Something for the weekend…
Everyone knows that motivated staff are more engaged and loyal and, therefore, help to boost their employer’s productivity, but it is not always easy to find effective motivational tools with which to work.
Well, here is one idea that may help employers to motivate their employees and improve their work-life balance: proactively offer them time off to pursue their hobbies, because the outcome may surprise them.
John Singleton’s story is a case in point. His employer, AEV Varnishes, allowed him to take the day off to compete in a regional qualifying golf tournament for The Open Championship.
Singleton borrowed a set of golf clubs from a friend and was successful enough to mount a challenge for the Claret Jug, from 17 to 21 July.
There is now oodles of scope for AEV to support Singleton pursue his passion, such as providing a voluntary sports gear benefit so that he can pay off his new shiny golf clubs via a salary sacrifice arrangement.
A decent performance might also warrant a reward, such as a bonus to help retain the star employee in case he ever considered quitting to play golf for a living, but one step at a time.
Encouraging sport within the workplace is a great way towards improving the mental and physical wellbeing of employees in the workplace. Despite commercial pressures, Arup fully sponsored a multi-sports team to compete in the World Corporates Games in Liverpool during June, and the team finished third overall, with one of our female tennis players being crowned champion. The buzz and excitement it generated was great for the morale of the people who participated. We’ve also sponsored an employee to compete in the World Dragon Race in China in September. She has been grateful to the firm for this support, which also included flexible working so that she could train for the event. Sport should be at the heart of any wellbeing strategy and if we can help to produce champions, all the better.