In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, employee wellbeing has become a crucial issue for companies. Many have recently introduced benefits and programs, including psychological care, stress management workshops, promotion of physical activity, and health prevention. Actions to support work-life balance have also been implemented. Pluxee, in turn, encourages companies to establish an original wellbeing initiative like the Day of Pleasure at Work.
“It’s worth considering such a day – one day a year focused on employees’ needs and motivations. We recommend organizing it during the winter season, when we suffer from fatigue, decreased energy and mood. It’s also a chance for team integration and an incentive to return to the office,” says Arkadiusz Rochala, General Manager of Pluxee Poland.
“A worker is a person who spends about 40 years of their adult life at work, so in this context, wellbeing is a very significant aspect that influences their engagement, motivation, mood, and how they perform their tasks,” explains Katarzyna Turska, HR Director at Pluxee Poland.
Wellbeing, referring to the overall level of satisfaction, comfort, and workers’ mental and physical health in the context of their professional life, has become an increasingly important issue for companies and HR departments, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic worsened workers’ mental conditions, increased problems with work-life balance and professional burnout, contributing to the “great resignation” wave. The rise in prices, living costs, and economic uncertainty, which destabilized workers’ financial security, also played a part. Employers understand that all of this impacts physical and emotional health, affecting workers’ mood, and consequently, the quality of the tasks they perform, engagement, and productivity at work.
Wellbeing should not be treated by companies as a cost but as an investment, which brings tangible benefits, including less absence and sick leave, less staff turnover, greater productivity, better financial results, and a positive employer image.
“Almost every area related to the work environment and the HR area, including recruitment, staff turnover, atmosphere, and relationships, depends on the wellbeing of employees and leaders. This also translates into the quality of work, results, creativity, innovation, teamwork, and ultimately the business efficiency and position of the organization,” says the HR director at Pluxee Poland.
As part of caring for employee wellbeing, companies implement various benefits and programs. These include psychological care, stress management workshops, physical activity promotion and health prevention programs, integrating actions, and work-life balance support like flexible working hours. Pluxee, on the other hand, encourages companies to establish an original wellbeing and employee experience initiative, such as the Day of Pleasure at Work.
“Pleasure is primarily associated with private life, but it also plays an important role in the professional sphere. It is connected with creativity, positive energy, team integration and inspires greater commitment. It could be one of the elements to combat professional burnout,” points out Katarzyna Turska.
“The Day of Pleasure is supposed to be an opportunity to take care of and appreciate one another, an opportunity for small joys and showing how significant it is to create a pleasurable, positive atmosphere at work, to ensure work provides satisfaction, maintains balance, and caters to differing needs. In the current, demanding times, where quiet quitting phenomena are prevalent, this holds specific significance. For leaders, it could also be another opportunity to appreciate an employee and give him a gift that will boost his motivation,” says Arkadiusz Rochala, General Manager of Pluxee Poland.
Pluxee – the brand that replaced Sodexo Benefits & Rewards on the Polish market a few months ago – organized its Day of Pleasure at Work on February 14th. One of its elements was a Valentine’s Day post for employees, allowing everyone to send words of thanks, appreciation, wishes or greetings to their colleagues.
“It’s a tradition that’s extremely popular,” mentions Katarzyna Turska.
Pluxee is also promoting the use of cards, one of the most popular non-wage benefits, for small pleasures. Companies provide them to employees, who activate their cards in the Pluxee mobile application – there, they can check their balance and transaction history, manage their card, set their PIN, and initiate online transactions with payment authentication.
“It provides complete freedom of choice, responding to current consumer needs,” stresses the General Manager of Pluxee Poland. “We know from research that our prepaid cards allow people to afford personal pleasures that they do not use daily or do not allocate funds to from their basic salary. The Pluxee brand is about the pleasure of everyday life; that’s our philosophy and our market position. And it fits perfectly with the needs of HR departments related to motivating employees.”
