At Compt, our mission is to empower employees with benefits and rewards they’ll use and appreciate — whoever and wherever they are in life. While a quarterly stipend can be a positive start, looking at seasonal wellness stipend ideas that can support health and wellness-related activities and purchases all year is even better.
Why? Well, wellness stipends are remarkably flexible and personalized, and there are endless ways to use them, which our clients have taken full advantage of.
One of the best ways to take advantage of this flexibility in your year-round wellness program is to adapt your stipend offerings to the current season or time of year.
To help you get started, we’re giving you our 10 best seasonal wellness stipend ideas, so you can give your team members exactly what they need to stay healthy all year round.
How do seasonal wellness stipends work?
When you offer a health and wellness stipend, you’re funding an account or budget that your employees can use to pay for health and wellness-related expenses. Our client ButterflyMX took the first step in reimagining employee wellness through their inclusive ‘self-care’ stipend. “We asked ourselves,” says Lucy Lemons, Chief People Officer at ButterflyMX, “if we were to design a perfect employee wellness program that fit our needs, what does that look like?”.
This stipend gives employees money every three months to spend on things that help them feel their best, whatever that means for them.
Employees receive an amount equal to $300 in their local currency, so everyone has the same buying power regardless of location.
For example, every quarter, an employee in New York would receive $300, while an employee in Croatia would receive the economic equivalent of $300 in their local currency.
Seasonal stipends work just like regular wellness stipends, but they’re themed around specific times of year.
Psst: Read the full ButterflyMX case study for more inspiration.
10 seasonal wellness stipend ideas for year-round wellness
When you prioritize your employees’ health, they’re happier, more productive, and more present at work. Well-being has moved up on the list from being a ‘great perk’ to a strategic imperative to prevent burnout amongst employees and boost retention.
- 74% of the American workforce is either ‘moderately’ or ‘highly’ concerned about their well-being in the workplace. (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
- Nearly half of employees (48%) say they’re currently dealing with burnout at work. (Boston Consulting Group)
- On average, voluntary turnover due to burnout costs employers 15-20% of their total payroll. (Gallup)
So, how can you maximize engagement and make it more personalized through a seasonal approach?
1. Winter immunity boosts
Come flu season, the last thing you want is for your team to be taken down by illness. Consider offering a wellness stipend that covers flu shots and immune-boosting supplements like Vitamin C, Echinacea, and Zinc.
At the office, you could also offer ready-made winter wellness kits with hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, tissues, and essential oils like eucalyptus or tea tree, which are great for promoting respiratory health.
2. Holiday relaxation activities
To alleviate the stress from the holiday chaos or upcoming end-of-quarter deadlines, you might offer a stipend for relaxation activities like:
- Massages, facials, or full spa days at local wellness centers
- Virtual yoga sessions or meditation workshops
- Aromatherapy kits with essential oils and diffusers to create a calming environment at home or in the office
- Mindfulness and meditation apps that offer guided sessions
3. New Year fitness challenges
Chances are, plenty of your team members’ New Year’s resolutions will revolve around getting more active and fit. In fact, according to an October 2023 Forbes Health survey, 48% of adults had a health-related resolution this past year.
This is the perfect time to remind them they can use their health and wellness stipend for fitness-related expenses like:
- Corporate gym memberships or fitness class passes (which might offer special start-of-the-year promotions)
- Personal training sessions to kickstart their fitness journey
- Home exercise equipment, like resistance bands or weights
- Exercise apps and virtual workout programs
4. Springtime outdoor adventures
As spring arrives, outdoor activities like hiking and cycling are back in. In the springtime, your stipend might cover outdoor gear, national park passes, or rental fees for outdoor sports equipment.
Our VP of Product and Ops Joe Alim uses part of his monthly wellness stipend for his rock climbing membership, a hobby that has become a part of his everyday wellbeing, no matter the weather.
As part of your broader wellness benefits package, you might use the springtime to hold a team retreat or organize a team-building event at an outdoor location.
5. Spring cleaning
Let’s not forget about your remote employees, too. They can use their stipend for ‘spring cleaning’ and decluttering. Professional cleaning services cost about $100 – $200, and hiring one can be a nice way to help your remote team members tidy their workspaces while giving them some time back on their weekends.
They could also use the stipend to buy decluttering tools like organizers, filing cabinets, or storage bins.
Depending on your stipend offerings, you can also remind them this can be a great time to review their work-from-home equipment needs!
6. Financial wellness packages
Financial wellness is a subset of employee health and wellness employers sometimes overlook, but it has a profound impact on employees’ overall well-being and engagement in the workplace. It’s an especially important consideration now that 44% of employees say inflation has had a severe impact on their finances over the past year.
Springtime is tax season, meaning your employees will be getting returns. This makes it the perfect time to allow employees to use a wellness stipend on financial wellness benefits like:
- Financial planning and investment consultations
- Credit counseling services
- Debt and budget management apps or tools
If you have other financial wellness resources available to your team, like access to a 401(k) or stock options, you can also help them invest their tax returns in these accounts.
7. Summer fitness activities
Depending on where your office and employees are located, the summer season is perfect for either water or beach activities, like swimming or surfing, as well as team sports like volleyball or soccer.
Your stipend might cover:
- Summer sports leagues or teams
- Pool memberships
- Water sports equipment
To embed wellness and physical activity further in your company culture, consider organizing a company-wide summer sports tournament, complete with prizes for the winning team. Remember to have different levels of physical activity so even your non-sporty employees can have a good time!
8. Cooling and hydration essentials
Keep employees cool and hydrated with stipends for insulated water bottles, electrolyte supplements, or small portable fans. This is an especially good idea if you have employees who commute in the hot weather or work outside.
You could even have employees submit for water filtration upgrades on their sink or specialized tablets.
And if a few of your team members haven’t hopped on the Stanley water bottle trend yet? Now’s their chance…
9. Fall and winter wear
As the weather cools, you can help employees prepare for colder temperatures with stipends for items like heated blankets, insulated workout gear, or quality winter footwear, which can encourage outdoor activity and overall comfort.
Don’t forget about winter-weather activities, either. Employee stipends could even cover an expensive ski lift pass or new ice skates.
One of our software clients thought outside the box this year as a precursor to Thanksgiving. They offered a spot bonus of $50 for eligible wellness-related expenses when employees completed a company-led 5k wellness challenge, held in mid-November.
This is on top of their annual $500 wellness stipend, too!
Pro tip: If you also offer a charitable giving stipend, you can personalize that for the season as well by giving employees the chance to donate it toward a Thanksgiving charity event like a Turkey Trot or to help a family in need.
Psst: See wellness stipends in action with a demo of Compt. Get in touch with our team to get started!
10. Mental health resources for the winter months
Seasonal depression is real, and it happens to 5% of the population (~17 million people), according to data from Mental Health America.
But it’s important to remember that statistics only capture the number of people who openly share their mental health struggles. In our recent conversation with Rachael Robinson, People and Strategic Operations Manager at MYNDUP, she tells us,
You’ve got to think about how many people are living with [a mental health issue] in silence without that support.
What you can do as far as stipends go is to encourage your employees to use their stipends for mental health resources like:
- Online therapy or counseling sessions
- Mindfulness and meditation apps that offer guided sessions
- Light therapy lamps to make up for the reduced sunlight exposure
Psst: Browse the rest of our HR podcast episodes in our Getting Personal library for more insights from our community.
Compt gives you the flexibility to personalize wellness stipends for the seasons
Through our platform, you can pick any combination of 25+ unique categories (divided into taxable vs. non-taxable).
You determine what’s reimbursable, and you can make periodic changes or updates to the policy to reflect what’s happening in your company culture or align with current events and seasons. Our platform instantly delivers updates to all employees on the lifestyle benefits platform, while your back office hardly has to lift a finger.
Plus, you can track and report on how your team is spending their stipends across different categories. You’ll be able to see what’s making the most meaningful impact, measure engagement with your wellness program, and understand your ROI.
