Share this post | 3 min read
.png?width=1024&name=give%20thanks%20(2).png)
The holidays are upon us! Like many workplaces around the world, the mood may have changed to one that is a bit more gracious, giving, and cheerful. But how can we go from just a bit to a lot of good spirits?
Here are 5 creative and meaningful ways you can generate a big spirit of gratitude in your workplace:
Have you heard about our Wow cards? Well, they’re cards used to write how someone has wow’d us, and we share it with that person. Wow cards don’t have to be formal pieces of paper; you can use anything like sticky notes, greeting cards, or index cards! The point is to share how someone has wow’d you.
At your next team meeting, take 10 minutes to have each employee write out a wow for another team member and have them share it with that person. Or you can write wows for each team member and share them with them individually.
Maybe one of your employees just bought a house, had a baby, or finally ran that marathon. To create connectedness and a sense of progress in life, it’s important to celebrate personal wins - even if you’re at work! The holidays also mark a close to the year, so take a moment to acknowledge the wins of your team to highlight all the things they’ve accomplished this year.
You can do this in one big sweep! How? Schedule a “meeting,” but have a cake and balloons or something commemorative and read out all the wins that your team sent in. Enjoy and celebrate together!
You might be kidding yourself if you think working at your company is the only aspiration your employees have. If you don’t know what those other dreams are, then find out! Where do they want to travel?
What have they always wanted to do?
If you are giving gifts this year, get them something that can encourage them to seek their dreams. If you have an employee who has always wanted to go to travel around the world, get them a cool luggage tag. Or maybe someone wants to learn to be a better cook, an apron or personalized cutting board would be a great idea!
All too often, you get a card from a colleague, and inside is a pre-printed message with their signature. Cards are great but have become too routine. How can you personalize it with little money? Write something meaningful.
You can use the holiday card send-outs as a way to express how your employees have wow’d you or inspired you. Write up to 3-4 lines and keep it authentic and honest.
Knowing our employees well also entails learning about causes that they are passionate about. You don’t have to get too political here to figure out what’s important to them. If an employee lost a loved one to cancer, for instance, maybe a donation in their name to a cancer research organization would be meaningful.
If you have a team member who is pretty artsy, a contribution to a children’s music/art education program might mean a lot. Get creative and get empathetic to see what might mean most to your teams.
