Employees work all year around, and for that they receive salaries and benefits, but is that enough? In the 21st century, managers and owners realize how important employee appreciation is. Well, what is employee appreciation and why is it important? Is it actually important or just another scam?

What Is Employee Appreciation?

Human beings, by design, are hungry for appreciation. Whether we work diligently, average, or we don’t work at all. People need appreciation and that is what keeps them going.

Employee appreciation is when an employee’s efforts, contributions, and performance is acknowledged, valued, and appreciated by their manager or higher up. While most people feel that appreciation will always cost managers a lot, the reality is far different.

Employee appreciation does not have to be expensive at all and it does not have to be formal either. Managers can mark the occasion of the employee’s joining date with a happy work anniversary. They can also come up with meaningful employee appreciation and anniversary messages for years of service awards to say thank you to an employee.

The simpler it is, the better for the manager. While it’s true that managers or big organizations have countless staff and employees, which could make it difficult for them to keep up. If they choose to formally appreciate all the employees, then it may take a lot more time, which could impact end goals. Therefore, the solution is to keep it simple and meaningful.

Happy Work Anniversary

Saying happy work anniversary is a part of employee appreciation. This is one way of telling your employee that you are delighted to have them at work and working alongside them has been an amazing experience.

This can be done through gift cards or meaningful messages. It is worthy to note here that managers can also hold a party or a casual day where all the employees are said to have a happy work anniversary in totality rather than wishing every single employee individually. Besides this, there are many other happy work anniversary wishes and quotes out there.

Why Is Employee Appreciation Necessary?

Most business tycoons and leaders who have made huge conglomerates and are now running multiple businesses across the globe. They do it because they realize how important people sitting below them are. Yes, there is no denying that even in these huge corporations and businesses there are a lot of unfair practices being done with the employees and workers, this is solely because of relaxed governmental laws.

When the government imposes strict rules and regulations on businesses to pay attention to their employees, then the management will be bound to do something about it. Still, employee recognition does not need to be forced. If it is forced, then that means it is acting like formality.

Most employees are good at guessing whether the appreciation is real or fake.

Benefits of Employee Appreciation

There are many benefits, but let’s start with something basic. Employee appreciation can fuel motivation. Work can become quite boring and mundane when the same thing repeats every single day. To combat the boredom, employees need to change work up and down. If they cannot do that, or they do not have that privilege at work, then they may be highly demotivated. This may follow up with laziness and lack of ability to commit to deadlines and work.

That’s where employee appreciation comes into play. When employees are appreciated for their performance and work, it can create a chain reaction. First, the employee will feel that their work is being monitored and they are being watched. This will create a sense of responsibility and they may not slip up that much on work.

So this will bring diligence to their work. Second, the employee will be motivated to know that they are valued and respected at work. So the next time they are working, they may not make mistakes and the quality of the output will drastically improve. This will directly make the client happy since they will eventually receive the final product/service.

Imagine if this chain reaction happened with, let’s say, 30 employees in a company. It will create something extraordinary for the organization and also the employees. When clients receive better quality products, the organization may have some ground to ask for better rates on products/services. This can increase the profits of the firm, and that’s where most of the employee appreciation’s fruit will eventually go.

Most employees are extremely relaxed with work because they believe that they are not being monitored or that their manager doesn’t care about them. Truth be told, even these types of employees are desperate for appreciation. In fact, employees who turn away from work and go against the code of conduct or the policies of the organization may also do it solely because they don’t feel respected and valued at work. Appreciation can give them value, and allow them to feel that they are important.

Ways to Appreciate Employees             

Honestly, there are multiple ways to appreciate employees and to genuinely thank them for their hard work. There are some organizations that have specific months where work is very easy to find, and due to excessive work, the load can increase in some months. This can be really tiring, considering that most employees spend their whole day at work, not to mention over time.

Now that the definitions and other things are out of the way, let’s talk a little about some ways and ideas on how managers can appreciate their hard working employees to bump up their spirits.

First off, something very simple yet meaningful is a gift card. Managers can buy custom made gift cards for their employees and write a meaningful message in it to appreciate their employees. This is sweet, cute, and a meaningful way to recognize your employees. This is basic, though. Not all employees might be delighted with this. But it is still better than nothing.

Moving on, managers can also give some discount cards to their employees. These might be to a local gym, a restaurant, or a social club. These discounts are always helpful for employees since they are trying to cut back on costs and do some saving here and there. This is a great way to appreciate your employees for their hard work.

Throw a Party

Another idea is to throw a party for the whole office. Note, this may disturb work during work hours so holding it after the office is closed is actually better. Of course, thanking every employee individually can be difficult if the organization is huge, so a party with a designated theme will in itself act like a big thank you to all of the employees.

The last idea is actually very common. Companies, especially big ones, mostly hold their employee appreciation parties at the end of each year. This party symbolizes the fact that the employees stood with the organization and worked the whole year. It is an achievement to stick in the same place for a whole year, so appreciation is a must.

Whether it is a happy work anniversary celebration or employee appreciation and anniversary messages for years of service awards, they are all necessary to create a happy and positive workforce. The pros of employee recognition outweigh the cons by a mile. Any sane person would understand that appreciating someone for working hard can make them happy, and it can also fuel their energy to work in the future. However, some managers still need to realize the relevance and importance of employee recognition and appreciation.