The holidays can be stressful for the healthcare professionals on your team. These 10 perks show you care and may even help you retain more of them over the long term.
1. Partner with local businesses to offer your team exclusive discounts
Secure exclusive discounts at local businesses that your team loves. If you don’t know which businesses are their favorites, conduct a survey to find out.
2. Reward seasonal top performers
Thank holiday performers for their hard work with a gift card or other small reward, such as a VIP parking space or “coffee on the boss” for a week.
3. Celebrate the season with your team
When healthcare professionals work on holidays, they may miss out on their family traditions. Create holiday traditions at your organization that center food and togetherness to foster stronger bonds between team members.
4. Keep healthy snacks on hand
Stock the break room with protein bars, yogurt, apples, and other healthy snacks to give team members an energy boost during busy shifts.
5. Normalize, support and encourage breaks
Encourage your team to step away whenever they need to. If you have space, designate a small room as a “zen room” where they can take a moment to themselves. They’ll return to work refreshed, refocused and in better spirits.
6. Offer on-site chair massage
Holiday stress can be physical, too! Help workers get some tension relief by bringing in massage therapists every so often to give short chair massages during breaks.
7. Spa day reimbursement
Self-care is essential for mitigating burnout, especially during this busy time. Encourage your team to get pampered by reimbursing holiday spa services up to a certain amount, or arrange services on-site and cover the cost.
8. Flexible scheduling and shorter shifts
Ninety four percent of healthcare professionals say their jobs have required significant personal sacrifices, and of those, 73% have missed major holidays. Consider offering shorter shifts so team members don’t have to miss the whole holiday, and adjust schedules to accommodate PTO. If you need extra coverage, use the ShiftKey app to engage reliable independent professionals who work on holidays because they choose to do so.
9. Offer child care assistance
With daycare prices on the rise, free or discounted child care can make a significant difference for your employees. This also shows you recognize their responsibilities outside of work and are committed to helping them manage it all. Providers have gotten creative with supporting child care for employees, from tagging employees to watch groups of kids in shifts at on-site daycares or offering stipends.
10. Support mental wellness
The majority of healthcare professionals report increased burnout, with 62% saying they’re burned out now. Meditation apps (like Calm and Headspace) and virtual counseling (like Talkspace and Better Health) can go a long way in supporting your team. Many offer corporate discounts or free access to some features for healthcare workers.
Consider working these offerings (as well as mental health counseling) into your organization’s Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), and regularly remind staff that mental health resources are available.
If your organization cannot invest in those tools now, make it easier for healthcare workers to find low-cost support. For example,Nurse Journal provides an extensive list of low-cost services you might want to highlight for your team.
Need extra support for your team this holiday season?
Discover ShiftKey, and tap into a national network of reliable, independent healthcare professionals who can help you deliver high quality care all year round.
