Essential Workers – Finding a way for employers to show their appreciation can be important when it comes to rewarding a team for achieving a goal or hard work. While there are dedicated holidays for celebrating teachers, healthcare workers and other industry professionals during national appreciation weeks, workers should always be thanked. And for many workers, the unique challenges of the past year have been especially difficult so a special gift or gesture is sure to have a positive impact.
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Group Outings and Events
Arranging a party, group outing or other off-hours event is a great way to boost morale. Stress and burnout can be significant problems, especially for workers who are deemed to be essential and employees who are forced to deal with high-pressure environments or stressful tasks on a daily basis. Providing workers with the chance to relax, enjoy themselves and to blow off a little steam is a great way to ensure that staff and employees feel both appreciated and valued.
Celebrate Achievement
Making it a point to celebrate specific achievements and milestones can also be of benefit. Employees who work hard and give it their all only to have their accomplishments go unnoticed can easily begin to feel devalued and underappreciated. A simple token of appreciation or gesture of recognition for meeting or exceeding a performance goal, achieving a personal best or professional milestone or having to endure situations or circumstances that may cause additional stress can go a long way.
Ensuring Employees are Able to Feel Heard
Feeling unnoticed or unheard within the workplace can leave even the most resilient workers feeling like a disposable resource. Being unable to make a suggestion, log a complaint or address a pressing issue with their employer can be toxic in terms of workplace morale, especially when it comes to high-stress occupations. While it may sound simple, making an extra effort in order to ensure that their workers, staff and associates are able to feel heard can be a very effective way to show appreciation.
Appreciation Gifts and Giveaways
From a simple gift card to a gift basket containing expertly-curated snacks and gourmet foods, appreciation gifts are another great way for employers to express their appreciation. Ideal for a national worker appreciation day, industry awareness week or other special event or occasion, thank you gifts are the perfect option for business owners, employers and organizations that are seeking to show essential workers just how valuable they really are. Hickory Farms makes a wide range of thank you gift baskets that are perfect for appreciation gifts for teachers and healthcare workers along with other special events.
Creating a Positive Workplace Culture
Workplace events, celebrations and gifts can also be used to help foster a more positive atmosphere within the workplace. Maintaining the right social environment can help to mitigate issues like low morale, high turnover and the other problems that may occur when employees begin to feel undervalued or ignored. While a simple gift is often more than enough to show appreciation for an accomplishment or to recognize exceptional performance, taking a short-term approach towards worker appreciation can be self-defeating in the end. Striving to both create and maintain a positive culture within the office or other workplace helps to ensure that employees continue to feel appreciated in the days ahead.
Employers would do well to make the extra effort needed to ensure their workers feel heard, recognized and appreciated for their efforts. A luxurious gift basket, office party or company outing can go a long way towards improving morale by reminding workers how valuable they are.
