Employee Appreciation Day!

The first Friday in March is designated Employee Appreciation Day.  If there can be a National Boss's Day then employees are entitled to a day that celebrates all the hard work put into a workplace.  This year it falls on Friday, March 2nd.  While it is not an official holiday, it first appeared on the calendar in the mid-1990s.  It is a day for employers to thank their employees for all the hard work they do all year. However, truly appreciating your employees is something that needs to be done on a daily basis.  This results in a rise in morale and productivity.  When an individual feels valued, they continue to take pride in their work and accomplishments. Employees want to work for people who value their efforts and achievements.  Even a simple "thank you" goes a long way. Human beings all want to feel valued in whatever position they hold.  Psychologically speaking, humans need to feel valued from outer sources to validate their own self-worth. When praised for their work, people generally will try to do better.  This is in turn increases productivity for the company or work place.

Besides verbal acknowledgement, employers can show their appreciation by making the workplace friendly and welcoming. One way to do this is by allowing employees to redecorate it.  Picking out paint colors, adding flowers or plants, etc. gives the employees a sense of ownership of the work space.  They feel more involved and comfortable in the area they are present in most of the day.  Being able to put up personal pictures in a cubicle or near a computer often makes a space "your own."  I have also seen employees put up different motivational sayings on a printer or on a shared computer to inspire themselves as well as others in the same working space. This creates a welcoming and comfortable space where it is enjoyable to work.

My personal favorite technique to motivate and appreciate employees is to bring in snacks or to treat employees to a meal once in a while. Needless to say, this is also great for morale. Food brings everyone together regardless of their background or demographic. I mean, everyone's got to eat, right?  I had a boss once who would bring in bagels from a local bagel place every once in a while for the whole staff.  It showed not only her thoughtfulness but also her appreciation for all of the staff members' hard work. Who does not love bagels?!  Holiday parties are great and all but little treats every so often create a nice environment. Small gestures go a long way to motivate and make employees feel appreciated throughout the year. It doesn't even have to be anything elaborate.  Just a little snack like popcorn, chips, cookies, etc. in a common room or break room results in happy employees.

In this day and age of social media, praising an employee via social media is almost better than praising them in person.  Posting pictures of some of the accomplishments of staff members gives employees a sense of recognition and pride.  A picture or mention on social media of an activity or task that was done well is a way to acknowledge and reward employees on a public forum.  It is also a way to showcase talent or aptitude that an employee has that the organization is fortunate to benefit from.

Research shows that demonstrating appreciation to employees increases the chances your whole team feels valued in the workplace creating a healthy and productive work environment.  Employees who feel valued will stick around longer.  Creating a healthy work place often falls on the management.  If this kind of environment is created and cultivated, it benefits everyone from management to employees to customers/patrons. It is a win-win situation.  So if you are in management and want happier, more productive employees, FEED THEM!

Some great tips to create a happy and productive workplace can be found in the following resources:

Emily Post's the Etiquette Advantage in Personal Skills for Professional Success by Peter Post
The Culture Code:  The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
The New Rules of Work: The Modern Playbook for Navigating Your Career by Alexandra Cavoulacos

- Kaneeze of the Hightstown Branch