As the pandemic starts to die down, companies are requiring their staff to start working in the office again as opposed to the remote work setup. Some employees would rather stay home for work since it's less of a hassle, but Aviva is providing incentives for those who choose not to.
Aviva's Performance-Based Bonuses
Aviva is Britain's biggest insurer and has around 16,000 employees working under it. Like all other companies, they were forced to allow staff to work from the comfort of their home due to social distancing policies. Now that that's over, they would prefer that employees go back on-site.
Unlike other company giants, Aviva is trying out a different approach to encourage workers, as opposed to other tactics wherein workers would find themselves unemployed if they refuse to come back. The company is trying to let workers come to the office for at least half of the week.
Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc implemented a change where senior managers being able to lure their teams back will be part of their yearly performance assessment. If they do well, then they will get their bonuses, as per The Guardian, presumably based on how many staff return.
In addition to that, select Aviva locations have also dropped their parking charges to help with the rising cost of living. Locations with free parking include Norwich, Birmingham, Sheffield, and other locations in the UK. Sadly, London is not granted the same privilege.
According to the company, the number of people coming to the office has increased every month within the year. There has also been a decline in the number of days taken off due to mental health concerns.
Aviva Chief People Officer, Danielle Harmer said that the majority of the staff are now back in the office for the majority of the week. "Our colleagues clearly value working side by side, collaborating, and meeting regularly in person," she added.
Amazon Used a Different Method
While Aviva lets its employees split their work week for the days they go to the office and stay home, Amazon has a different approach in mind. The retail giant is giving its employees two choices: Go back to the office or don't come back at all.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy already announced the return-to-office mandate back in February, but has already lost the patience and demanded that workers must return by the 1st of May. Jassy says that it was "past time to disagree and commit."
As reported by Gizmodo, the Amazon CEO stated that it's not right for some to disagree with the mandate when others are already following it and that if they can't commit, it was "probably not going to work out" for them in Amazon.
This is difficult for certain staff since they gained employment during the remote work situation, and they live far from the offices. The company once promised that the work-from-home setup was permanent, which is what encouraged applicants from distant locations to apply in the first place.
