The hallmarkification of work

Quick quiz: Today is employee appreciation day. What should you do?

1. Send a dancing pizzagram to their house

2. Have them stay late for a generous 2 hour AMA about your own personal career journey

3. Give out notes that say “you rock!” attached to a literal rock (they can totally use this as a paperweight)

4. Give them all a giant bonus (or else you’re a bad boss!)

Answer: none of the above. The truth is, when you’re not doing the basics like paying a fair wage, outlining a path to career growth and giving folks a sense of purpose, a token gift isn’t going to cut it. In fact you’re likely to inspire the opposite effect, with your team wondering why you couldn’t have spent less on fancy gifts and more on actual pay. You might wonder if your team will even know it’s supposed to be a special day, while at the same time worry that doing nothing will land you in hot water. Not just content with testing the standing of our personal relationships, the hallmarkification of holidays is coming for the workplace.

So what are some good things to do to show your team you appreciate them, today or any day?

• Take the time to write meaningful notes to each of your team members. Outline what you appreciate about them and the impact they’ve had. For bonus marks, collect a few different anecdotes and appreciations from others on the team to add in. 

• Revisit your team members’ goals and think of one positive thing you can do to impact them. Can you make an introduction to a mentor? Suggest them for a speaker spot at an upcoming conference? Get them involved on a new project?

• Use the day to make positive announcements or changes. Rolling out upgraded benefits or a new perk? Employee Appreciation Day can be a good time to do it. 

• No new programs rolling out anytime soon? Take some time to make sure the ones you do have are outlined in a clear, understandable and transparent way for your team. For example, if your compensation philosophy is only aimed at managers, put together an employee guide to how the system works. The gift of clarity is a simple one, but often the most appreciated.

If you’re already golden on your basics, there’s nothing wrong with sending a fun gift to show your team some extra love. Our extremely informal poll of individual contributors unanimously said they’d like: extra time off. Do what you will with this information.

Stay Bright,

Nora

Bright Links

For startups, being mission-driven might actually drive candidates away. Some companies think it’s a good idea to make employees do improv to practice returning to the office. Speaking of RTO, it’s causing a spike in office romance; apparently a whole one third of workers have started one after going back (no data on whether they were single in the first place). Managers should expect a tough year of political polarization at work, and should prepare some strategies to keep the peace. Are employees working a free day on leap years? This NYT piece claims corporate wellness programs are not only ineffective, but appear to have a negative effect (with an expert suggestion that employers focus on “core organizational practices” like schedules, pay and performance reviews. Do we sound like a broken record here?) A software engineer posted about being a proud job hopper; people got big mad. Today in wild HR jobs, here’s what it’s like to staff the homes of the ultra-rich. I’m pretty sure Netflix is doing open salary ranges wrong.

Coming Up

• Women’s History Month is in March

• International Women’s Day is March 8

• Ramadan begins March 10

• Earth Hour Day is March 23

• Purim is March 23

• Holi is March 25

• Good Friday is March 29

• International Transgender Visibility Day is March 31

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