Did you know that the third Monday of the month in January is known as Blue Monday. It’s a time when the post-Christmas blues set in, the nights are getting cold and dark, there’s talk of snow on the way and all those unpaid credit card bills start popping through the letterbox. There’s even a formula to calculate Blue Monday [W + (D-d)] x Tq ÷ [M x Na]. The W stands for weather, D is debt and the small d is monthly income. T = the time since Christmas, Q = time since failing New Year’s resolutions, M represents low motivation levels and Na is the feeling of a need to take action. So, how can we help employees with benefits to beat the blues. Here are our top tips ...
Help them take control of their health
Motivate your employees to take control of their health by offering benefits such as high-quality health screenings, delivered on or off site. With tailored follow-up advice as standard, the health and wellbeing of your employees can dramatically improve resulting in fewer sick days and increased productivity. Or how about helping them with their emotional wellbeing and giving them access to online tools to increase their positivity levels, reduce their stress levels and become more resilient.
To see the fantastic benefits to beat the blues you could be offering to your employees, get in touch with us to find out more.
Remind them that it’s never too late to get fit
If employees have already failed their New Year’s resolution of getting that gym membership organised, remind them that it’s not too late! Offer them an incentive with discounted gym memberships via Salary Sacrifice or Net Pay Deductions. Our preferred provider offers choice, coverage and great savings with the UK's leading gym chains, leisure centres, hotel health clubs, independent gyms, boot camps and yoga studios. Additionally, employees can save up to 12% National Insurance. Great benefits to beat the blues you could be offering to your employees now.
Arm them with financial knowledge ...
Handling all of those post-Christmas credit card bills can be quite daunting. But, what if you could help them by arming them with the knowledge and means to help them manage their 2020 finances? You could give them access to something like the Money Advice Service, which is available on our platform and is impartial money advice, set up by government. Or, by introducing our preferred financial wellbeing solution who offer a wealth of online financial education as well as affordable options for employees who want to borrow money and consolidate existing debt. Financial wellbeing is definitely at the top of the list of benefits to beat the blues.
Help them make their money go further ...
With the average weekly household spend in the UK at £572.60, according to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS), you could help them to cut their everyday spending by offering a range of discounts such as cheaper car insurance, train tickets, utility bills and mobile phones. Cashback schemes are also a popular way to save money by earning a percentage back on their purchases in real money. Pre-paid gift cards are also a clever way to cut the cost of their weekly food shop.
Give them Recognition ...
Often, it’s not all about the money but about motivation, as the formula above suggests. Give your employees some renewed vigour and enhance their wellbeing by introducing a reward and recognition scheme linked to your company values. It will also give you an extra way of improving the retention rates of your most valued staff by making them feel more engaged, motivated and productive. And, you’ll be driving positive behaviours, building a supportive culture and embedding your company values. Find out more about our Recognition platform here.
We'd love to talk to you more about these and other benefits to beat the blues. Get in touch today.