little sugar is the only thing that’s going to help us meet a deadline.
Before you wade into the wild world of snacks for seemingly every palate, start with the staples. These snack groups have stood the test of time for a reason and are known for filling us up with good nutrients and lasting energy.
Fruit like bananas, apples, and a rotation of seasonal favorites make for a good replacement of sugary snacks. Likewise, veggies, dried nuts, and popcorn provide filling options that boost energy and keep you awake for that late afternoon meeting.
Thinking about offering complimentary breakfast as a perk for returning employees? Avoid donuts and other heavy pastries and try oatmeal instead. Pair with fresh fruit, nuts, and a few other custom toppings, and your team will be ready for the day.
We’re living in a golden age of sustainable, healthy snacks. Big brands and scrappy startups alike are coming up with fun new sustainable snacks all the time, and these are just a few of the options available. Before you get back to the office, poll your team about their favorites and curate a mix with their input. Then, add one or two of these as well…
Quinn Snacks has pioneered the “Farm-to-Bag” technique to offer ultimate transparency into their popcorn. They have information on every ingredient they use so you can feel great about where your work snacks are coming from. If you like their popcorn, try the pretzels next!
Barnana is in the business of combating food waste, a cause we love! They’ve upcycled over 100 million bananas for their chips, bites, and brittle. Prefer savory instead of sweet? Try the plantain tortilla chips.
Back to Nature creates plant-based snacks including cookies like chocolate chunk and lemon wafer. Not only do plant-based cookies sound like a net positive on our waistlines, but Back to Nature has been a proud partner of The Nature Conservancy for over 12 years, working to plant more than 130,000 trees throughout the United States as a supporter of the Plant A Billion Trees Program.
You’re going to have a lot of bases to cover as you plan your return to the office so it might be helpful to turn to an office snacks service to feed your team.
SnackNation is a leader in this space. They create snack boxes that are “always made with healthier ingredients.” You’ll recognize name brands like RXBAR and PopCorners and you can even throw in some classics like Lay’s and Chips Ahoy! for an occasional treat.
Nature Box formulates their own products to match the health needs of your office, including options like a “Less Stress” or an “Allergen-Free” Box. Where you’d once find Doritos or Oreos, Nature Box has Pistachio Power Clusters and Elderberry Fruit Chews.
The Fruit Guys deliver farm-fresh fruit right to your office, providing a headstart on the healthy office snacks we mentioned in the staples section. They source their fruit from independent, family-run farms when possible and you’re always able to curate the best mix for your team’s tastes.
Fit Snack lets you power up your subscription a step further with healthy snacks, fitness tools, and nutritional tips. If employees are excited about the office gym reopening as well, this could be the box for your team.
We recommend starting your new and improved work snacks with staples like fruits and veggies and then exploring some of the brands and snack services we mentioned above. Snack boxes are also a great tool to set and forget while you help employees get reacquainted with office life. Then, once you get some feedback from your team, you can customize your program based on their requests and start to see the difference healthy snacks can make for your office.
Thirsty after all this snack talk? Keeping your office hydrated is just as important as healthy food options, and we know a thing or two about smarter ways to hydrate. Please reach out if we can help with any questions about a bottleless water dispenser for your office, and if you enjoyed this article, we’d love for you to share it and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn!
Any office manager who’s had to run out and lug a case of bottled water back to the office knows that a water cooler is a great workplace amenity. Not only will you be preventing a sweaty errand in the summer heat, but there are numerous long-term benefits that will make switching to a water cooler an easy decision.
Interested in taking the plunge? Let’s walk through the benefits and some great options for your next filtered water dispenser.
The amount of plastic that turns into waste each year is in the millions of tons and plastic bottles are no small part of that. At Bevi, we’re on a mission to unbottle the future, and transitioning just one office to a sustainable water dispensing system can make a difference of about 30,000 plastic bottles a year.
While the upfront cost is more, eliminating water jug delivery adds up to savings over the lifespan of your water cooler. It also eliminates the oil needed to create plastic for bottles and other air pollutants associated with transportation.
Perhaps most importantly, water coolers have great benefits for you and your colleagues. It’s no secret that staying hydrated is paramount for productivity and filtered water dispensers make refills easy and fun. Not only that, but the conversations that can spring up around a communal water dispenser are a huge plus for team camaraderie. We can’t tell you how many fun ideas have been formulated around the water dispenser at our office!
It’s important to find the right setup for your office and needs. A few things to consider are bottled water coolers versus point-of-use machines, freestanding versus countertop dispensers, as well as any bells and whistles like flavored sparkling water or self-cleaning capabilities.
Based on sources like Small Biz Trends and Water Filter Magazine, we’ve rounded up a few great water cooler options to help you make the decision that’s best for your office.
Small Biz Trends’ top pick, this “top-loading water dispenser gives you a choice of cold, room-temperature and hot water to satisfy all your hydration needs. The stainless-steel modern cabinet makes this water cooler ideal as part of your office décor.”
This is a classic option with the iconic upside down blue water jug on top. It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done.
One of Water Filter Magazine’s favorites, the Costway 2-in-1 “effortlessly incorporates the functions of a water dispenser and a filtered ice maker.” Like many other models, it features the standard three water options: cold, room temperature, and hot. If your office is already stocked with an ice maker, Costway’s main benefit probably won’t move the needle for you, but if you’re looking to solve two water-based needs, this could be one to add to your wish list.
A Bob Vila favorite for the office, the Avalon’s self-cleaning feature “uses ozone to kill bacteria and clear biofilms. With the flick of a switch the cooler stays clean, which is important in high-traffic offices.”
This is a bottom-loading unit which means you’ll still need to arrange water delivery and won’t save as much plastic as with a point-of-use machine, but the self-cleaning feature is enticing as more employees return to the office.
Bevi filtered water dispensers are all about customization and bubbles. Choose between sparkling or still and a variety of flavors like Strawberry Lemongrass and Peach Mango. With a return to the office imminent and health top of mind, our touchless technology is ideal for shared office spaces.
In addition to the ease of use, you’re staying safe, working toward a more sustainable future, and providing unique options for every employee’s palate.
As the proud promoters of a pet-friendly office ourselves, the Primo Pet Station receives our honorable mention. It’s important for everyone—employees and their supporting cast—to stay hydrated, and this water dispenser does both.
No matter what specifications best meet the needs of your office, a water cooler is a smart investment for your team and for the environment. Bevi users have saved over 250 million bottles to-date, and we’re grateful to the other companies on this list for joining us on the same mission.
When you’re ready for your own touchless filtered water dispenser, get in touch here so we can help you find the best solution for your office.
It’s nothing new for companies to compete for talent by dangling increasingly fun office perks. Everything from the now-ubiquitous beer and cold brew on tap to higher-end services like onsite acupuncture or private concerts can make the office an enjoyable place to be. As more and more companies of all sizes make plans to return to the office this year, it’s a good time to reevaluate what’s in your means to make employees comfortable and excited about coming back. Here are a few ideas for office perks across a range of budgets that will help everyone get back in the groove.
It’s important to acknowledge that employees will have legitimate concerns regarding their return to the office that run from general health to the logistics of family care and travel costs. Start with the basics to show your team you can help with this transition.
What’s more fundamental than the first meal of the day? Catering breakfast or lunch at the office allows your team to think about one less thing while reacclimating to this setting. It’s also a chance to mingle with coworkers and rebuild rapport that may have diminished while working remotely.
A big concern for parents will be ensuring their children have adequate care while their primary caregivers are in the office. Offering onsite childcare by trained professionals allows employees to know exactly where their kids are and gives them the peace of mind that can increase productivity. Tech companies like Amazon and Salesforce have even gone as far as to reimburse some tutoring and other backup childcare costs.
Whether or not you’re a parent, you’ll be thinking about the challenges that a renewed commute can pose, and who doesn’t want to save a buck on summer gas prices? Mass transit passes and gas or parking reimbursements will go a long way toward removing roadblocks to employees returning to the office.
Think of something your company is uniquely suited to provide. And I’m not talking about Apple’s cheeky penchant for stocking the kitchen with as many apples as you can eat. I’m talking about Spotify’s private concerts, Airbnb’s travel stipend, and Zynga’s gaming lounge.
These market leaders might have a few more resources to expend on fun, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a page out of their book. If there isn’t a unique angle to add some flash to your perks, go the personal route and poll your employees. Ask them what would make them more inclined to return to the office. Maybe it’s something that has nothing to do with the office but would be fun and help ease any nerves around returning. Figure out what’s within your budget and give a just-for-fun bonus to everyone coming back. The stories around these adventures will be a natural ice breaker around the office water cooler.
Many employees have grown to love the flexibility of being able to attend a meeting or complete others tasks while staying active. Whether it’s a walk, twenty minutes for meditation, or a shared meal outside, encourage your team to incorporate their favorite remote work breaks at the office.
I don’t know about your Instagram feeds, but it felt like just about everyone adopted a furry friend during their time at home. While these bonds are still forming, it might be hard to leave new buddies at home. If your office wasn’t already, consider implementing a pet-friendly policy.
Many employers helped remote workers set up a comfortable and productive space in their homes when offices closed last year. Why not reverse that, redesign the office for safety and comfort, and welcome employees back with some fun decorations, company gear, or a coffee mug with their new pet’s face on it?
Perks are meant to be a little extra and a lot of fun. In addition to productivity-based perks that make working easier, make sure that some perks are aimed at making the office an enjoyable place to spend time socializing. Events and activities that foster bonds between colleagues, even if it’s an offsite retreat, will naturally provide an incentive for coming to the office on a regular basis.
Speaking of fun, what’s more fun than a sugary treat that you don’t keep in your home? As the temperature rises, it might be time for your office to join Jeni’s pint of the month club. Want more variety? SnackMagic allows you to customize snacks for the whole team. You try grumbling about deadlines over a scoop of ice cream.
Whether it’s covering basic hurdles that didn’t have to be thinked about while working remotely or springing for perks that are purely just for fun, a little consideration for your employees’ return to the office will go a long way and set the tone for a successful return.
Let us know if any of these perks sound like a fit for your team or if you have any suggestions to add to the list! You can also share this article and join the conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
In our first conversation with our co-founder and CEO, Sean Grundy, he shared his reflections on the Bevi team’s remote experience. Today we’re talking about our planned return to the office later this summer.
Even though the Bevi team adapted quickly and made great strides while working remotely, we’re excited to get back to the office and see each other around the water cooler again.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, who’s planning his own return to office this summer, captured the importance of this when he said, “For us, it’s still very important to physically be in touch with one another because collaboration isn’t always a planned activity. Innovation isn’t always a planned activity. It’s bumping into each other over the course of the day and advancing an idea that you just had. And you really need to be together to do that.”
Though we couldn’t get Tim on the line, we’re thrilled to share another conversation with our own slightly less successful CEO. We discussed the importance of in-person collaboration, balancing remote work with it, and how to encourage safe, social interactions in the office.
The reason we think it’s important to get people back together at least two days a week, first and foremost, is because I think friendship at work is important.
When you actually genuinely care about the people you work with, I think you’re more motivated to do your job, and you go out of your way to help other people, especially people in other departments. Plus, work gets a lot easier, and it gets more fun. So I think it’s important to foster an environment where that friendship can happen.
And then I also think that you can do some jobs extremely well remotely, primarily jobs that require a very discrete set of tasks and maybe a standard set of tasks. But I think for more creative work, or if you’re trying to improve at a rapid rate, it becomes really important to overhear conversations or to jump into meetings you didn’t necessarily plan to go to. When you’re in person together, you learn a lot just from listening to a colleague talk to a customer on the phone, or chatting with an engineer about what they’re doing, and physically looking at whatever they’re building or designing.
I think it really varies throughout the company. For the most part, I think most people are excited to get back and see their colleagues. I hear primarily from the more stereotypically extroverted roles within a company, like our sales team, that they can’t wait to get back together.
So overall, I think people are psyched to see their colleagues again when it’s fully safe to do so. I think for some others, candidly, there’s probably some trepidation about changing what has now become a routine. Especially for people that maybe joined during the pandemic, and have never been to our office, it’s probably a little overwhelming. It probably feels like the first day of work all over again, to have to go in and meet everyone. So I think there’s probably a little hesitancy there as well. But for the most part, people are ready.
We really are seeking that balance of some time remote and some time in person. And to be honest, we’ve always kind of operated that way. We had some people that always worked from home for a day or two a week. Some people prefer to be in every day, but it was generally always okay to work from home when you wanted to.
Now that we’re formally defining it so that everyone can have clarity, we decided on two days a week in person minimum, and Wednesday will be mandatory to make sure there’s at least one day of overlap for all the teams. We want to have enough time in the office that your day isn’t just booked up from start to finish. Otherwise, you don’t have time for any of the serendipity that comes with chatting with colleagues you didn’t expect to chat with.
If you’re working on some kind of individual project like a budget, I do think it’s really important that you can just stay home for a day or two and not be in the office getting sidetracked or peppered with questions or have dogs jumping on you. It’s nice to be able to have that control over your schedule. So I think that’s really the benefit that we’ll keep, that ability to have time for you to focus on your own work and be home whenever that’s convenient for you.
There were a couple of things that were difficult or impossible to recreate remotely. One is proximity to customers. When we’re in the office, there are customers stopping by to check out new prototypes we’re developing or to try out our machines and make decisions about whether or not to get our product. And those regular conversations face to face with customers are just incredibly helpful for everything from product planning, to learning how to sell better, and just to develop empathy for our customers’ experience and understand what we need to do to improve. So I think that that kind of closeness to the customer has suffered a little over the last year. And I’m excited to gradually get that back.
Another issue is that we like to have challenging conversations about things like what channels should we sell through and what departments should we invest more or less money in. And in those conversations, even though at a high level we’re all on the same team and we all want the company to succeed, people take different stances. And there are situations where essentially some people win the debate, you know, some people get their way, and some don’t get their way.
In-person, I feel like the conversations were more intense, and I also felt the team would get closer after having them. We could really argue points, and hash out issues, but then all go out and get a drink together, and it would all be fine. Remotely, there’s just less debate. People feel less comfortable challenging a colleague in a remote setting where it’s not easy to smooth over the conversation after and say I’m sorry.
Well, there was the one time someone told me about an expensive business problem very casually while getting a drink of water. That one probably should have been an email.
But I do feel like that’s often where you get to know your colleagues, right? Like, that’s where you hear what someone’s working on that day, whether they’re pitching a new customer in a new market, or whether they have a pricing idea that might be really good and broadly applicable, and I think that those casual conversations go a long way.
You also learn about people’s interesting out-of-office skills. The other day, I found out that our colleague, Yvan, is a master of cutting fruit. He cuts fruit like a professional dessert chef. So that’s the kind of fun thing you learn about your colleagues when it’s a little more social, and that contributes to the familiarity and friendship we talked about earlier.
So the biggest factor for us definitely is, first and foremost, keep things safe. So we do have basic safety protocol being applied in the office, which is, you know if you’re not at your desk, you should have a mask on, desks should be more than six feet apart, etc.
But with that in mind, we are planning to encourage safe social interactions in a few ways. One is still TBD, but either free breakfasts or free lunches on days that everybody’s in, where we’re possibly going to encourage people to pair up for random meetings with other people in the company, just to get to know a little bit about what they’re working on.
For the most part, we’re still figuring out the specific plan, but another very big one for us is a staff retreat. The retreat was a huge part of Bevi culture prior to COVID, and it was something people really looked forward to. It honestly does wonders for building empathy within the company so that people understand and respect each other’s jobs. It’s also just a good time.
If we take a look at the companies in our customer base, for the next year hybrid work is definitely going to be the norm. And we’re seeing companies that are actually excited about hybrid work, kind of like we are where we’ve taken a stance that we think it’s a very productive and efficient option. But we’re also seeing companies that would like to be back full time, and I think they will have a hard time selling that to their employees. People are so used to working remotely that I think in some cases, companies will use the hybrid model as a transition period.
As we look farther out, say five years down the road, I think I take a contrarian view here because I’m expecting things to go back largely the way they were pre-COVID. One going theory is that COVID essentially accelerated a trend that would have happened anyway, over the course of 10 or 20 years, which was many companies working entirely remotely and having a lot more flexibility around when they’re in the office or not.
I’m predicting that companies that are together more in person will generally do better than companies that are remote, and I think that’ll lead other companies to essentially go back closer to the way things were.
I think there’s a lot of recency bias right now where the last year has started to feel normal for us. So we view a deviation from that as a big aberration. But I think, really, the last year has been the unusual period. I’m expecting people to continue to be creatures of habit, and I’m expecting them to get back to the habits that they had over hundreds of years prior to this period.
So my guess is, five years from now, we’ll probably see people working from home, I don’t know, one day a week or two days a week, but otherwise being in the office.
Want to share your thoughts on the remote experience or your return-to-the-office? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!
Jack Neary conducted this interview and wrote this article. Follow his blog here for more great content.
As we begin making our plans to return to the office later this year, we’re reflecting on the past year of remote work to take stock of what we gained and what we lost before we move forward. At Bevi we’ve always had the flexibility to take some work days at home, but it wasn’t apparent just how important the office was until we could no longer gather there.
To take a look back, we invited our co-founder and CEO, Sean Grundy, to sit down and share his thoughts on Bevi’s remote experience. We discussed the challenge of motivating a remote workforce, surprising ways the team stepped up, and lessons learned about being the CEO of a remote team.
When COVID really started surging in March in the US, there was a twofold concern. There was the standard concern that most companies had about how will there be business continuity and then there was a more existential threat of “What happens if our whole market shuts down?” And that’s essentially what happened, our whole market shut down nationwide over the course of a few weeks as offices just shuttered their doors.
And that was a really scary period because we saw so many companies just completely shutting down their offices and shifting to remote work. We realized we were essentially experiencing a market collapse since over 90% of our clients are corporate offices. So that was very scary.
What I tried to do was be optimistic without being unrealistic.
Things have definitely gotten better after it became clear that there were vaccines that could put an end to COVID, but up until then, it was a very, very stressful period, and very hard to keep people motivated. The biggest challenge for us was really trying to retain our belief in our long term market.
One strategy there was continuing to invest in designing a commercial office product like a new machine for commercial offices. And it took a lot of conviction to essentially show the team we believe so much that this office market is going to return that even after restructuring and cost cutting, we’re continuing to heavily invest in a product for this very same commercial market. And in some ways, I’d say it defied what a lot of people viewed as common sense. I think there was this common sense that we would try to find a way to pivot, but we thought it was important to continue dominating the space that we initially captured with Bevi.
So we decided, for the most part, to focus our resources on B2B product development and just really, really stay committed to the course we were on and designing the best possible products for the commercial office. And I think it was motivating to the team to show that the company leadership and investors all still believed enough to continue to try to stay the leader in this space.
The whole team has shown a willingness to get outside their job descriptions. It took a lot of personal resilience to handle all that as well as belief that the future would get better again.
Our team really believes in the long term trends. We really believe that there will be demand for sustainable beverage solutions – that single-use plastic bottles or aluminum cans don’t have a future, but that really high-end tap connected filtration devices do. I think that belief—that it makes sense not just for the world but economically—has been reassuring.
As I mentioned, we also have a resilient team. I was recently talking to a member of our tech support team who said he always considered himself a resilient person but didn’t realize just how resilient he was until this past year.
I probably should have had more frequent communication. A mentor recently made the comment that if you don’t fill the space with communication, people will fill it for you. Meaning that if you don’t proactively share the plans and the challenges you’re working on, people will come up with their own theories about what those are.
With a remote team that has less of the catchup time to share priorities and communicate about ongoing projects, I think more communication is better. I probably should have had more one-on-one conversations as well as more frequent general updates about goals and priorities, especially as we saw how quickly things could change in the COVID era.
Believe it or not, the thing I missed the most was just plain sparkling water. I took it for granted and viewed it as a normal office option and then once I had to go without it, I started really missing and craving it.
Don’t miss part two of our conversation with Sean later this month. We’ll discuss his thoughts on going back to the office including the importance of in-person collaboration, balancing remote work with it, and how to encourage safe, social interactions. In the meantime, we’d love for you to share this article and join the conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!
Jack Neary conducted this interview and wrote this article. Follow his blog here for more great content.
When you walk back into the office after 12+ months from being away, is the smell of bleach the first thing you want welcoming you when you open the door? Probably not. Health and safety are the number one concern as we welcome employees back to their desks, but that goes beyond cleaning surfaces and sanitizing your hands every 30 seconds.
Staying clean is important, but so is staying green. That’s why we’ve compiled a checklist of ways to keep the office safe and sustainable as you welcome your team back to work. But if you are looking for the cliff notes, here are our top 3 suggestions:
Open up those windows and shades and get as much fresh air in as possible. According to the CDC, bringing in fresh, outdoor air helps keep virus particles from accumulating inside. Plus, about 25% of the electricity consumed in the US is used to light office spaces so opt for some natural light instead.
After investigating more than 2,000 cleaning supplies on the market in the US, the Environmental Working Group found that many contain substances linked to serious health problems including asthma and cancer. Scrap the plastic, toxic cleaning products and hand sanitizers across the board and opt for eco-friendly options.
Invest in cleaning products like Blueland so you only have to buy the bottles once and then order re-fill tablets forever. Their products are not only EWG Verified but, all packaging is recyclable, compostable, or both.
Purchase hand sanitizers that are plant-based, vegan, sulfate-free, paraben-free, or cruelty-free yet still contain more than the CDC’s suggested 60% ethanol like this one from 100% pure.
Have you heard in the term “hygiene theater”? Joseph G. Allen, an associate professor and director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, talks about how there is not a single documented case of covid-19 transmission from surfaces—the virus is transmitted through the air. More time and effort should be spent on cleaning shared air, not shared surfaces. His advice is to not overdo it with cleaning every surface 24/7.
Download the full checklist here and print it out, laminate it, and hang it around the office to remind employees of ways they can stay healthy and eco-friendly as they get back in the groove.
According to Axios @ Work, 90% of people surveyed picture an office in their future but don’t picture themselves working there every day. It seems that although most employees are eager to get back to the office in some capacity, the perks of working remotely are not something that they’re ready to trade in for good. What if we found a way to get back in the office safely while still allowing for the flexibility of working from home? Enter the hybrid model.
A survey by PwC estimates that around 50% of office workers will work from home part of each week, and when they’re in the office, there’s no doubt that they’ll be communicating with coworkers who are remote. The offices that we left last year aren’t yet optimized for this format so preparing our physical office spaces for safe, healthy, and productive collaboration is going to take some work, but it’s exciting to have an opportunity to reimagine what’s best for our teams as we move forward.
As you begin to think about how your workspaces will support this new format, here are some tips and resources for rethinking the cube, improving communication between those in the office and at home, and making the office a more social and connected space.
A high priority before we return to the office is reconfiguring our actual workspaces to ensure that employees feel safe while still having all the tools they need to perform at a high level. Here are a few ideas for getting your space ready:
Harvard Business Review recommends finding a balance between the open plans of the past and the new potential for refreshed social interaction. This may include “incorporating design elements that enable social interactions of many types—from a quick chat at the corner of an open stairway to low-voiced gossip by the kitchen counter or the coffee machine.”
Fast Company reimagines workspaces as “groups of ‘neighborhoods,’ or flexible spaces with movable furniture easily reconfigured by the user where teams can co-locate but seats are not assigned.” The same setup that produces the best acoustics for a Zoom call likely won’t be the same setup that’s best for an in-office meeting so consider investing in modular spaces and furniture.
However your workspaces come together, be flexible and open to rethinking the flow and design of your office as more people begin to collaborate in these spaces and demonstrate their needs in real-time.
For as long as we’ve been scheduling conference calls with our teams, clients, and business partners, there has always been the option of dialing in remotely. And as long as we’ve been dialing in remotely, we’ve been dealing with bad connections and other issues that can arise when technology isn’t perfectly synced to our needs. The return to physical workspaces as part of a hybrid model makes it all the more important to improve the quality of these interactions and create consistency as some employees work in the office and some tune in from home.
While audio and visual technology has improved at an exponential rate recently, the physical office hasn’t always kept up. As you invest in screens, microphones, lighting, and other technology, make sure the layout and acoustics of your meeting rooms are optimized to work with the sound and images that will keep your hybrid team connected.
If you’ve been lax about the use of communication and project management tools in the past, it might also be time to formalize expectations so that no matter where employees choose to spend their workday, everyone in every location has access to the same information, services, and expectations.
As Elizabeth Lowrey points out, “Because the office is no longer a mandate, it must become a magnet—a genuinely welcoming place where employees want to be.” Though the serendipitous breakthroughs that we associate with in-person brainstorming are, by definition, not something that can be manufactured, that doesn’t mean that offices can’t be designed to encourage the conditions in which great ideas are most likely to be produced. A few ways to make the office more social and conducive to collaboration include:
Though it’s tempting to discourage socialization as we remain vigilant about health guidelines, research continues to show that the unstructured collaboration that occurs around the watercooler is essential for productivity.
As we mentioned in our last post about resources for returning to the office, clear communication with employees is key to a smooth reentry. Input from the people who will actually be inhabiting these redesigned spaces will make sure that they can do their best work. Anecdotal feedback is important, but so is reading between the lines of company data.
For example, one tech company that decided to cut costs and remove their coffee machine was surprised at just how important coffee chats could be. Initially, after the removal of the machine, it looked like productivity increased based on the output of their coders. After looking more closely, however, it turned out that the number of product releases actually went down. The lesson? Informal chats around a coffee machine or smart water dispenser can be just as valuable as meetings on the calendar.
The hybrid model is here to stay, and it has great potential to be a positive change if we properly plan for it. It gives us an opportunity to meld the best of office culture with the flexibility of working from home. We’ve done both independently, and now it’s time to move on to the next generation of working style as we plan our return to the office.
What tips do you have for implementing the hybrid model? We’d love for you to share this article and join the conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!