

“Zollars” can then be redeemed in the Zollar store, redeemed against movie tickets, or donated to charity - just when you thought it couldn’t get better. On top of this, employees can receive nominations for Zappos dollars for completing training, answering questions or giving a helping hand. Rewards come in different forms, with employees able to nominate each other for the best parking spots, give each other $50 “Zollar” bonuses every month, or nominate each other for HERO awards.

Within the program, employees can nominate and reward each other through submitting their reasons for nomination. Zappos, the footwear subsidiary of Amazon, has a multi-layered employee rewards and recognition program, and we can’t help but give them a round of applause for it. It’s all in the numbers, and research shows that peer-to-peer employee recognition is 35.7% more likely to have a positive financial impact in comparison to managerial recognition. Incorporating peer to peer employee recognition and rewards is a great way of fostering a strong working culture and team spirit within your company. Smaller gestures on a more regular basis, such as mental health days once every few months, are a great way to get this up and running. However, it’s how you work this into your overall employment strategy that matters, and consistency is key. The idea is that taking care of employees’ mental health and giving them recognition is better for the business as a whole, which nobody can really disagree with. While Nike’s strategy wasn’t exactly perfect, one clear message sticks out: forcing employees to spend the bulk of their lives stressing over work is not the way forward. The response to this employee recognition strategy was varied, with many people criticizing the fact that the week off only applied to corporate workers, with other people viewing it as a galvanizing force in a corporate working revolution. Not long ago, Nike closed their corporate offices for a week to allow their employees to rest, relax and recharge.

Mental health is an investment for companies now - if you want to talk return on investment, think 300-500%. The number of mental health diagnoses has doubled in the last year, and it now accounts for almost half of long or short term disability claims. Many companies, small and large, are scrambling to recoup the damages from not including employee mental health in their employee recognition or wellness strategies.
