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Fun little story: Years ago, I remember a colleague telling me how she “dragged” her boyfriend to a modern art museum over the weekend, all because she had seen a product she wanted in the museum's gift catalog: a clear acrylic cardholder. ($10 for the card holder, but at the time, shipping was more than that.) She was so happy with the purchase that I picked up one myself the next time I was at the museum.
The whole thing always reminded me of that Ab Fab episode where Eddie and Patsy fly from London to New York to take a picture of a door handle.
Anyway: I've loved acrylic office supplies ever since, and these pretty bookends (and mail sorters!) caught my eye when I was rounding up stylish bookends for our post on how to make a bookshelf look pretty.
I'm unfamiliar with the brand (Russel & Hazel), but they have a TROVE of acrylic office supplies, including a great inbox/desk organizer and a super minimal weekly calendar. Lovely.
For my $.02, I think these pretty bookends would be particularly pretty sitting in front of a window, but that's me. They're $25 at Target.
This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
Sales of note for 9.19.24
- Nordstrom – Beauty deals through September, and cardmembers earn 3x the points (ends 9/22)
- Ann Taylor – Extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles — and 9/19 only, 50% off the cashmere wrap
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 50% off sale with code
- Lo & Sons – Warehouse sale, up to 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Friends & Family 25% off
- Rag & Bone – Friends & Family 25% off sitewide
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Anniversary event, 25% off your entire purchase — Free shipping, no minimum, 9/19 only
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Tuckernuck – Friends & Family Sale – get 20%-30% off orders (ends 9/19).
- White House Black Market – 40% off select styles
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
Anon
Just realized it’s our anniversary – husband forgot too – any ideas for something last minute? Agh. 7 years if that matters!
Anon
Wool or copper are the themes. A penny from the year of your wedding with a card? A wool blanket for your couch for lots of winter pandemic movie watching? Sponsor a family to get a sheep somewhere? Fancy take out and a pass because its 2020?
Anon
This was discussed on the morning thread.
OP
did not see it? did someone else foget their anniversary too?!
I figured it out – I’m going to devote my afternoon to actually making and ordering a wedding album for us. Kids will love it. Seven years seems about time.
Anon
They didn’t forget but they were asking specifically for gifts that fit the traditional gifts for 7 years.
BB
Get takeout for dinner!
Anon
By this standard, every third day is my anniversary, lol.
Monday
Seriously! Takeout is to celebrate making it through the day/week!
Anonymous
Share some fancy dessert?
pugsnbourbon
If you both forgot I say you get a do-over. Either pick a date two weeks from now to exchange gifts, or pick a day this week or next to get fancy takeout.
Anon
I am buying a new mattress and I want one that keeps cool. Ever since having my baby I have trouble with waking up covered in sweat. Its been 18 months since I had the kid so I think this problem is going to be here for a while. I have had all the medical tests done to see why this is happening and they don’t have any suggestions.
Anyways we currently have a Tuft and Needle and its the right firmness but I need something more breathable.
Anonyz
I also need something that sleeps cool, and my research tells me that basically every mail-order mattress is foam and thus does not qualify. I’ve been looking into the Temper-breeze but I can’t seem to find legit, non-suspicious reviews.
Anonymous
I just ordered a Saatva, which is an innerspring mattress.
Anon
Can you report back on that when it arrives? I’m not OP, but am considering ordering a Saatva and would love to hear if it’s comfortable.
Anon
Could you try a wool or silk fiber topper?
Anon
This might help! I would try that if we weren’t already moving and giving away the smaller bed and mattress and getting a bigger one a the new home so its also a chance to get a better one all around.
NYNY
We got an Avocado mattress this summer and it it so much cooler than our old mattress! Also, a slatted base with airflow underneath makes a huge difference in breathability for me. Are you currently using a solid platform or a box spring base? Waking up sweaty (thanks perimenopause!) is awful.
Ellen
I wish I had a cooler mattress when my ex was around. He was always all over me for s-x, and if it wasn’t already hot, he added sweat and B.O. to the mix. And then I only had a queen mattress, and it was to small. A king is out of the question, as my room won’t support it.
Now that I am older and have expereince with men, I do not think I should even have to sleep in the same bed with my husband or boyfreind. It should be enough that I have s-x with him, but afterward, I prefer to sleep alone and therefore will have him go to the other bedroom, b/c I can sleep better without him pawing at me and breatheing on me all night.
Anonymous
I love my latex/coil hybrid mattress. I think it sleeps much cooler than foam.
pugsnbourbon
We got a Helix mattress that’s latex/coil and we’re really liking it. I can’t remember the exact model, but we used the “quiz” selector tool and we both sleep hot.
Sunshine71
I sleep hot too. I wasn’t convinced that any mattress would be cool enough so I got an Ooler, which is a heating – and cooling! – mattress pad. It’s amazing.
Anon
After reading about double-cleansing for the past couple years, I’m finally ready to give it a try! Any product suggestions for my very oily skin? Bonus points if it is <$15.
Ribena
Body Shop Camomile cleansing butter! It’s the best.
Double Cleanse
I have oily skin. I love the Banila Clean-it zero cleansing balm (you can get a kit of sample sizes for $14 on Amazon; large size is $18 I believe) and the CosRX Good Morning Low PH cleanser ($9). Both of these are available on Amazon. Other favorites for oil cleanser are the Hanskin Pore-perfecting oil cleanser and Then I met you cleansing balm, though both of these are over $15. You can get both of these at Soko Glam.
anne-on
I love the Banila Clean it zero balm, but if you want something with a pump top (instead of fiddling with a spatula or digging into it with your fingers) I’ve liked both the Innisfree and Goodal oil cleansers.
Anon
Last I checked this has vinyl ingredients, so I’ve sadly retired it over environmental microplastic concerns.
Banila Clean It Zero
Wow, I had no idea about the vinyl ingredients. Thanks for letting me know.
Anon
I use the very popular Hada Labo cleansing oil (maybe $17ish on amazon, but you get a lot) and follow with La Roche Posay Toleriane Hydrating Cleanser. This is the #1 improvement I’ve made in my skincare over the last 3-4 years.
Anonyz
Also a huge Hada Labo fan for double cleansing. I like that it rinses away clean and thus can also be used solo, when I’m feeling extra dry in harsh winters.
Anon
I also like that you can buy an $11 refill and not have to re-buy the pump bottle every time.
And yes, I agree, it rinses very nicely. It removes all of my makeup, including eye makeup, no problem.
I don’t think I was really getting my face clean pre-Hada Labo.
Anon
I’m sure there will be some great product recommendations here, but, if you mean an oil wash followed by foaming wash, you can just use any food grade or skin grade oil (olive, jojoba, etc.) as the first step. If you’re not referring to oil wash + foaming wash, then just ignore this lol.
anne-on
Depending on your pipes you may want to be careful about this – our plumber has talked about clogs he’s had to deal with (see, ‘fatbergs’) now that people are using food oils in the bathroom.
I also just find an oil cleanser that’s meant to emulsify off my face is more pleasant to use and comes off more cleanly.
kose cleansing oil
I like the Kose Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil. It comes with a pump top and it emulsifies for easy rinsing. It’s cheap and it lasts FOREVER. I follow it with the Hada Labo foaming cleanser. I’ve heard good things about the CosRX Good Morning cleanser, but I opted not to use it because I have dry/dehydrated skin, so it might be perfect for your oily skin.
Anon
If your oily skin is also acne prone as mine is, my Korean dermatologist told me to stop using oil cleansers and to use “milk” cleansers. I’ve used ones from IOPE and Avene (Dermstore sells the latter). Neither are under $15 but last me at least half a year and I just use Cerave’s gentle cleanser afterwards (which is fairly affordable!). Hope you find something that works for your skin!
bellatrix
Moment of silence for my dear departed Simple oil cleanser – was cheap and worked well. I don’t know why they discontinued it. Anyway – now I use Clinique Take the Day Off (the oil at home, the balm-to-oil for travel). I heard great things about DHC but hated the texture – it’s olive oil-based and you can tell. Dry skins might like it but it’s not for me (normal/oily).
Winter.
We’re all just staying home this winter, right? DH and I have use-or-use leave. We are tired of sitting at home but can’t think of anywhere to go safely. Has anyone figured out a better plan?
Anon
We’re going to Florida for a week in December. We’re driving there in one day (it will likely take 13-14 hours) which will not be fun, but I hope it will be worth it for a week at the beach. The plan is just sitting in our vacation rental, eating takeout/delivery and enjoying the outdoors, so I think it will be pretty Covid-safe.
Anonymous
Nope. I’m not and I don’t see any need to. I’m doing several weekend or longer trips away. North Fork for outdoor wine tasting. Berkshire’s cabin rental for brisk winter woods walks. The jersey shore because I love a wintery beach walk and it won’t be crowded.
If you want to stay home by all means do that! But there are other options.
Anon
Was planning to visit my best friend’s new baby (posted about feeling down about it last week). 90% sure that’s not happening now since her state is moving rapidly into “uncontrolled spread” and her husband is unexpectedly going back to work in his service job. I think I’ll just stay home and maybe ski on a weekday once. I’m high-risk so I need to not let my guard down.
Anon
I’m sorry! My best friend had a baby last winter and we were supposed to go visit early this summer, and now I won’t meet her kid until she’s a year and a half old at the earliest. In the scheme of bad things that Covid has caused, it’s obviously not that tragic, but it’s making me really sad, especially because I met her others kids when they were newborns.
Anon
Yep not going anywhere. We’re a year or two late for the Hygge trend but we’re embracing it this year.
Anon
I like the way you think!
anon
I’ve used vacation to tackle a home project, go camping, and have an outdoor brunch-and-walk date with DH in our city. The main thing for me is to avoid sitting at home and to get myself off my phone and computer. I don’t want to take a day off and then realize it didn’t look much different from a day in the office.
Anonymous
We’re going to stay in a cabin and hiking in a nearby national park in our state, but that depends on your tolerance for cold outdoor activities.
Cat
We have several ‘winter fun’ driving distance Airbnbs booked — think outdoor hot tubs, snowshoeing, etc. If quarantine rules make them impractical then we’ll cancel. We are only booking places that allow 100% refunds up until no more than a week or two from arrival.
Anonymous
I have never camped so much in my life before. I am not 100% a fan of camping (so much packing! so much unpacking!), but you’ll never appreciate indoor plumbing and hot water on demand as much as you will for that first shower when you get back :)
Anonymous
We live in the Boston area and are renting a cabin in VT on a lake for two weeks this winter. It’s refundable if things go bonkers COVID wise, but otherwise we will ice skate, snowshoe, build fires and drink wine in the hot tub. if ski resorts are open, we may ski. Probably not though because we have youger kids and I’m not sure what the lodge setup would be like. Maybe a long weekend in a ski in/ski out condo at another point.
AFT
I’m burning some PTO on Election Day and the days around it doing election protection/ballot curing. Don’t really anticipate traveling during this school year (and frankly our extended family probably won’t want us to visit once my kids return to in-person school later this month). Argh.
Anonymous
Not going anywhere. Toyed with the idea of renting an Air BnB somewhere warmer like some of my friends and co-workers have done/are doing, but I just don’t feel comfortable the more I think on it. If one of us were to get sick, I don’t want to deal with the emotional and financial hassle of needing care far from home. Just not worth the gamble.
Anon
We’re doing family photos soon – reasonable to ask the photographer to wear a mask? I feel hypocritical because we’re not going to be in masks, but it also seems kind of reasonable for anyone not in photos to be masked.
Anonymous
You’re paying them! Yes. Ask.
Anon
Yes reasonable, and I would insist. You should be masked as well until right before the actual picture taking (so greeting the photog, doing the setup etc). It will set the right tone and is just the right thing to do.
Anon
+1. You should be masked as much as possible too.
Anne
This.
Anon
Actually, one photo with masks would be interesting in a historic, tell the grandchildren about 2020 kind of way. (I think, I recognize personal preference might differ on this.)
Anon
I thought about this, but we’ll be outside so what do we do with the masks when we take them off? We won’t have pockets and it doesn’t seem like a good plan to hand them to the photographer (both because that would require her to touch our dirty masks and because we’d have to get pretty close to hand it off – I’m assuming we will mostly be able to stay 6′ feet otherwise, but maybe I’m wrong about that).
Anon
Bring a shopping bag and shove them in there. It’s definitely important to find a way to wear masks as much as humanly possible.
Cat
Bring a bag, walk away from the photographer, put masks in bag, set bag on ground, walk to posing area.
Anon
+1 This isn’t difficult. Presumably you’ll also be bringing a wallet, keys, etc that won’t be in the photos with you.
LaurenB
Yes. I think you’re making this more difficult than it needs to be. What were you going to do with your purse? Set it on the ground out of the picture frame. Same thing with masks, or cell phone, or baby’s bottle, or junior’s blanky.
Anon
Wear the masks. These are frankly lame excuses. It’s not rocket science.
Anon
+1 I was out this weekend and saw a ton of photo shoots. Basically everyone had masks on until they were actually taking photos (and at that point, were generally pretty far away from the photographer). Photographer was masked the whole time.
Anonyz
I am fair with sensitive skin and my photos would 100% have red welts on my face and around my ears if I did this. Just a warning to plan for “fade time” if you do this.
Anon
I’m also very fair with sensitive skin and I think you need new masks if they’re leaving visible red marks on your face. Only an N95 or similar should do that.
Anon
There’s sensitive skin, and then there’s sensitive skin.
LaurenB
Then buy disposable masks for the day. This is veering into not everyone can eat sandwiches territory. I’m confident an accomplished corporette can figure out how to wear a mask and take it off for the actual photography.
Anon
You should look into getting the blue paper-like medical masks. I also have sensitive skin and these don’t leave marks on me.
They’re disposable but I wear them multiple times before I throw them out. They sit in my car in between uses so they get nice and hot.
LaurenB
Why is that hypocritical? Of course he should be masked.
Anonymous
Why don’t you read the previous replies to get the answer?
Anonymous
We did them last week and our photographer wore a mask the whole time. We didn’t, but we didn’t get within 20 feet of her except during the actual photography. If you want to go up to the photographer at the beginning of the session and chat, then you should definitely have a mask on.
Anon
Yes, he/she should. We did this two weeks ago and I venmo’d her payment so we didn’t come within 10 feet of her at any given time.
Employee appreciation gifts?
Question for everyone – does anyone have corporate gifts they recommend? Pre-Covid our firm did an employee appreciation event monthly (breakfast, lunch or snacks, 15 minute massage, etc.) We are working almost entirely remotely so haven’t been able to keep that up this year but we did send swag bags and ice cream. We are now looking to replace our annual holiday dinner, since we won’t have a big gathering this year. So far Omaha Steak is the best option at about $150 per employee for a Feast box. Does anyone have another suggestion at a similar price? Other suggestions besides dinner are welcome, too, since we’d like to continue to appreciate our employees. Size a little over 100, if that matters. And we have a firm policy against providing gift cards. Thank you!
Anon
Steak is weird to me, given how many people are vegetarian/vegan or just don’t eat red meat for ethical or health reasons. And I live in the Midwest, not some hippie coastal city ;)
Anonymous
Zingermans is great for this
Mathy
Late on this one but +1 to Zingermans.
Anon
How does this work for people who are vegetarian/vegan or keep kosher or halal, etc? Would a fruit of the month club like Harry & David’s be well received? I think almost everyone can eat fruit or share with family if allergic, etc.
Anon
Steak isn’t prohibited by kosher/halal restrictions FYI. But I agree a lot of people don’t eat it.
Anon
Omaha steaks is not certified kosher, but ok
Anon
Most foods that don’t come from kosher delis aren’t “certified” kosher, even vegetarian foods. It’s a common misconception that people who keep kosher or halal don’t eat any red meat, but many of them do, it’s just pork that’s prohibited. That’s what I was pointing out.
Anon
Not gonna argue, but no Orthodox Jews will eat Omaha steaks, and many other Jews who are observant will not either. Please do some research before you express your expert opinions.
Sincerely, an Orthodox Jewish reader
Anon
But you eat Zingerman’s or Jeni’s? Many observant Jews I know (including my conservative family members) eat kosher-style and are fine with steak. If you’re religious enough that you require your food to be certified kosher, that rules out pretty much all the suggestions here, not just the steaks.
Anon
I think the fruit basket suggestions would be fine. Of course I don’t eat Jeni’s or Zingerman’s.
Anon
I was wondering the same thing. My office does does stuff like this and leans towards sweets. My partner and I are both prediabetic, and a lot of this stuff ends up in the trash because I don’t really know anyone who wants to eat it. Definitely not going to up my meds over some ice cream or candy I don’t need.
Kitten
Yea honestly like 50% of my close friends/family don’t eat steak, and I imagine some of those who do try to limit red meat. I think it would be a very strange gift. Would prefer fruit/chocolate/gift cards/etc.
anon
I’m a carnivore, but I feel like Omaha Steak has the potential to really alienate people who don’t eat meat for religious, ethical, or health reasons. If you do a food box, I’d do something closer to Harry & David or Zingermans or Milk Bar. If you want to provide dinner and your employees are more or less in the same city, maybe you could work with a local restaurant or caterer and give employees 2-3 options?
Anon
Something from Harry & David? I’d be more than happy to get fruit from them.
NYNY
You can get men’s and women’s North Face fleece jackets with your company’s logo for between $100 & $150. If you go this route, don’t choose “unisex” and make the women get men’s jackets. That’s a personal pet peeve.
pugsnbourbon
Or even …. without the logo. Just as a token of appreciation.
Signed a very nice shirt is going to waste in my closet
Aunt Jamesina
YES. A piece of clothing to advertise your employer isn’t a gift, it’s an ad.
LaurenB
A friend’s company sent out pajama pants with the company logo early on in the shutdown, humorously noting that this was the new dress code. It came across very clever.
Anokha
Adding on to the above — I don’t eat steak and would be personally bummed with a meal from a steak house. I like the idea of a gift basket with different snack foods.
anne-on
Goldbelly gift cards. Everyone can get something regional or that they miss – we order black and white cookies every year for my birthday since the ones outside of NYC don’t taste right to me.
https://www.goldbelly.com/corporate-gifts
Anon
As a vegetarian, I have no problem when meat is served at employee events but would be completely revolted and turned off if I was sent a gift box with steaks. It just seems so clueless and wasteful. If you go with Omaha Steaks, I’d DEFINITELY offer another option comparable in price. I don’t know about other meal options, but Harry and David fruit is nice and their other snacks are okay.
Anon
+1. I’m not strictly vegetarian, but not a big red meat eater and really don’t enjoy cooking meat at home, and the wastefulness of this would horrify me. So tone deaf, especially with all the recent conversations around climate change and the environment.
Anon
Harry & David’s. Even if someone cannot eat one part of it (sausage, crackers, etc.), almost everyone can eat most of it.
NY CPA
We got big boxes of Godiva chocolates from our boss, and it was great. Otherwise, agree Harry & David is a safe bet.
Cat
Can you provide a few options for people to select from? A giant delivery from Omaha Steaks would actually be a PITA for my house since we have apartment-size appliances.
Have you provided any WFH equipment to people yet? Shipping everyone a monitor + headset might be in that budget if you’re buying in bulk.
Anon
It would annoy me if my employer acted like necessary WFH equipment was a gift to me. If they don’t want to give me a gift, fine. But don’t give me a monitor and headset and call it employee appreciation.
Cat
Fair point. I just… really dislike corporate swag and food gifts (because the odds that everyone is at least pleased with the gift and not “wtf do I do with this giant basket of meat – sweets – coffee – fruit – chocolate – cheese – whatever” are extremely low).
Blueberries
If going the food route, I think it’s a safer bet to go with something excellent that’s not a whole meal to very specific tastes, like: fruit/jam from Frog Hollow, gift basket from Cowgirl Creamery, chocolate from a great local chocolatier, etc.
FP
Jeni’s ice cream ships nationally and is amazing.
THIS!!
Jeni’s is the absolute best. I’d add a couple of the vegan/dairy free flavors, but this is always a hit gift.
Please include the Peach Truck’s peach jam and buttermilk biscuits flavor.
Anon
I would be so disappointed to receive Omaha steak. I got it once as a gift and I thought the quality was terrible.
Anon
I’d lean into a cozy winter theme – really good coffee, hit chocolate, and nice Zojishuri mugs, or a nice soft blanket and candle, or something like that. Consumables are controversial and can be wasteful as this thread has demonstrated.
Anonymous
My colleague is sending jams from Trade Street Jam Company to clients, and I am going to order some for holiday gifts this year, too. The jams are unique flavors that would go well with a holiday cheese plate or dessert. In addition, this is a great way to support BIPOC (and woman!)-owned small businesses during a critical time.
CGCurious
I have type 2A hair and I’ve always worn it straight (just blow dried – I’m too lazy to straighten it) for photos but it feels boring ie no volume. I like how it looks when it air dries but that would be way too frizzy/flyaway for pictures. I should get on the reddit thread and ask for advice right? Also photos are in 3 weeks so pretty much my only option is to get a trim (which I need anyway) and start after that?
Anon
If you want volume and a little natural curl at the ands, just use hot rollers after you blow dry with holding spray after, or hold the roots vertical (top of head) and out parellell (back and sides of head) and blast the roots with a concentrator nozzle on the blow dryer.
Abby
You don’t have to get a trim prior to starting CGM. I would get basic products and start asap. There’s a great simple & cheap chart on the reddit page. After you’ve started, then I would start asking questions. Also your porosity is more important than curl type – take the curl quiz on naturally curly and move on from there.
Anokha
Is there an easy way to tell what kind of curl I have? I read the descriptions and I’m always like “???”
Sunshine
Look up curly girl hair types.
NY CPA
Google “curl type chart” and look at the image results. They’ll help you figure it out.
Also I wouldnt start a few weeks before something you need your hair to look great for, unless you’re ok blow drying it as a backup option. I seem to recall my hair looking worse before it got better. There was an adjustment time for your hair to work out how much oil, etc. it needs to naturally produce.
Comfy chairs
The fancy chair in my city is a skirted club chair by Lee Industries, but I understand it is $$$ and available only through designers, so probably not in my budget.
I found something similar at Ballard Designs and there is a store in the mall to hopefully road-test it and find a live human who will be able to look at pictures and measurements of the room and talk me out of any really bad fabric choices (I don’t have a lot of home design sense). If you have gotten any upholstered things from them, can you comment on wear / quality / ordering process, especially if you went into a store?
Thanks!
Anonymous
The quality is meh.
anne-on
My parents order from there quite a lot because it’s cheaper and it all looks nice for maybe a year or two. Then the fabric wears and looks dingy, the cushions sag and don’t fluff anymore, etc. etc. If it’s a piece you want more for show and don’t anticipate a lot of daily wear, fine, but I think it’s a very ‘you get what you pay for’ company.
Anonymous
OP — OK — are there better options? Since we will be WFH forever, I think that comfy chairs will be used daily. I don’t have a home office and working on kitchen stools 8 hours a day is not great (but the lighting is good there).
Anonymous
I have had much better luck with Ethan Allen. They have stores so you can test sit, and they have a wide range of fabrics. Their custom orders are assembled here in the US.
Anon
+1 to Ethan Allen. I have some Ballard Designs leather chairs and they’re barely a step above IKEA.
Anonymous
These bookends look like they are high maintenance or are always going to be full of dust.
Anon
lol, you’re right! They are also super fug, IMO.
mental health ideas
My law firm culture is suffering from not seeing people for several months. We rely heavily on catching people in the office for short conversations and mentoring. I’m a junior partner and have had many people ask me for ideas to send to the managing partners (I do employment law so am guessing this is why). Any ideas? We are allowing remote work for anyone who wants it (which means 20% of the firm is here on any given day, most of our 100 staff members haven’t set foot in the office since mid-March). We have an EAP program, but it isn’t well utilized. We don’t want to do gym membership reimbursement or anything else that encourages or could be seen as encouraging COVID spread. We’re in the Midwest and in a state with no mask rules and poor distancing, but we’re worried about winter and isolation.
OP
I’m guessing the firm would be willing to go to $100-250/person. We aren’t having a holiday party so that has to be at least $75/person saved. Ideas we’ve had so far:
– Weight Watchers membership reimbursement
– Counselor virtually reserved for a week each quarter – confidential, but Zoom sessions “reserved” for members of our firm.
– Mental health days (but this is not going to go over well with senior management who believe people aren’t working as hard while off)
– Official policy allowing flex hours (currently allowed but technically “exception” basis)
Anon
Is a cash bonus off the table? I would rather have that than anything you listed.
Anon
Perhaps phrasing it as a “bonus” is not right since that implies compensation for work well done, but I like the idea of a general health reimbursement that can be used towards whatever equipment or activities people feel might benefit their physical and mental health.
Monday
+1. I have $500 yearly on an HSA from my employer, and it’s nobody’s business how I spend it (within the regulations). Especially if actually using benefits like time off or flex time is going to be frowned upon, which sounds likely, this is a concrete way to help employees take care of themselves.
anne-on
+1 – we also have a $500 yearly ‘fund’ that can be spent in any way on qualifying expenses. Gym fees, workout/sporting equipment, fitbits/activity trackers, memberships to nutritional counseling (so, WW, Noom, Jenny Craig, etc.). It’s all run through a 3rd party, and you just submit your receipts and it goes back to you in your payroll.
Anon
OK, with this additional context, your firm definitely has some work to do. No to promoting diet culture, yes to allowing flex days and mental health days.
Anonymous
Oh. My. Goodness. Why would anyone consider weight watchers reimbursement to deal with a corporate culture issue. That is hideous. How about encouraging partners to make time for mentor ship via phone or zoom? Providing a budget for practice groups to have a zoom with coffee delivered?
LaurenB
If anything, maybe a subscription to online yoga classes or somesuch. Not WW.
Anon
+1. So hideous.
Anon
Yeah this is pretty gross.
anon
Exactly– the issues with culture you described relate to interpersonal connection, mentoring, and career development. None of the potential solutions you offered, including cash, address those problems. What you need to work on is finding ways to increase interpersonal connection remotely. Unfortunately, this would take actual effort from more senior attorneys to invest time and attention in their juniors or their staff, and IMO lots of senior attorneys think that this somehow isn’t an efficient use of time and would rather just throw platitudes or benefits at people.
My firm’s culture is suffering similarly with WFH. Here’s what I’d like: 1) More frequent communication about the firm’s financial health, work flow status, plans for handling WFH, expectations re: being in office/meeting with clients, etc. Being left in the dark sucks. No, I don’t need hard numbers, but it’s also unhelpful and anxiety producing to send out vague emails about how the firm can “guarantee salaries for the next 7 weeks but after that, who knows? so please bill” — and then not saying anything else for 4 months. Even if the news is “no change,” let us know. 2) Reimburse me for the monitor and printer I bought to work from home. Not having a home office is frustrating enough. 3) Most of all– more deliberate efforts to check in with attorneys and staff on specific cases, work flow in general, and (to a reasonable extent) actually asking to see how we’re doing. I don’t care if it’s a weekly call, zoom meeting, or just more frequent emailing–whatever. Just increase the communication. Being expected as a junior to do all the heavy lifting to substitute for the missing spontaneous interactions and in-person strategizing is draining.
Anon
+1
Anon
I would be furious with a WW membership reimbursement. Like, are you telling me that I weigh too much to be part of your firm? (For the record, I am a size 6, but am not immune to criticism about my body.)
If you want to encourage health and fitness, give people a gift card to a sporting goods store. If you want flex days, allow something like leaving Friday at 2 pm provided you’ve made up the hours throughout the rest of the week.
Anon
Do a general health reimbursement that can be used for running shoes, a TRX, etc. Provide more support to make WFH a success – do people have good monitors? Good chairs? Noise-cancelling headphones? Encourage supervisors to schedule standing check-ins. Encourage people to use the EAP and help de-stigmatize mental health. Make sure your sick leave policy is up to scratch.
Anon100
I like the idea of a general health reimbursement – can be used to pay for exercise apps that require payment or put it towards home exercise equipment.
anon
I like the idea of providing an allowance for work from home that people could use to set up their home office or buy headphones. As WFH becomes more long-term or permanent, many people are deciding to move out of the dining room or upgrade their space or equipment in some way.
My last firm had a general health expense reimbursement. It was pretty liberal–it could be used for diet/fitness programs, gym memberships, exercise equipment, tennis shoes, even massages. If you offer this, I wouldn’t make a distinction between activities that might spread Covid or not–it just gets too personal.
Anonymous
It sounds like you also might benefit from ideas for how you could socialize or have more casual conversations with each other(?)
maybe a structured mentorship program of some sort?
How about supporting other alternatives for professional development like attending virtual conferences or courses?
Anonymous
I know you titled this mental health ideas, but your entire description reads like your workplace needs to do more to support people in their daily work vs having them do more outside of work.
pugsnbourbon
+1 nothing read as a mental healt issue to me.
Also joining the Greek chorus of no Weight Watchers promos at work, ever, for all time
anon
I don’t think you can buy your way out of this problem, TBH.
Anonymous
Yeah, it’s an internal workplace problem & not something that’s going to be solved by the workers doing healthy things in their free time.
Anonymous
We did two rounds of expensing items for home use, one for WFH expenses like chairs and one for health expenses. The health expenses covered things like running shoes, costs of remote classes , etc.
anon8
This is specifically for your comment about catching people in the morning for short conversations. I work in software development and we have a daily 15 minute meeting every morning for people to go over status and ask questions. Can you implement something like that?
Anon
Please also feel free to point people to resources such as the Lawyers Depression Project which is a peer support organization. https://www.lawyersdepressionproject.org/
anon
Group activities with no more than 5-10 people. Everyone is sick of zoom trivia, but I’ve had good luck with online wine or beer tasting or cocktail making classes, especially if you also open it to spouses. Cooking classes are more pressure. It won’t solve the mentoring problem but it will help with giving people something to talk about and joke like in before time.
Anon
I don’t think WFH is the problem. Your culture is the problem. Leadership needs to adapt and not depend on just running into someone because they’re in the office. That was never a good way to mentor. Save the money and work on making an effort to connect with people when they’re working at home. You in leadership need to adapt, not just try to buy your way out of it.
Anon
Any favorite sweatsuit sets? I have lots of hoodies, but I want a crewneck pullover and matching pants. Would love recommendations!
Kitten
I love my sweats from Frankies Bikinis but they are admittedly overpriced. I’ve heard good things about the sets at Aritzia!
Kelsey
I received an e-mail from athleta where they are advertising sweatsuit sets. may want to check there.
Anonymous
I love the Lou & Grey signature soft blend sweatshirt and sweatpants. I have one set already and I have another in my cart waiting for Loft to roll out with another 40% off promo.