August 2025 | PerfectGift Experts | 5 minute read
We don’t like to talk about it, because let’s be honest, hearing the words "unprecedented times” brings shivers to our backs, but in 2020 we experienced a huge shift in our world due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We went from going to work everyday to setting up ramshack at-home setups for us to continue our jobs in the best ways we knew how at the time. While it was good that we did stay at home to work, because isolation was our best form of prevention before vaccines were introduced, the landscape of our work lives were impacted heavily from this change.
Some were excited to eventually go back to the office and their daily routines, while many were thrilled that staying at home to work became a much more feasible option. Rather than getting our best slacks and button-ups ironed the night before, we can instead roll right out of bed in our sleeping’s best before logging on to work with a hot coffee in hand. Since it’s been five years into the new normal that is remote work, lots of things have steadily changed including our sketchy set ups and glitchy zoom meetings; now remote work is the standard across many industries– but it brings new challenges for employee retention.
Keeping employees engaged is much harder now that they are away from the office and in the comfort of their own homes. Lack of physical connection can lead to disengagement, isolation, and higher turnover. So how do we fix that? Well, just like in-office incentives can boost morale, at-home ones can too, specifically using digital gift cards. Digital gift card rewards offer a scalable, meaningful way to recognize and retain remote employees, keeping them motivated and connected.
The Turnover Problem in Remote Workforce
Distractions are like annoying ads on websites, they just keep popping up! Image courtesy of: Becky Barnicoat via BuzzFeed.
We all have seen the thousands of “work at home” memes that have taken over the internet in recent years. A lot of us who have been affected by it laugh joyously because they are sometimes a little too accurate. But as much as we get a nice LOL out of those memes, there are some that point out the problems with working from home and not in a good way.
Here are some statistics on remote employee disengagement and attrition that we’ve found interesting and so should you:
According to Gallup: “Fully remote employees are also more likely to report experiencing anger, sadness and loneliness than hybrid and on-site workers.”
Statistics on remote, hybrid, and in-office emotions. Image courtesy of: Gallup.
When your remote workers check 4/4 boxes on stress, anger, sadness, and loneliness- yeah, you know that’s something that needs to change.
Also from the State of the Global Workplace from Gallup, Cerkl sums up that “disengagement has risen from 77% to 79%, with 62% of employees not engaged and 17% actively disengaged. And there’s no indication that it’s getting any better.”
With these statistics it’s safe to say that the risk of employee turnover is higher and at-risk of climbing even higher if things don’t change.
But quickly, what is employee turnover?
Employee turnover is the sum total of “workers”, (i.e. employees), who leave their company over a specific time period.
There are a lot of key drivers of turnover: lack of recognition, weak culture, limited visibility, and more.
Think how when we were young and in school and you’d have a kid who would be out sick for a week. They would miss out on a lot in the class room, including deepening connection(s) between fellow classmates, their teachers, and learning. So when we flip that and put on a “workforce” lens, changing “staying home from school because you’re sick” to “working remotely from home and never going into the office” some of those problems from when we were young in school crossover but in different ways.
When you’re in the office, getting noticed by your coworkers and seniors is more frequent because you’re there. You are being seen everyday and the work you get done on the day is directly seen in the moment which leads to words of affirmation that’s not just through an email or worse, forgotten due to that distance and isolation from working at home.
We also know that communication can get poor through remote workers and the office, whether that be because of the lack of in-person pressure, (reminding them to get project x and y done when you pass them in the hallway), or because of lost emails. We may not get to send emails to our remote workers till the end of the day and by the time they get it things will already be delayed.
Remote workers also may seem themselves as “second-hand” compared to in-office employees. They may not receive the same level of respect that others who are there on the ground get which is unfair because even if you are working at home in your pajamas, you are still putting in work for the company.
Recognition is important for remote workers now more than ever, so having an incentive that is actually useful and welcomed is what we’re striving for.
Why Digital Gift Cards Are Effective for Remote Teams
Just like a regular gift card, e-gift cards (electronic gift cards or digital gift cards) generally work the same but an e-gift will offer more flexibility than your average plastic card. With a digital gift card you will have instant delivery to any location, which means if you are running a company with remote workers who aren’t even in the same state they can still get the card right in their inbox.
There are so many benefits to a digital gift card including the choice of flexible rewards that suit personal preferences. Instead of being limited to the rack of your local grocery store or retailer, you have nearly limitless options with providers like PerfectGift.com where you get access to hundreds of major merchant gift cards with everyday discounts.
With rewards like digital gift cards, you as employers can begin to boost morale and create touchpoints between managers and employees. There’s nothing quite like getting a gift you weren’t expecting to get, and seeing a gift card to a place you love to shop/eat at, or one like Visa where you can choose to spend your money how you want it, where you want it, delivered to your work email inbox instead of the normal day-to-day emails is a thrill.
Yearly bonuses are of course the ultimate “gift” to get from any employer, but sprinkling in gifts like digital gift cards creates the opportunity for better workplace relationships. It’s more personal than a generic bonus, but less complicated than mailed merchandise as all you need is internet connection.
Common Scenarios Where Digital Gift Cards Can Improve Retentio
Getting a gift after a job well done definitely boosts morale.
There are many scenarios and milestone events that are a doorway to opportunities for rewards. We’re going to highlight a few so you know where to begin:
Milestone Recognition:
Just like we have wedding anniversaries, birthdays, and graduation days. We have work-related milestones as well such as work anniversaries (aka the day you were hired), promotions, and project completions.
Peer-to-Peer Recognition Programs:
Working hard deserves rewards, especially when you go above and beyond the normal everyday mile markers. We call these rewards the: “Caught Doing Something Great” moments. When you see someone really take initiative, rewarding them with their efforts is big.
Manager Spot Bonuses:
Similar to our “Caught Doing Something Great” moments, instant rewards for above-and-beyond effort is something we love to celebrate as it shows why they specifically were hired.
Wellness and Engagement Challenges:
There are many ways to keep the general workplace culture alive and well including wellness and engagement challenges like steps logged, wellness check-ins, and learning completions. We want to reward those who partake as it gives them something to look forward to other than a little healthy competition- (we’re looking at you steps challenge).
Holiday and Seasonal Gifting:
When the holidays come by, we want to make sure that you’re not forgotten by the place you spent a lot of your time at. “Holiday gifts” are not just from family and friends, they shouldn’t be. They should also be from your workplace and it’s an easy way to show appreciation from afar.
What are the Best Practices for Using Digital Gift Cards to Retain Talent?
Now that we have a few examples of when digital gift cards in the workplace can make a difference, we now can take a look at how to utilize them correctly.
We want you to: tie these rewards to meaningful behaviors, not just tenure.
This gives: managers freedom to recognize regularly.
Set up: automation for milestone gifting (anniversaries, birthdays, etc.).
You’ll be able to: track engagement and adapt programs over time.
Make sure to: combine gift cards with public praise and personalized messages so they know they aren’t just getting something for the sake of it.
Why PerfectGift.com is Ideal for Remote Teams
There are many reasons as to why PerfectGift.com stands out from the crowd and why it is the ideal for remote teams everywhere.
PerfectGift.com is all about finding, well, the perfect gift! Combining the efforts and knowledge of our sister sites, GiftYa, GiftCardGranny, and GiftCards.com, we've made PerfectGift the place for you to find the exact right gift for your friends, family members, clients, or peers. With hundreds of popular eGift card brands available, you can personalize and send someone their gift in just a few minutes. It's an easy process too, choose an amount up to $500, customize it by adding a picture and message, then decide whether you want to send it via text or email. We have our own fulfillment center which allows us to print and ship customized cards same day with next day delivery available.
As an example we have our Small Business Visa Gift Card option:Enter some text...
If you want to add your logo to the cards and send them out to your employees yourself then you can choose to have them all sent in one box or packaged individually. Don’t worry there is a digital option as well so you can send them via email or text, with your own image of your company's logo instantly.
We pride ourselves on our Visa gift card experience as you can add a photo to create a custom Visa gift card and get it to you fast. PerfectGift prints and ships our own Visa gift cards, so we can guarantee same day printing & shipping (if ordered by 4:00pm ET Monday through Saturday). And since we are all in-house, no one else can beat our turnaround time because a lot of other spaces use third-parties to get their stuff ready.
With PerfectGift you will get real-time fulfillment, reporting, and budget controls. We have no order limits – no minimum & no maximum number of gifts or purchase value which makes us great for businesses large and small.
Conclusion: Keeping Your Remote Team Connected
Consistent recognition with meaningful rewards like digital gift cards creates emotional connection and loyalty which is important for a healthy and thriving workplace culture. Digital gift cards are a simple, scalable solution to keeping remote teams happy— and a part of the business.
Keep Your Remote Team Connected and Committed
Discover how PerfectGift.com can help you launch a digital rewards program that boosts morale and reduces turnover in distributed teams.
