National Employee Appreciation Day
As it’s National Employee Appreciation Day, we thought we’d outline some reasons why appreciating your employees is so important and offer some fun suggestions on how you can show them!
There’s valid reasons that employees should feel appreciated, not feeling valued is the number one reason people leave jobs (78%). When people do feel appreciated it is the top reason that they will produce great work (37%). To sum up; appreciating your staff is extremely important!
How do you show this appreciation without going over the top? Here are some suggestions:
- Personal project time: set aside time for your employees to drop their regular projects and work on something they’re passionate about.
- Budget for employee-selected training/development
- Complete an initiative you’ve been promising; have you been telling employees forever that you’re going to overhaul performance reviews, bring in better snacks, or renovate the office bathrooms? Nothing will show your employees you appreciate them more than by fulfilling those promises.
- Personalised thank you notes: hand-written notes every now and then give a certain touch
- A company night out, meal, drinks etc.
Here’s some of our favourites:
On-site massage therapists or chiropractors:
To help your loyal hard-working employees relax, some office massages will release a zen like atmosphere to the work environment. Mediation or yoga are also options to reduce stress and have everyone feeling like new.
Catered lunch and/or breakfast:
Whether it’s healthy food or not so healthy, one thing is for sure: everybody loves free food. You’ll have happily fed employees, fueled for the busy day ahead.
Bring your dog (or pet?) to work day!
Not a very practical one but dogs can be great for reducing stress at the office. Our office dog Bertie is a great addition to our team (when he’s awake).
Time off
One of the most precious gifts you can give someone is time, and who doesn’t love time off work. Whether it’s a half-day, an extended lunch break or even allowing everyone to leave early; it can boost moral. Again not very practical for all businesses, but how much work really does get completed on a Friday afternoon?
Recognition
If budget is an issue but you still want to show your appreciation, then simply recognising the great job your employees do is enough. This can also be done through an awards ceremony, social media recognition, or a newsletter shout-out. Never under-estimate how powerful a ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ can be to boost staff moral and confidence.
We hope this was helpful and remember: any day can be Employee Appreciation Day!
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