Employee Appreciation Day is coming up fast, but don’t worry — we’re here to make sure you’re ready to celebrate.

From personalized gestures to grand events, the following pages are packed with creative and thoughtful ways to show your employees they're valued not just as workers, but as integral parts of your organization.

What Is Employee Appreciation Day?

Dr. Bob Nelson, a corporate consultant and bestselling author, dreamed up Employee Appreciation Day in the mid-90s to help promote his latest book 1,001 Ways To Reward Employees.

Nelson also helped found the nonprofit Recognition Professionals International. That organization helped Employee Appreciation Day escape the bounds of a promotional stunt. Today, it is an unofficial, but widely recognized, holiday for employers to thank their employees for their effort and dedication.

When Is Employee Appreciation Day?

Employee Appreciation Day is celebrated on the first Friday of March. That means in 2024 Employee Appreciation Day falls on March 1.

Why Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day?

Employee Appreciation Day took off in part because a deep, consistent body of research has found employee recognition is more than a “nice” thing to do. It’s critical for the productivity and retention of your workforce. There's no better time than March 1 to start gaining the benefits of appreciating your employees year-round.

Retain Your Best Employees

A 2022 Bonusly survey of 2,000 employees found almost half of respondents had left a job because they felt unappreciated. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they would work harder if they thought management would notice their contributions.

O.C. Tanner agrees. Their research shows employees at companies with established, active recognition programs anticipate staying four years longer than their peers at companies without those programs.

Increase Employee Engagement

Appreciated employees feel more engaged, and engaged employees perform better.

That’s the finding of three international psychology researchers who conducted a study of 117 employees. Study after study confirms the cause and effect between appreciation and performance.

Employee appreciation helps in creating a positive workplace culture, fostering a sense of belonging and well-being among the workforce. Demonstrating appreciation is a surefire way to boost employee morale and job satisfaction but also plays a vital role in enhancing engagement, productivity, and overall organizational success.

The Difference Between Recognition And Appreciation

Employee Appreciation Day is not necessarily about recognition. While a culture of recognition is about acknowledging results or performance, appreciation is about valuing an individual's inherent worth. 

An employee recognition program is also an important part of a well-rounded employee retention strategy, but this day is more about saying "thank you" just because, rather than thanking someone for a job well done.

20 Employee Appreciation Day Ideas You Should Steal

Leaders and managers should use both words and actions on a frequent, consistent basis to show employees that their great work is appreciated. We’ve got a whole bunch of ideas for how you can do that on Employee Appreciation Day. 

Once you see the positive reactions of your employees, you’re going to want to incorporate some of these gestures into your year-round corporate gifting program.

Personalized Thank You Messages: Let your employees know something about their work that stood out to you to show that you pay attention and recognize what they contribute to the company. Trust us, words of gratitude beat branded water bottles any day of the week when it comes to showing your appreciation

Office Game Day: Set up a game day in the office with board games, video games, and puzzles for a fun break from work. Make sure to include a variety of activities so everyone can have a great time being as cooperative (or competitive) as they want to be!

Office Lunch Outing: Reserve a local restaurant for a team lunch. It’s a great way to create space for team bonding.

Appreciation Awards Ceremony: Host an awards ceremony celebrating employee achievements, with categories like 'Best Team Player' or 'Innovation Award'. If you have remote employees, you can hold your awards ceremony over Zoom or another platform too. Don't forget awards music, fun photos, and an enthusiastic presenter like maybe your team manager, or the CEO.

Outdoor Picnic: Host a picnic in a nearby park, providing food, games, ice cream, and a relaxed atmosphere for employees and their families to hang out

Movie Screening: Rent a local theater for a private movie screening or set up a projector in the office for a cozy movie afternoon. Remote teams can get in on the fun, too. Prime, Hulu, Disney+ and many other streaming services offer "watch party" modes.

Personalized Gifts: We're not talking about company-branded swag here. We think people appreciate it more when you put their name on a nice gift, not yours. Some ideas here include nice engraved pens, or custom mugs that employees can use in the office.

A Cup Of Coffee: Hand out gift cards your team can use at their favorite cafe for a pre-work pastry or a hot cup of coffee to get their day going.

Bring In Free Food And Snacks: Nothing says “thank you” like donuts in the morning, pizza in the afternoon, and cake for dessert! Make sure to bring a variety of treats so there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

Thank The Collective Team Internally: Whether it’s Slack, Teams, or a company newsletter, take advantage of your internal tools to tell employees thank you. Call out some specific successes from the last year, including projects big and small, and helpful things you’ve seen employees do for each other.

Health and Wellness Packages: Offer employees a health and wellness gift card they can use to get a gym membership, relax with a massage, get Zen during a guided meditation session, or treat themselves to a spa day.

Extra Paid Time Off: This one’s sure to be a hit. Surprise employees with an extra day off to relax and rejuvenate.

Thank Your Employees Publicly: Show your employees some social media love and let the world know how awesome your employees are. Customers love to support companies that treat their people right, and sharing some of your team’s accomplishments is a great way to do that.

Office Equipment Upgrade: Offer a gift card employees can use to upgrade their office set up. Maybe they’ve been wanting a sweet gaming chair, or a bigger monitor. You can help them be more comfortable at work.

Create A Tribute Video: If you’ve got some video editing chops on your executive team, create a short video from the leadership group sharing why you think your team is the greatest and letting them know you appreciate all they do.

Escape Rooms: If you have a smaller team, this could be a great opportunity to take a field trip to an escape room for some team-building. If you have remote team members, companies like Escapely and Confetti offer virtual escape room platforms so everybody can try their hand at puzzle solving.

Books or E-Books: Provide a gift card to a local bookstore. Employees might purchase a new leadership book … or, you know, the latest Lee Child. Either way, it’s a nice gesture.

Happy Hour: Knock off a bit early on Employee Appreciation Day and take your entire team out for happy hour to celebrate all they do for the company. First round is on you!

Start A Recognition Program: Use Employee Appreciation Day as an excuse to launch a thoughtful, intentional, and consistent way to recognize employees each and every day of the year.

Just Say Thank You: Ultimately, the best way to show appreciation is sometimes the smallest. Remember to tell your employees thanks for their hard work on Employee Appreciation Day — and every day!

Employee Appreciation Ideas For Large Companies

If you have a couple dozen employees, it’s possible to know them all well enough to give a personalized gift to each person. If you have a couple hundred employees, you can at least personally sign a card to each of them, even if your hand cramps up a little.

But when you’re a truly large company, you have to get a little more creative about how you show sincere appreciation to every employee at the company.

Thankfully, we have a few ideas tailored to even the largest companies who want to thank their employees.

Video Messages: Create a company-wide video from the CEO or leadership team, expressing gratitude. Personalize it by department or team to make it more relevant.

E-Gift Cards: Send out electronic gift cards, which can be easily distributed in bulk while still offering a sense of personal choice.

Virtual Appreciation Wall: Set up an online appreciation wall where employees can post thank you notes and messages to each other. This is a great way to start fostering a community of gratitude at work.

Company Newsletter Spotlight: Dedicate a section of the company newsletter to highlight employees’ achievements, stories, and testimonials.

Interactive Webinars or Live Streams: Host a live stream or webinar featuring leadership expressing thanks, perhaps with guest speakers or entertainment.

Special Recognition Awards: Implement peer-nominated awards for various categories (e.g., teamwork, innovation) and announce the winners in a virtual event.

Virtual "Lunch on Us" Day: Provide digital vouchers for a free lunch and encourage the whole team to spend their lunch break together virtually, fostering camaraderie.

Personalized Thank You Emails: Craft a template for a thoughtful thank you email, and personalize it for different departments or teams.

Employee Appreciation Day Is The Start — Not The End — Of Your Employee Engagement Strategy

Employee appreciation isn't just a one-day affair; it's an ongoing commitment to acknowledging the hard work, resilience, and dedication that each team member brings to the table. Remember that you can share your appreciation for employees not just on March 1, or on work anniversaries, but any and every day of the week.

This year, as we approach Employee Appreciation Day, it's time to think beyond the standard acknowledgments and explore more memorable ways to express gratitude for our employees.

Whether you're a small start-up or a sprawling enterprise, the ideas we highlighted are designed to help you create an atmosphere of genuine appreciation and celebration, reinforcing the core values of your organization and boosting overall morale.

Want to learn more about how to incorporate corporate gifts into your employee appreciation efforts? Let’s talk!

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