According to the research conducted by Gary Chapman and Paul White the authors of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, people feel appreciated in 5 different categories: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Tangible Gifts and Physical Touch (that last one is not appropriate for the workplace!). Given our workplace climate, we will focus on the first four. As you think about your workplace, showing your appreciation in a variety of forms will be the best way to reach your diverse team.

Employee Appreciation Day Formula --->

food + gift, act of service, or event + handwritten note of appreciation = employees who feel appreciated

Food:

• Lattes

• Specialty donuts

• Locally sourced bagels

• Healthy, delicious, catered lunch

Gift, Act of Service, or Event:

• Schedule a chair massage therapist to come to your office

• Car wash (or car wash gift card)

• Magazine subscription (how about Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Inc.?)

• A special book

• Bottle of wine

• Use chalk on the sidewalk outside your office to draw your appreciation: 'Our team ROCKS!' If your team is large, have a few of your leaders meet you early in the morning to help cover the sidewalk with appreciation of everyone on your team. You could even use alliteration to match the first letter of their first name with an adjective such as: Can-do Carly or Sales Slugger Sam.

Handwritten Note of Appreciation:

Write handwritten notes of appreciation for each person on your team.

Finally, it’s not about how significant your appreciation day events or gifts are, it’s how much love goes into the act of appreciating your team members. Something simple with buckets-full of appreciation can be magnificent.

Note: This post was originally shared in 2017. With a few covid modifications and creativity it can be used for this years planning. Enjoy!

Over Thanksgiving I overheard my husband talking to my parents about how successful my business has been in 2016. “Her efforts have paid off!” And, “She’s amazing!” rolled right off his tongue like I was paying him to say those things! Of course, I wasn’t. But my heart grew bigger and my confidence grew stronger so much that I think I stood nearly an inch taller by the end of the day. Let’s face it, how amazing does it feel to be recognized for our hard work? Recognition, either in public or in private, is ridiculously motivating. We are in a unique situation where most of us want to call it a year and sweep 2016 out the door. But wait! Let’s pause and all look at what’s going right in your workplace.

Get it started:

• In your own way, take a minute or two to recognize someone for their hard work. This can be verbally in front of peers, it can be in private, digitally via email, social media, text, Slack -- there are so many digital choices these days! You pick.

• Then, add the tagline below to your note (or send it separately if your recognition is verbal).

• This note was inspired by a Bucket Filling in the Workplace activity to generate loads of appreciation at work. Do you want to pay it forward too?

How can I participate

• If you received a Bucket Filling in the Workplace note you are hereby challenged to give back three times what you received. That’s right, pay it forward to three people.

• What is Bucket Filling in the Workplace? Just a note telling someone what you like and appreciate about them. This can be in the form of a handwritten note, an email or even a text. Whatever comes naturally to you.

• Include the tagline and link at the bottom of your communication (or send it afterward for verbal recognition). Let’s get the spotlight focused on what’s going right in your workplace.

Examples of killer workplace recognition (plagiarize as you wish):

• Jen, you lead with heart. There is not a leadership decision that you have made this year that your heart didn’t enter the equation. Your ability to pause and take note of where humanity fits into our workplace motivates me to do the same. Thank you for constantly role-modeling this for me and others in our workplace.

• Ryan, your drive to achieve results is unrelenting. Once you set a goal there is no holding you back to achieve it. This year you hit your sales target and then some. I am beyond impressed!

• Thank you, Natalie, for your help reinventing our workplace culture this year. People like you are one in a gazillion. Seriously, in your league, you have no competition!

• Ben, hands down, you are one of my favorite people to work with. You are a bright, big picture thinker who delivers every single time. I appreciate that so much about you. Thank you for being you!

• Thank you, Emily for helping me keep my head in the game in 2016. It was a tough year and without you I might have given up on our goals. You kept not only me but our entire team motivated with your infectious personality, unrelenting drive and supersized heart. I appreciate you so much.

• You rock! Is it fair to say that when I’m assigned to projects on your team I do a mental backflip because I know it’s going to be an out of this world experience? Joe, working for you is simply the best.

Now, go spread some workplace cheer. I'm talking to you. Yes, you. Do it. You will be glad you did. 

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