New benefits and incentives keeping employees happy and engaged

Employees are ready to make big moves after dealing with the limitations of COVID-19.

Whether they’re pursuing professional opportunities, optimizing their work-from-home experience or relocating in retirement, employees are adapting and planning for their futures during COVID-19.

Our top stories from February dive into the ways employees are preparing for life after COVID and how employers are creating more diverse workplaces.

PwC is helping employees reach their professional goals with a new product. ProEdge will allow employers to provide upskilling and reskilling tools to their workforce. The program will also help employers identify skills gaps and design a plan to close them.

Read more: PwC wants to close the digital skills gap with latest tool

The Big Four firm is also offering a new opportunity for Black and LatinX employees to get a masters in accounting with a new partnership with Northeastern University. The program hopes to close the diversity gap in the accounting industry; of the 1.9 million accountants in the U.S., only less than 9% of them are Black, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Read more: PwC offers free masters degree for Black, Latinx accountants

LinkedIn is boosting their upskilling offerings with free courses that focus on hard technical skills like software development, project management and sales — jobs that are currently in high demand, according to research by LinkedIn and Microsoft.

Deciding where employees will do their jobs is top of mind for readers this month. To help employees determine which U.S. cities are ideal for telework, Apartment Guide — an apartment listing website — conducted a study that compared the cost of living for a two bedroom apartment and available internet speeds for each city. Columbus, Minneapolis and Atlanta were all in the top ten.

Read more: 10 best cities for remote workers

For prospective retirees, WalletHub ranked all 50 states on affordability, quality of life and health factors like life expectancy. While COVID has been challenging for retirement savers, New Hampshire, Delaware and Florida are all appealing locales for employees planning the next stage of their lives.

Read more: The 10 worst states for employees to retire

Whether employees will work remotely forever or eventually return to the office, employers are continuing to provide benefits that support their well-being. Noodles and Co, Goodly and Prudential are all providing financial wellness benefits to help employees combat stress.

Read more: 5 companies tackling employee financial wellness

To provide employees with some relief from burnout and poor mental health, employers are also encouraging workers to take a break. “Staycations” and student loan repayment are some of the ways employers are encouraging employees to use up their PTO balances.

Read more: Pandemic PTO: Why ‘staycations’ are vital to employee mental health

Deciding when employees return to work will ultimately depend on vaccines. As employers contemplate how to navigate their workplace safety protocols, these employers are offering incentives like cash bonuses and days off to encourage employees to get inoculated.

Read more: These companies are paying their employees to get vaccinated