Today is National Employee Appreciation Day. Did you know that? If you missed it you’re not alone. In a day and age where employee appreciation is paramount to workplace environment and culture, how can we not know about this seemingly important day? Here’s a quick FAQ guide to ensure you show employee appreciation appropriately all year round.
- Should I use National Employee Appreciation Day as the sole day to celebrate my employees? Absolutely not! According to Forbes article, 4 Commonly Asked Questions About National Employee Appreciation Day, lack of appreciation is the #1 reason employees leave jobs (78% of the time!). On the flip side, appreciation is the top reason employees give for doing consistently great work (38%). Appreciation should happen year round, consistently, and may only peak on a randomly chosen day in March.
- How necessary is it? National Employee Appreciation Day is something that has to be observed because if it’s not, employees will notice. Your organization doesn’t want to seem ungrateful for employee work and sacrifice. Celebrations don’t need to be grand, but they do need to happen. Did you miss it this year? Then put something on the calendar for later this month. Better late than never.
- How do I do it? Because this is largely contrived and fairly new, employees don’t have expectations of what “should” happen on employee appreciation day. So, keep it simple and keep it sincere. If you feel your staff has collectively gone above and beyond for your company, make a big deal, but make sure it’s sincere. If your organization isn’t having a stellar Q1, blowing the celebration out of proportion could backfire.
- What about ideas for celebrations? Celebrations can and should vary. A staff party, a team lunch and an early dismissal are all great, simple, low cost ideas. However, you could get more creative, like providing gift cards for employees to take their families out to dinner, or to discount their grocery bills for the week.
Whatever you do for National Employee Appreciation Day, make it timely, simple and sincere. Don’t wait until next year.
