A recent survey led by Great Places to Work® revealed surprising results: employees are just as productive, if not more productive, while working from home rather than in the office. Over the span of two years, from the year 2019 to 2020, Great Places to Work® surveyed over 800,000 employees from 715 companies to measure employee productivity. They examined the degree to which employees are “willing to give extra to get the job done,” and “quickly adapt to changes needed for their company’s success,” and compared the results over a six month period from March to August of 2019 and 2020.

In 2020, companies worldwide had to make a tough decision for their employees’ safety and wellbeing. A rapid transition to remote work meant that employers had to make the best of the resources they had at the time — and many are still trying to catch up.

As evidenced by a recent employer-employee survey from Aetna International, employees are prioritizing their mental and physical well being more than ever before. With responses from 4,000 employees and 1,000 employers, 66% of employer respondents feel that Covid-19 has increased employee expectations in regards to health and wellness benefits offered by employers — and 63% say there is now a greater expectation for them to take responsibility for employee health beyond the workplace. In other words, employees expect more.

Grokker is always looking for new, exciting ways to delight and inspire our members to fit more movement and balance into their lives — and have fun doing it. That’s why we are thrilled to announce the release of our brand new program, 21-Day Cardio Sculpt, with one of Grokker’s most popular fitness experts, Sarah Kusch! This 3-week, full body program features dynamic cardio flows fit for anyone who wants to improve their fitness levels and tone their bodies in a fun, low-impact way.

Leapgen’s Jess Von Bank welcomed Lorna Borenstein, Grokker’s founder and CEO, to her company’s Now of Work Podcast for a lively discussion about the “business of caring” for employees. Here are highlights of their conversation and key takeaways for employers, plus a link to the podcast so you can enjoy it in its entirety.

2020 has been a year for the books! In spite of the many challenges that came our way, we also found unique opportunities for growth. We learned that we’re truly “better together,” even when we’re working apart and staying connected virtually. We’ve come to appreciate what’s really important to us in our personal lives, and to prioritize what matters most professionally for our clients and partners. We’ve experienced, first-hand, that going the extra mile for each other at work and at home makes a meaningful difference in people’s lives. 

With its recent state of stress research, Grokker Innovation Labs, a research organization committed to advancing employee wellbeing and workplace culture, set out to understand the stress levels of U.S. workers as the damaging effects of 2020 continue to linger. Seeking to reveal how stress is impacting workers' lives and what they're doing to manage it, the insights provide focus on the specific areas where greater support is needed from employers. Let's take a look at the research highlights.

COVID-19 and its aftermath has made 2020 a downright challenging year. In the blink of an eye, the very definition of work/life balance has taken center stage — instantly changing from what was once just a desirable goal to the global imperative for employers everywhere. Keeping employees healthy and safe so that businesses can keep their doors open is now every employers’ top priority. Though some semblance of a new normal is beginning to take shape as digital environments begin to repair the disconnectedness we feel at home and at work, there’s a lot of good yet to be done.

Saturday, October 10, 2020 is World Mental Health Day. It's the perfect time to connect with your workforce to share mental health facts, tips, and employee resources. And Grokker is here to help make that easy!

It’s been six months since the initial shelter-in-place orders were given in March — and that means it’s been six months of uncertainty and asking the question, “What am I supposed to do?” But as the Grokker team looks back, it’s been a six month long opportunity for personal reflection and growth, as individuals and as a business. Naturally, we were asking each other, "How can we keep producing meaningful wellbeing content while working from home?"

Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, the world in which we live and work has been turned on its head. The lines between work-life and home-life are blurred, parents with children underfoot are overtasked, and choosing between the family who needs them and the work that sustains them has become a daunting, daily task for nearly everyone.

Earlier this year, during the initial COVID-19 lockdowns, Grokker was made available to organizations of all sizes to help their employees maintain their daily wellbeing routines and connect with colleagues while sheltering at home. We realized that in addition to our traditional enterprise-sized clients, small and medium-sized businesses were looking for solutions to keep their employees active and well during these difficult times -- and beyond.