Friday, March 4, is National Employee Appreciation Day. This is an opportunity for leaders to celebrate and thank team members and recognize the values they are exhibiting.
Max DePree, former CEO of furniture giant Herman Miller, described saying “Thank you” as “A leader’s primary job”.
Robert Townsend, former CEO of Avis and author of Up the Organization, defined “Thanks” as “A really neglected form of compensation.” Stanford’s Bob Sutton shares more here.
Wharton’s Adam Grant adds: “A sense of appreciation is the single most sustainable motivator at work. Extrinsic motivators can stop having meaning. Your raise in pay feels like you’re just due, your bonus gets spent, your new title doesn’t sound so important once you have it. But the sense that other people appreciate what you do sticks with you.”
“Feeling appreciated lifts people up, makes us feel safe, which is what frees us to do our best work.” – Harvard Business Review
Appreciation has a direct impact on team performance.
Wharton’s Adam Grant and Harvard’s Francesca Gino showed that when employees are provided “appreciation”, they are 2X more likely to provide help to their team members and have higher individual productivity.
We recommend scheduling one of the following Teamraderie experiences to bring your team together and make your team members feel appreciated.
Employee Appreciation Day Event Recommendations:
Experience the tradition of afternoon tea together. Receive an elegant kit with premium teas, a mug,
and a box of delicious Chelles macarons.
Receive a generous box with Tartine’s most famous baked items, brew coffees/ teas together
and enjoy an engaging conversation.
Learn more
Meet the Olympian Summer Sanders and learn about appreciation on athletic teams.
Toast something you’ve learned to appreciate about your team.
Meet IN-Q, an award-winning poet and multi-platinum songwriter.
Express appreciation for your team using ‘spoken word art’ (with guidance from IN-Q).
Learn more