Buzzwords like “remote work,” “hybrid work,” “anti-perks,” and “employee experience” now rule in the modern workplace and have become part of the global pop culture.
Interestingly, all these words share a common factor: employee wellbeing.
The workplace, as an industry, has grown to recognize that employees have feelings, emotions, and needs that cannot be ignored if excellent performance is a business goal. Gone are the days when these feelings, emotions, and needs were mere slips of paper in dusty suggestion boxes around the office.
Businesses are getting more personal with the wellbeing of their employees. As a result, more businesses than ever are more intentional about offering meaningful perks, providing hybrid work options, and paying more attention to improving overall employee experience.
And as the nature of work shifts to hybrid/remote work, we are also seeing a substantial shift in how companies execute employee recognition programs.
Modern businesses are actively listening to their employees and taking steps to show them that they recognize and acknowledge their needs while making moves to amply reward their efforts.
In return, employees feel seen and appreciated as an integral part of the company, inspiring unwavering employee loyalty.
Today, we explore the modern focus on employee well-being through the lens of the modern approach to employee recognition programs.
First, why does employee recognition matter now more than ever?
Why Employee Recognition Is More Important Than Ever
To start with, employee recognition has always mattered.
However, one can strongly argue that there is a substantial improvement in how employee recognition is approached in recent times. This is especially the case when you consider the fact that “employee well-being” as a concept is now a centerpiece in modern business operations.
Working during the pandemic was mentally draining, a situation that was worsened by the stress and detachment that came with mandatory work-from-home in most industries.
Consequently, the pandemic further exposed the link between employee wellbeing and work performance on a global scale, prompting employers to pay more attention to the mental health and overall wellbeing of their workers
The pandemic has gone, but work-from-home (via hybrid/remote work) still remains, and it comes with many factors that remind employers to pay attention to employee wellbeing.
A 2022 American Psychological Association Work and Well-being Survey results show that 71% of worker also agree that, indeed, their employers are now more concerned about their mental health than in the past.
About 81% of workers also agreed that how an employer supports their well-being (especially mental health) will be an important factor when they look for work.
This survey is proof that paying attention to employee well-being is a practical business growth strategy for attracting and retaining top-quality employees.
As I/O psychologist Heidi Glickman, PhD, put it: “Companies that focused on promoting a good culture thrived, and those that didn’t lost employees.”
Therefore, it is no surprise that companies are now focusing considerable resources on improving their employee rewards and recognition programs.
More importantly, they are cutting off traditional rewards systems that don’t do much to make employees feel appropriately recognized and rewarded.
The Downside of Traditional Rewards
Unsurprisingly, generic company swags and standard gifts have lost their sway and hold in the workplace.
After all, most people are not particularly thrilled by the idea of having company-branded t-shirts, pens, mugs, and things as such. They feel more like owning a piece of a company’s advertisement than they do feel like gifts.
Generic cards and thank-you notes don’t help either. A jumble of words lacking character, sentiments, depth, and personality often hold no value—even if they were intended to be kind and uplifting.
To show your workers that you care about them, you have to give them something that they will value and cherish. Traditional rewards don’t quite cut it.
Now, the question is: what are employers doing differently about employee recognition programs in 2025?
What Modern Recognition Looks Like in 2025
The modern workplace is big on personalization. You see it everywhere: from how modern offices are designed to the freedom to choose where and how to work in hybrid work settings.
That personalization is also very evident in how companies now execute their employee reward and recognition programs. You see it in how companies facilitate peer-to-peer recognitions and in how they are shifting to digital gifting and gift cards.
In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lists gift cards, such as custom visa gift cards, as the #1 gift option for employers looking to show their employees that they truly appreciate them.
Unlike traditional rewards, these employee recognition strategies are far more personal and heartwarming. They help create notable workplace memories while signaling to your workers that working with you is totally worth it.
To understand the level of personalization in modern employee recognitions and how they boost employee morale and retention, let’s explore the attributes of custom visa gift cards, for instance.
Custom visa gift cards are basically visa cards that you can tweak as you want to meet crucial business needs, including employee rewards and managing expenses.
However, they are better in the sense that you can design them with logos, personalized messaging, custom colors, and even a meme.
You can design them for a special holiday, long leave, end-of-year rewards, or just to eternalize your employee’s memorable moment.
This level of personalization creates a plethora of avenues to appeal to your employees’ interests and well-being while equally promoting your business.
More so, custom visa gift cards are flexible, versatile, and ultimately universal:
- They can be redeemed over the phone, online, or in-store at any place that accepts Visa cards.
- Unlike traditional gift cards, they don’t limit your employee to spending all their cash in one place.
- You can load them instantly at any time with specific amounts without incurring excessive costs.
Other forms of modern recognition, such as gamification, feedback, performance awards, wellness rewards, and mentorship, among others, also entrench various degrees of the much-desired personalization the modern employee yearns for and improve overall employee experience.
More importantly, you secure long-term employee loyalty.
How to Build a Future-Proof Recognition Program
How do you create a recognition system that works, even in your absence? How do you avoid ending up with a recognition program that becomes obsolete before 2025 comes to an end?
The tips below can take you a long way:
- Learn employee preferences to ensure you’re not wasting resources on things that don’t matter.
- Use digital solutions and platforms to ensure seamless recognition, even with minimal oversight. For instance, you can utilize employee recognition software or opt for Visa e-gift cards.
- Combine personal and scalable formats to keep your company on track without hassles as your business expands and your employee list grows.
While these tips focus on improving employee well-being through recognition, some of the elements highlight the need to stay conscious of company resources.
You don’t have to empty the company coffers on recognition programs. In fact, that would oppose the whole idea of employee recognition, which is supposed to make your employees feel like they are on a solid base.
Conclusion
The hybrid era, fueled by global workplace shifts during the pandemic, has greatly reshaped how many things are done in the workplace, including employee recognition and reward programs.
Companies that want to move forward and keep forward in the modern workplace must redefine their approach to employee recognition, if they want to retain their employees.
And it all starts with discarding generic rewards and embracing personalized recognition and rewards that speak to the interest and needs of your employees unreservedly.
Done right, the rewards are immense for both the employees and the employers.
