Drive-in movies, barbecues, spa day? As staff returns to the office, firms mull new perks, bringing back old traditions

Most summers, employees might enjoy office perks like casual Fridays, company barbecues or even weekend retreats.

But last summer, most employees were hunkered down at home working remotely trying to navigate the new normal.

This summer as offices begin to transition employees back, experts say, employers should consider offering perks that might help employees re-acclimate back to the workplace as well as take into account a remote or hybrid work model.

"Summer is a time to look at ways to bring people together and potentially in a fun interactive way," says Erin Lau, manager of human resource services for Insperity. "It’s a soft introduction to coming back as a team or company," says Lau, who works in the Manhattan and Jericho offices of the Texas-based human resources firm.

Many employers are using the summer months to begin easing employees back, and with that conversations are starting as to what summer perks might look like, she says.

'Lazy summer days'

Some employers are discussing giving additional paid time off days during the summer, she says, adding "There’s just an overall sense of employees feeling burned out and needing time to get away and unplug."

Also, she notes, because of the pandemic many employees skipped vacations last year.

Jennifer Trakhtenberg, senior talent leader at ClearVision Optical, a Hauppauge-based designer and distributor of eyewear, says the company will be offering employees two "lazy summer days" on top of regular paid time off. She says employees can pick two days between May and September to come in three hours later on a Monday or leave three hours earlier on a Friday.

The office will be hybrid this summer, meaning in-person and remote, and summer activities will reflect that as it did last summer, she says.

In-person and virtual events

Last summer, among in-person activities the company offered: a drive-in movie theater experience where employees watched a movie from their cars in the company parking lot; meetups with different departments at a park or beach where they enjoyed food; and gift pickup stations in its parking lot where they offered gifts or treats for employees, she says.

Other activities last summer included a virtual baking demonstration and a virtual yoga and paint night.

This summer ClearVision is bringing back the drive-in movie experience and tasty meetups. They also might add a food truck/barbecue experience, and offer virtual activities. Last month, they set up a virtual escape room for employees, Trakhtenberg says.

Strengthening group connections

Other companies will look to bring back past traditions.

For about a decade, East Hampton-based WordHampton Public Relations has offered their workers a spa day. But the spa they normally go to is undergoing renovation and if they can't go to the spa this summer, executive vice president Nicole Castillo says, they'll charter a boat for an outing to the North Fork and have lunch.

Personalizing employee perks

It’s important to find ways for employees to connect as a group, but also find perks that resonate with them personally, experts say.

"Every company is competing for talent," says Amy Spurling, CEO/co-founder of Compt, a perk management software that helps employers allocate and manage stipends that can be used for personalized employee perks.

With that in mind companies are leaving it up to their employees to choose the preferred perks.

There may be a health/wellness category that employees can access for things such as yoga or new running shoes for a 5K, she says.

The top five spending categories Compt sees employees taking advantage of are health and wellness, productivity, food, cellphones and professional development, Spurling says, adding many of these are geared toward remote work lifestyles like paying for a portion of an employee’s internet bills.

"I think summer perks should be the foundation of perks they want to offer year-round," says Janine Nicole Dennis, chief innovations officer at Talent Think Innovations, a Wheatley Heights-based multidisciplinary business strategy firm.

She sees fitness as a big incentive with people either losing or gaining weight during the pandemic. So she suggests bringing in a nutritionist to talk to employees.

Also, says Dennis, with so many people working from home on their computers she suggests companies partner with a vision/eyewear company to give employee eye exams or discuss computer usage and eye strain.

Regardless of what they offer, employers should see summer as an opportunity to almost "reset," she says, noting, "it’s the first prong in your onboarding and welcoming back employees."

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