3 Corporate Perks for Remote Workers and Global Teams

Working remotely has become the new normal ever since the pandemic in 2020. What began as a necessary, abrupt change a couple of years ago, has become a standard for doing business. Some companies have embraced a fully remote working environment, while most companies have accepted the hybrid model of both working at home and at the office.

There are several reasons why things haven’t gone back to the way they were before COVID-19. Most often working remotely means cutting costs. Also, some companies have simply seen this as a chance to easily hire people from around the world without physically transferring them, which creates so many more opportunities in the hiring market.

But what does working remotely really mean and how has it changed the scope of work for employees and the HR team?

Research conducted at a large Asian IT company has shown that IT professionals have seen a rise of 18% outside their normal business working hours. It’s not that difficult to imagine this after all. You get up, wash your face, make some coffee and start working immediately, not wasting any time on getting ready, traffic, and commuting. People who are completely remote tend to work at weekends too, simply because their job and the working hours have blended with their private life so well during the last couple of years.

That’s why managing remote working and remote workers have become one of the top priorities for Human Resources over the past years. How HR professionals work with their employees has changed because the whole business manner has changed. Most importantly all of this means that the whole perspective on employee benefits has changed as well. The end line is that the whole point of employee benefits is to attract, engage and hold on to quality employees. This all works for the benefit of the company and accomplishing its mission.

To facilitate the hiring of remote workers, companies can leverage remote job boards such as RemoteWokr. It is a prominent remote job board that connects employers with a vast talent pool of professionals experienced in remote work arrangements. By utilizing it, companies can streamline their hiring process and find qualified candidates who are well-suited to remote work.

3 Creative Perks for Remote Workers

It’s 2023 and without attractive employee benefits it’s going to be very difficult to find and keep good remote workers. Most companies are already doing their best on the topic and stepping up the game for their competition. So if you want to be up-to-date and fulfill the expectations of remote workers, keep reading to find out what are the most popular perks for remote workers and global teams that HR professionals can easily implement.

Use EOR Services

Handling remote workers oftentimes means managing workers that are residents of different countries around the world. This means that there are different employment laws to be taken into consideration for each country employees come from. This complicates things immensely for the HR team. Therefore if you want things to be done professionally, legally, and smoothly for all parties involved there should be an Employer of Record company involved in the process.

Hiring EOR services, such as Global Expansion, is a true asset for the company because they handle all aspects of the employment process such as

• hiring
• onboarding
• payment
• terminating the employment

The EOR does all of this as a third-party company handling HR services in alignment with local laws and procedures. Their name appears on all documentation and they take all legal responsibility for the process.

The existence of EORs has eased the process of hiring and managing remote workers and has opened so many opportunities for companies and potential candidates as well. By using EORs, companies can be more inclusive and diverse. It also helps them reduce labor costs and increase innovation. Because once you have a service helping you legally hire people from around the world, the sky’s the limit.

Use alternative payroll providers

Using alternative payroll methods comes naturally when you have remote workers who need to be paid in different parts of the world. Using a crypto payroll provider is probably one of the more innovative ways to handle payroll and keep your workers happy while you ease the work of HR.

Sounds like the future of payroll? Well, actually it’s already here and it’s easily applicable. There are already a lot of companies that pay their workers in this manner. Usually, they need the approval or request of their employees to issue such payments. The existing crypto payroll providers and solutions are the bridge between traditional invoicing technologies and payroll and the fiercely imposing field of Bitcoin and crypto.

Here are some aspects to keep in mind before you decide to pay your employees in crypto.

• Choose a third-party service provider
• Make sure the country you’re working with is crypto-friendly
• Ask your employees for written approval/request/authorization
• Make sure you regulate taxes

Although it’s becoming quite normal, offering your remote employees alternative ways of payment is still considered a great asset for the company. However, you must remain wise and sensible and use a quality provider to conduct the process. This will guarantee you and your employees a smooth payroll and a positive working environment.

Invest in remote workstations

Working in the office and working from home is very different when it comes to employees’ workstations. Many remote employees are sitting on their dining room tables or couches. This is far from the quality chairs, sit/stand desks, and adjustable monitors and keyboards they have at work. Poor workstation conditions will lead to poor ergonomics, pain, and less productivity.

So companies working online must consider this perspective and make sure their employees have appropriate working conditions. By doing this, they minimize the chance of injury due to bad ergonomics. How can this be done? By following these simple rules.

• Setting aside a designated budget for each employee to enhance their workspace
• Giving employees advice and ideas on how to set up a home office properly.
• Checking in on employees and making sure they’ve got everything they need to do their job smoothly.

A nice home office and proper workstation will not only prevent poor ergonomics but will also result in employees being more comfortable and therefore more productive and more motivated.

Provide mental health care

The COVID-10 pandemic is reported as one of the most stressful periods in their career by 70% of US workers. Although the pandemic is over, it seems remote working is here to stay. Working more hours in combination with less physical activity and social interaction has taken its toll on remote workers. And it’s a combination that leads to burnout. Employee burnout harms the physical and mental health of the workers and is damaging to the overall working environment.

In addition to physical health benefits, each remote company must provide mental health benefits as well. This goes beyond the standard benefits and means employers must remind and encourage workers to use these benefits. This can be done in several ways:

• Creating a mental-awareness culture.

Teach employees to recognize burnout and encourage them to talk openly about any issues they have.

• Implement asynchronous working culture.

This means that everybody is aware of when and how they contact somebody. Emails should be well written and contain all information to prevent long back-and-forth chats. You can also include `no meeting days` to improve work-life balance.

• Use technology to improve mental health.

Although we’re all trying to get away from technology and have a break from it, there are so many apps now that work in favor of our mental health. Provide your employees with a yearly subscription to some of these apps and arrange informal meetings to talk about the benefits of it and exchange ideas on how to use them.

Over to you

We hope that the list we’ve put up for you will trigger your curiosity and provide you with a solid base on how to treat remote workers and global teams and what is most important for them. Ultimately these perks should prove an environment that will attract, motivate and retain quality workers for your company.