Employee Appreciation Day is one of the United States’, Canada’s, and the United Kingdom’s unofficial holidays. As this entry on Wikipedia day on this holiday notes it was started in order to establish a better relationship between employees and the company they work for. It is meant to thank employees for the work that they do and all the effort they put into their jobs.
Companies recognize this holiday in different ways. Employees often get to leave work early on Employee Appreciation Day, for instance, or they get another reward such as a gift or special event. By recognizing employees companies increase the amount that they are happy and engaged which lead to a better business.
Entrepreneur magazine had an article on Employee Appreciation Day which can be read here. They shared five tips to reward employees during the cold winter months when some employees might be looking for jobs elsewhere. With the start of a new year, some employees make resolutions to find a different job for various reasons. Through a company showing they appreciate their employees some of them who might otherwise leave decide that they do want to continue working for the company they were thinking of leaving.
One idea is to throw a holiday-style party in either January or February. The party can include snacks as well as gifts for each employee. One expert noted that gifts are more appreciated outside of the holiday season because they are unexpected. One idea for gifts is top-shelf alcohol such as a great bottle of tequila.
Another idea in the Entrepreneur article is for a business to support its employees New Year Resolutions such as losing weight or developing new job skills. If the company supports these types of resolutions it can lead to a healthy and more productive workforce where everyone benefits. One way of supporting employees’ healthy habits is for a business to pay the $50 or less it costs in monthly fees for them to join a local gym. Another idea is to have healthy snacks in the office instead of donuts.
An example of one company’s Employee Appreciation Day habits can be found https://www.blueboard.com/blog/happy-employee-appreciation-day. This company believes in celebrating the day as a team. They will host an event everyone will enjoy such as everyone going to a local mini-golf course. If the team is pretty collaborative, they might enjoy going to an escape room where they have to figure out together how to get out of a room they are trapped in.
A company can also support its local community on Employee Appreciation Day. The company can set up a volunteer day where everyone supports a great charity. This not only gives employees a chance to give back to the community but to also build better social bonds with others where they live and/or work. A side benefit is that employees can feel more loyal to a company because of these volunteer efforts and the company looks better in the eyes of others because they give back.
