Warehouse and distribution jobs are extremely demanding physical labor positions that often require you to be physically fit. It can be an exhausting living when your job involves moving and lifting heavy boxes and tools around a warehouse, especially for low pay. Unfortunately, such jobs are among the majority of available positions due to modern society's heavy reliance on online shopping.

Companies like Amazon thrive off warehouses that store merchandise for delivery later, making an abundance of warehouse workers vital. Often, warehouse workers will be eager to find employment elsewhere, given the first opportunity. Thus, keeping them on staff can be tricky unless they are provided with the proper incentives.

Increase Pay and Benefits

Warehouse workers are a professional demographic that is generally taken for granted and treated with the same regard as minimum wage workers. As a result, they tend to be offered the same pay rate, making only slightly over minimum wage. On average, a warehouse worker gets paid a median amount of $16.00 an hour. In fact, on a national level, the lowest hourly wage for warehouse workers in the United States is $9.66 in North Carolina and $14.84 in Washington.

One of the main ways to incentivize these workers is to issue a financial boost to their earnings to make continued employment sustainable. While raising the wage is an excellent start, it is ideal for offering traditional benefits to grant workers the same quality of life their managers might enjoy.

Among these benefits, you should consider offering paid time off to your warehouse workers so that they can enjoy vacations or take sick leave without risking destitution. Some might believe that warehouse workers already receive paid time off, but that is a misconception. For example, Amazon, a renowned leader in delivering products, only began offering their warehouse and part-time employees paid time off in 2020 after years of lobbying and petitioning. So, offering these same benefits to your warehouse workers will make their continued employment with you more appealing.

Offer Good Insurance Coverage

Another benefit you should consider providing to your warehouse workers is health insurance. While this is an established practice, it might seem unclear why health insurance is needed. However, the simple reality is that warehouse labor is backbreaking. The heavy lifting and machinery are liable to cause severe injury to workers and is almost a certainty. Five major accident types occur in warehouses the world over.

• Forklift Accidents
• Falling Objects
• Slipping, Tripping, and Falling
• Pallet Rack Collapses
• Ergonomic Strains

The simple reality is that your warehouse workers will get injured on the job no matter what measures are implemented. It is simply a law of the universe. Even those who do not get physically injured are susceptible to illnesses that might require a doctor's intervention. Offering health insurance will allow your workers to avoid breaking the bank just to avoid dying from illness or suffering a crippling injury.

Wrapping Up

Warehouse workers are essential employees, as evidenced by the massive spike in delivery services and online purchases amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, despite the essential status of these workers, they remain an underappreciated demographic.

That said, even when you offer all of the possible benefits we have listed here, or even more, you might still face the issue of finding employees for your warehouse. If this is the case, you should contact us at Bear Staffing. We specialize in bringing you top-tier staff for your company because this bear doesn't have fluff, just results.

Feel free to reach out at any time if you have any additional comments, questions, or concerns!