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Articles by Alexandra Powell
When Did You Feel Your Best?
“Health”. One syllable. One word. Yet so fluid, manifesting in a plethora of ways. Whether it is physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, health matters, and it means something different to each and every one of us. Health and feeling your best isn’t a cookie-cutter outline, and it’s most definitely not something set in stone. Think of it as more like a liquid, something malleable that takes the shape of whatever it’s placed in. Health is meant to fit us.
Boosting Well-being Over Bigger Paydays
Four best practices thatcreate an environment where employees want to stay and thrive, even when budgets are tight. By Alexandra Powell A profound shift is redefining what matters to employees in today’s workplace. The office landscape of 2026 is buzzing with a new energy, and it’s not just about the money. According to a recent report, Building Human Workplaces from Reward Gateway | Edenred, the classic pay raise has been dethroned.
Workplace loneliness is real: Why connection matters more than ever
There has been a lot made in recent years about the state of mental health in the U.S. The Office of the Surgeon General highlighted societal trends from 2003 to 2023, including 24 hours per month more social isolation and 20 hours less social engagement with friends since 2003. Those are sweeping changes in just 20 years. Amidst this nationwide shift in our communities, recent research by Reward Gateway | Edenred sheds light on an associated challenge – workplace loneliness.
How to Responsibly Embrace AI in HR Communications
AI is no longer a distant trend, it’s already reshaping how HR teams communicate, draft messages, and manage day-to-day workflows. Yet for many employees, these shifts often go unnoticed, quietly shaping their work experience in ways they may not fully realize. The challenge, and the opportunity, for HR leaders isn’t simply adopting AI.
Are men struggling with flexible working?
2 min read Research by Bain & Company in Australia suggests that men may be struggling with flexible working. The research, based on a decent sample of 1,030 flexible workers found women strongly positive about arrangements but men distinctly less so. The research found strong evidence of improved employee-NPS score for organisations who had a widespread culture of flexible working, averaging +16 where flexible arrangements are widely used to -44 where they were not available.
Why we hate what job descriptions have become
4 min read If you’re looking for a job, you’ve seen probably hundreds of job descriptions. If you work for a Human Resources Department, you’ve probably written and/or posted just as many, if not more. Are you bored of reading them? We’re bored of writing them—so we started thinking about what is wrong with the way we’ve been writing them and how to fix it. Job descriptions tend to blend together. Let’s be honest here: most aren’t that exciting and many are a bit repetitive.
Lunch, learn and inspire: How to do Lunchtime Learning the right way
2 min read You’ve probably heard of Lunchtime Learning before - it’s usually a training session focused on skills training, product training or professional development hosted by someone in the business during a lunch break. This format has a lot of positives; it gives employees a chance to share ideas, work on presentation skills or update colleagues on projects.
Employee Engagement Blog | Reward Gateway
Alexandra Powell, Director of Client Culture and Engagement, not only knows American Sign Language, but uses it to secretly communicate with her husband and kids at parties.
Lead a team? Use your one-to-ones to boost employee engagement in five simple steps
6 min read I’ve written a lot about employee engagement and developing a strategy that fits the unique characteristics or your organization. There’s no silver bullet that works for every company. Increasing engagement requires a combination of solutions that include everything from initiating communications campaigns to offering employee perks like flexible work schedules and employee discounts. That’s why my team and I are completely focused on growing employee engagement for our clients.
Here's what you need to retain your employees after COVID-19
Virtually every business and every industry has felt the impact of the pandemic, both financially and culturally, and it’s up to HR leaders to ensure employees feel taken care of during this state of constant change and uncertainty. The impact of COVID-19 has forced companies to take on a new mindset around flexibility, plus a heightened focus on the employee experience.
2022 Employee Turnover Rates by Industry
Unpacking employee turnover insights for 2022 Employee turnover can be a frightening concept, especially in 2022. The landscape of HR is dramatically changing as employees yearn to feel more connected to their colleagues and to their organization, and employers pivot to adapt to these changing needs. To win the War for Talent, HR leaders need to re-evaluate their current strategies and make the necessary changes to attract and engage new and existing employees alike.
The Changing Scope of Rewards and Recognition in a Remote World
Rewards and recognition have always played a role in employees’ level of motivation. It sounds simple: When you feel appreciated for the work you do, you are more motivated to repeat that same behavior. Many workplace processes have been turned on their heads this year, but recognition doesn’t need to be one of them. The research is in: there’s a clear link between recognition and ROI.
Reinventing Employee Engagement in a Remote World
Data shows that companies with engaged employees outperform those without by 202%. What’s more, highly engaged businesses benefit from a 10% increase in customer ratings and a 20% increase in sales. As we adjust to COVID-19, it’s become all the more apparent that employee engagement will play a critical role in how businesses recover, and how employees respond to their new working environments.
Think Big Picture & Take a Look Ahead
Organizations have spent the last few months adapting to unforeseen circumstances and rapidly developing plans to ensure their employees stay connected and motivated.
Still Here & Still Remote: Supporting Your People in a COVID-19 World
As remote work becomes more long-term for workers across industries due to COVID-19, organizations need to continue effectively guiding workers through the days, weeks and months ahead and supporting productivity, engagement and overall morale. How can you make this a reality for your business? In this second article, we’ll dive deeper into the importance of effective communication, support and recognition during this challenging time.
5 Manager Recognition Examples
4 min read Each and every individual at your organization has the power to influence recognition. But those that lead teams — your managers — arguably wield the greatest influence. I’ve spent years training teams of all sizes, from all industries on how to incorporate employee recognition best practices into their day-to-day, and I really believe in the results that manager-led recognition can create. But it doesn’t happen overnight.
How to Help Managers Recognize
2 min read It’s no surprise that employees crave recognition in the workplace and modern workers expect consistent recognition. In fact, in our recent study we found that 75% of employees in the U.S. agreed that motivation and morale would improve at their company if managers simply said “thank you” more and noticed when people do good work. And according to KRC Research, 83% of leaders say they could do more to recognize others.
How to Communicate with Offline Employees
5 min read Two years ago, Forrester Research said that over 63 million Americans will work virtually, compared to 2010 when there were 34 million flexible and virtual workers. Fast-forward to now and technology has come even further. Year-over-year, this trend will only continue to rapidly grow along with technology’s speed. It’s likely your organization has an ever-growing offline or remote workforce.
Does Employee Recognition Really Work?
7 min read Some people are born to recognize. We know that some people find recognition really natural — they love giving it, and they love receiving it. But that’s not always the case. Just because recognition isn't natural to someone doesn't mean they're not an effective, inspiring leader. Sometimes we need to invite them to participate a little differently than those people who were born recognizing.
What’s the Impact of Employee Recognition?
3 min read Here’s a statistic worth knowing: Nearly half of your employees might walk out the door tomorrow for one seemingly simple reason. Do you know what that is? It comes down to whether or not a company thanks or praises them enough. Organisations are losing their people because they’re failing at recognition. And it’s worth it to fix.
What’s the Impact of Employee Recognition?
3 min read Here’s a statistic worth knowing: Nearly half of your employees might walk out the door tomorrow for one seemingly simple reason. Do you know what that is? It comes down to whether or not a company thanks or praises them enough. Organizations are losing their people because they’re failing at recognition. And it’s worth it to fix.
How to Improve Employee Recognition Messages
4 min read Recognizing people for the work they do is part of building a strong, healthy workplace. And employee recognition is powerful. It has the potential to inspire people to adopt new ways of doing things, it helps foster a culture of appreciation and gratitude and it can also help your organization reach its desired goals and objectives. Let's take this a step further.
How to Deal with Favoritism at Work
4 min read Working to build the performance of a team is a focus for all managers, and inevitably there are some on each team that just “get it” and are more natural to the job than others. As we ask managers to use recognition as a tool, this can lead to challenges. Managers can get into a situation where a few people – or just the most visible people – keep getting recognized. Now, instead of recognition inspiring the team to great performance, it can create division.
Anonymous employee feedback: friend or foe?
3 min read There was an interesting article on Forbes.com called “How Junk Science Set HR Back Fifty Years” where the author cites a number of HR “enthusiasms” from the last few decades that she really doesn’t rate and thinks caused more damage and harm than good. “360-degree feedback” is first in her cites, in particular the anonymous nature of it and the damage to culture and trust that it created.
2026 Study: Fake Perks in Job Ads
Employers in the UK are under pressure to advertise jobs honestly, as concerns about pay transparency and listing legal requirements as “job perks” increase. There is also a rise in reports of “ghost jobs” online. These are ads for roles that don’t exist, intended to scout talent pools for future hires. Reward Gateway | Edenred wanted to uncover the extent of this problem in 2026. How many job ads don’t specify a salary? What are the most common ‘fake perks’ mentioned in job ads?
People Management Skills: Examples & Tips
Effective leadership is one of the most important predictors of an engaged, aligned and productive workforce. This blog post explores the core skills needed to be a great people manager. If there’s one thing we all know for sure, it’s that people managers have the single biggest impact on team engagement. I’ve seen time and time again how variations in management capabilities can create a gulf in the culture and performance of different teams within the same organisation.
What is Managing Up?
One of the most emergent trends over the last few years, particularly in office environments, is the concept of ‘managing up’. The term is widely used but often misunderstood, which is why we’ve put this blog together to explain exactly what managing up means, why it’s important, how it can be done effectively and what challenges employees might face while enacting it. What is managing up?
How to Measure Employee Recognition ROI
Benefits of employee recognition We know that employees that are recognised are 32% more effective (Haas School of Business) and we have found that 61% of peoplesay their workplace wellbeing will improve if they were thanked more. We also found that one in three UK employees consider recognition a 'must-have' from a new employer. Effective recognition – especially when consistently done through an employee recognition programme – is good for the employee and for business success.
How to Build the Business Case for Appreciation
In today’s ever changing, high-stakes business environment, leaders often find themselves at a crossroads when it comes to securing budget and buy-in for people-focused initiatives. Learn how to build a compelling business case for those programs that will help you build a culture of appreciation for your workforce. Understanding the power of appreciation Why did we choose to focus on appreciation?
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