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Employee Appreciation Day: 6 Ways to Show Your Co-workers You Care

Do you remember when is employee appreciation day? If you do, that means you care about your co-workers. If you don’t, then it is the first Friday in March, a holiday set aside for bosses and companies to properly recognize their employees.

Aside from your family and friends, your co-workers are the people you spend a bulk part of your day with. Don’t you think you should appreciate them for being supportive in the workplace?

Now, employee appreciation day is not only for bosses to appreciate their workers. Employees can also appreciate their colleagues. So how can you show some appreciation on this day? Here are some tips to help.

1. Thank them

One easy way to appreciate your co-workers without having to go overboard is by simply saying thank you. If you feel saying it is informal, you can send a card or note.

When writing a note to an employee, try to personalise it, so it looks authentic. Think of the ways your colleague has helped you, their contribution to the team, and write an appreciation note along that line. They’ll be thrilled to know you notice their efforts.

2. Get breakfast

You know how difficult it is to grab breakfast when leaving home for work as you have to beat the traffic and arrive at work early. Now imagine the joy your co-workers will feel if they could get breakfast in the office, for free too. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, danish rolls, doughnuts, and croissants are all great breakfast choices. Let them know they are getting breakfast because of their contributions to the workplace.

3. Take them out for lunch

Too busy to get breakfast for your colleagues? You can take them out during the lunch break to get something nice to eat. Not only will it create a chance to appreciate them, but it also encourages office bonding.

Eating out works well with a small team. But it could be a problem if you have a large group. You can always divide it into smaller units and take them out throughout the week. Employee appreciation day doesn’t have to hold for only a day. You can stretch it to a week or two to please your colleagues.

4. Offer assistance to your colleagues

Another way to show appreciation is to offer your help to colleagues that may need it. Are you skilful with something that a colleague struggles with? Offer to teach the person the technique. Or help out with a project they are trying to complete. There are numerous ways to offer assistance to your colleagues as a way of appreciating their effort.

5. Shower praises in meetings

Sing praises of your co-workers who deserve it during meetings. Don’t make it sound like flattery, but let it be genuine by highlighting the specific things they have done. You never can tell if your praises will help their next appraisal and get them the promotion they have been working hard for.

6. Ask personal follow-up questions

Recall the times when you had personal discussions with them and try to ask follow-up questions. If a co-worker had told you about her son’s football game, you could ask about the game’s outcome. Discussions do not always have to centre around work and projects. Take out time to get personal and listen to your colleague’s life outside work. They’ll sure appreciate it.

Related article: Why Leaders Need to Embrace Employee Motivation

Conclusion

Aside from the employee appreciation day, it would be best if you took out time to appreciate your colleagues every day to make the work environment less tense and more enjoyable.