Employee Appreciation Day Ideas

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Intentionally showing how much you value your employees is vital to keeping your organization’s culture healthy. It can be tricky to know how to do this, though.

In this article, we discuss Employee Appreciation Day and give you ideas on how to make the most of it. We’ll also explain some reasons why you should celebrate this day with your employees.

Key Takeaways:

• Employee Appreciation Day is also called Employee Appreciation Day, and it’s celebrated by companies across the country on the first Friday in March.

• Show your employees your appreciation by taking them on a field trip, catering lunch, or taking a cooking class together.

• Gifts are great ways to show appreciation, whether they’re gift cards to local restaurants or branded swag.

What Is Employee Appreciation Day?

Employee Appreciation Day — also called Employee Appreciation Day – is a day when employers can show their employees how much they value them and their work. This event is officially celebrated by companies across the country on the first Friday in March.

On Employee Appreciation Day, company leaders host events, give gifts, and make other gestures – big and small – to their workers.

While this shouldn’t be the only time you show your employees you appreciate them, it is a good opportunity to do something special.

• Take a field trip. Getting to leave the office during work hours is exciting, and taking your employees on a fun field trip can be an effective way to show your appreciation for all their hard work. Here are some outing ideas:

  • Zoo

  • Escape room

  • Aquarium

  • Top Golf

  • Bowling

  • Miniature golf

  • Museum

• Feed them lunch. Just about everyone loves free food, so tap into this and host a lunch for your employees. Whether you have it catered at the office or take everyone out to a restaurant, this is a great way to show your employees they’re appreciated.

  If you can’t do lunch for some reason, breakfast, dessert, or a fancy snack are also great options.

• Bring in food trucks. Having food trucks come to your campus during lunchtime is a fun way for employees to get a break from the mundane and spend time socializing with their colleagues while enjoying tasty food. Set up spaces for everyone to eat, and if the weather’s nice, try out some classic lawn games like cornhole or horseshoes.

• Make a funny video. Watching company leaders act out a funny skit can be a huge boost to employee morale. It may sound simple, but a video like this shows that leaders put time and effort into personally thanking them for their hard work – and that they don’t take themselves too seriously.

  Include some wacky costumes and a few inside jokes that only employees would understand, and you’ll have a hit on your hands.

• Send them personalized cards. Consider writing each of your employees a note complimenting and thanking them for their hard work. This is most powerful when you can specifically call out a few of their accomplishments or skills, so having individual managers write these notes may be a good idea if you work for a large organization.

• Give gifts. Everyone likes presents, and giving gifts can be a great way to show your workers you appreciate them. High-value branded gear or gift cards to local restaurants are good ideas for large groups, while managers of smaller teams may be able to make more personalized choices for each of their employees.

• Play some games. Plan some group games for an inexpensive, fun activity that will give your employees a break and bring them together as a team. Scavenger hunts, life-size battleships, and trivia competitions are all great options for this.

• Host fun awards show. Fans of the TV show “The Office” may think of the infamously awkward Dundee Awards when they hear “awards show,” but this really can be a great way to honor your employees and have some fun.

  Set up a stage, cue up some music, and present each employee with an award, complete with plastic trophies. Just make sure you keep it lighthearted and avoid anything that could be construed as insulting.

  Here are some award category ideas:

  • Duct Tape Award

  • Office DJ Award

  • Green Thumb Award

  • Always In a Meeting Award

  • Early Bird Award

  • Fastest Typist Award

  • “I’ll Take the Stairs” Award

  • Five More Minutes Award

  • Gourmet Lunch Award

  • Thinks in Emoji Award

  • Foodie Award

• Volunteer. Taking a work day to volunteer at a local nonprofit can be a great way to give your team a break, help them bond, and give back to your community. Reach out to some local charities to see if they could use a group of your size, and then let your team vote on which one they want to volunteer for.

  Add in a breakfast or lunch out, and you’ll have a fun and fulfilling Employee Appreciation Day.

• Take a cooking class. A cooking class is a fun way to learn a new skill, bond, and relax together. See if you can find a facility that will host a private session for your group – you may even be able to have someone come to your office to conduct the class there.

• Get artsy. A painting or craft class can be a hilarious, fun, and relaxing way to celebrate your employees. Whether you go to a location or bring the instructor in, pair your class with some snacks and enjoy letting your creative juices flow.

• Give everyone the day off. Consider shutting down a few hours early or giving everyone a day off during the week of Employee Appreciation Day. It may take some tweaking to make sure it’s practical for your organization or team, but this is an effective way to show your team you value them and give them a break.

• Set up an employee-only day at a local amusement park. Rent out a local amusement or water park one Saturday and give your workers free or discounted tickets so they can take their families.

  If the March weather in your area isn’t conducive to outdoor activities, you can do the same for a museum or a movie theater. Whatever it looks like, this is a great way to give your workers a break and support them in spending quality time with their families.

• Give them a spa day. Give your employees the gift of self-care by hiring a masseuse to give massages at the office or handing out gift certificates to your local spa or massage parlor. If you have a small team, you could also create DIY home spa or self-care boxes, including goodies like:

  • Snacks.

  • Fancy bottled water.

  • A scented candle.

  • Lotion or salt scrub.

  • Bath salts and/or bubble bath.

  • A cooling eye mask.

  • Cozy socks.

  • High-quality tea.

Why You Should Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day

Employee Appreciation Day isn’t just another gimmicky “holiday” – it’s an opportunity to show your employees you value their hard work. This boosts engagement and morale, which, in turn, increases productivity and decreases turnover.

• It strengthens your company or team culture. Taking the time to celebrate your employees shows that gratitude is a key part of your culture and that caring for your workers is a top priority.

• It improves morale. Appreciated employees are usually happy employees, which, in turn, improves creativity and productivity. Happy employees also usually want to stick around longer, which lowers turnover.

• It inspires employees. Getting a break and feeling appreciated can help boost employees’ motivation, making it easier for them to come up with new ideas.

• It avoids the damage caused by not doing anything. Even if your Employee Appreciation Day activities don’t seem to have a huge positive impact, it’s important that you do them.

  Your employees will see their friends and family members being celebrated at their workplaces, so not recognizing employees on this day communicates that you don’t care about your workers. This will weaken your culture and make your teams more susceptible to burnout and high turnover.

Worker Appreciation FAQ

1. What is a small token of appreciation for employees?

   A small token of appreciation for employees could be company swag, a card, or a sweet treat like donuts or chocolates. If you want to go bigger, gift cards to local restaurants and movie or event tickets are good options.

2. What do employees want as appreciation?

   Employees want things that help them take a break from work as appreciation. Whether it’s a catered lunch at the office, a group cooking class, or tickets for their families to go to the local water park, employees appreciate it when their leaders encourage them to take a break and have lives outside of work.

3. What are appreciation activities?

   Appreciation activities include field trips, award shows, and catered meals. Group cooking or art classes are also good choices, as well as group games like scavenger hunts or trivia competitions.

Final Thoughts

Your employees are the most valuable resource your company has. If you don’t take care of them, they aren’t going to perform well and will have little to no loyalty toward your company. This discontentment will carry into your overall culture, harming productivity and making it difficult to recruit good talent.

By simply taking the time to celebrate Employee Appreciation Day to the best of your ability, you’ll show your workers that you recognize and appreciate their hard work – and that you value them for more than just what they produce.

References

1. University of Northern Colorado – Student Employee Appreciation Ideas

Author

Caitlin Mazur

Caitlin Mazur is a freelance writer at Zippia where she has written 140+ articles that have reached over 1 mil viewers as of June 2023. Caitlin is passionate about helping Zippia’s readers land the jobs of their dreams by offering content that discusses job-seeking advice based on experience and extensive research.