Weaving Employee Appreciation into your Workplace Culture

Gratitude can be a powerful psychological tool to help people foster happiness and contentment day to day. So, it should come as no surprise that most employees do their best work when they feel appreciated by their employers. In the past, the phrase “employee appreciation” may have conjured images of pizza parties or spirit days. As workplace culture evolves in today’s people-centric labor market though, it’s becoming increasingly important for leaders to weave employee appreciation into everyday company culture. Here are four compelling ways that you, as employers, can show your team how much you care:  

1. Acknowledge every team member’s individuality 

Perhaps the most critical element of this shift is to treat employees as individuals with unique and varied needs. As the focus shifts from the idea of work-life balance into the philosophy of work-life integration due to the remote/hybrid nature of work, it is important to create space for employees to bring their whole selves to work. 

There is a newfound shift in personal boundaries between colleagues, as remote work often provides an intimate glimpse into each other’s home lives. To make this transition and visibility more comfortable for everyone, it’s important to honor the individuality of every employee, their families and their lives outside of work. Not only will this make them feel appreciated and respected, it will also create a culture of mutual respect within the workplace. 

2. Maintain an attitude of gratitude 

Another simple way to make employees feel appreciated is by developing a “kudos culture,” or encouraging employees to shout out their peers for a job well done. Not only is this a great way for everyone on the team to show gratitude for one another, it will also help employees feel recognized for their individual contributions and motivated to excel. This can be done publicly, involving the rest of the team in some way, or privately, in the form of a thank-you note or one-on-one conversation. It helps highlight the unique, varied strengths each employee brings to the team, and can be a great way to praise the “soft skills” such as empathy, patience and kindness that too often go unrecognized in the workplace. 

3. Spend quality time together to foster camaraderie 

Celebratory and team-building events are the perfect opportunity to show employees how much their contributions are valued. These events can be in-person, such as bowling nights, happy hours, or team dinners. Some virtual options popular today include cooking classes, trivia nights and even wine tastings with sommeliers. These types of events build and strengthen the idea that the workplace is truly a community by having the team come together for something fun and unrelated to work. 

4. Reward employees who go above and beyond

Lastly, tokens of appreciation such as bonuses, gift cards, prizes and the like have a universal appeal. At the end of the day, employees are all there to earn money and support themselves and their loved ones. Because of this, offering on-demand pay is a surefire way to let your employees know how deeply you’re invested in them, even outside the four walls of the workplace. Offering on-demand pay through DailyPay will give your employees access to our REWARD feature, which allows you to send employees instant bonuses directly through our app. It’s never been easier to show your employees how grateful you are for a job well done. 

Want to learn more about showing your employees appreciation every day by offering on-demand pay?