With the year almost coming to an end, there are numerous opportunities to gift your employees, e.g., end-of-year company party, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, etc. What better way to show your employees you appreciate them than to give them gifts that are functional and cool. 

Below are company swag ideas for employee gifts in 2021.

• Tech Accessories

There is always a place for technology in our lives. Most people have their phones and computers close by most of the time. Therefore, employees will appreciate tech accessories that help to protect or carry these devices more conveniently. For example, tile mates, silicone phone wallets, cords, and cable organizers, wireless charging mousepad, car clips, and webcam covers, among others.

Our favorite tech accessory is the one you can never have too many – phone chargers. This 3-1 phone charger works for a variety of devices for those split Apple Android offices.

• Portable Electronics

In the tech category, portable electronics make great gift ideas for employees. E.g., Bluetooth speakers, headphones, earbuds, power banks, smartwatches, charging pads, and phone chargers. These are items that they will use daily, whether at the office, home, or outdoors.

Our favorite portable electronic is the one we lose the most, our wireless AirPods.

• Self-Care Gifts

With the increasing awareness of the importance of mental health and physical wellbeing, self-care gifts tell your employees that you care about them. They could be as simple as tweezers, nail clippers, bar soap sets, hand sanitizer holders, or lip balms. Or as grand as custom-design fleece blankets, picnic blankets, hoodies, or at-home spa kits containing soap, essential oils, face masks, etc.

We’re partial to a relaxing candle with a positive affirmation like this candle from GSPY.

• Notebooks and Pens

Notebooks and pens are not the most unique idea for company swag items, but they are functional. Your employees use notebooks to take notes during meetings, write their to-do lists, brainstorm project ideas, or just doodle. However, you can make the notebooks’ interior and cover design unique so that it stands out to your employees, e.g., have their names engraved on the notebooks.

We love a great notebook and may quite literally have a problem as we can never have too many. Our favorite is those velvety soft covers from Moleskin. This Moleskin notebook makes a classy employee gift and is small enough to carry around in a purse or small bag.

• Travel Bags

While some people are keen to invest in high-quality travel bags, most don’t think about it until they have an upcoming trip. Therefore, chances are, most of your employees will appreciate swag gifts such as mini travel bags, backpacks, duffel bags, fanny packs, and gym bags.

Custom branded bags are standard swag for many companies. We’d recommend using the Uptown by TIMBUK2 as the base bag. Functional, stylish, and will stand up to the rigors of a daily commute.

• Games

Board games, cards, and game sets are fun gift options for your employees. They can also use them at home with their loved ones as an opportunity to bond and spend quality time.

No friendship is complete without having played at least one game of Cards Against Humanity. What better way to really understand your co-workers.

• Desk organizer

You must not have seen this one coming. But, when you think about it, it is such a functional gift for employees. It not only keeps the office clean and well organized but also promotes productivity and creativity. It’s also a great way for an office manager to stay organized with the never-ending list of things to do. If that’s you, check out our post on productivity hacks for office managers.

We like our desks to be clean and organized. It helps us work better and more efficiently and also feel better about our day. To help your team members better organize their work lives, we recommend desk organizers. This desk organizer from Simple Housewares is inexpensive yet full of ways to keep you and all your things organized.

• Food Pack

Put together a package of food items that your employees like, e.g., candy, nuts, cookies, chocolate, coffee beans, assorted tea bags, and other non-perishables. You could also add portable kitchen items in the package, e.g., a blender, water bottle, breadboard, mug, cooler box or mini-fridge, tumbler, etc.

Food is a great gift as everyone eats! It’s also a very low-cost, high-value reward for employees. After all, people will debate their favorite beer or coffee brand for hours but when’s the last time you heard employees get excited about their health insurance. For less than the cost of their insurance, you can provide snacks and drinks that will keep they energized and excited. When you’re ready to for office snacks, reach out to one of our team members and we’ll get you set-up!

The purpose of giving employees swag items goes beyond advertising. They help employees to connect with your brand physically. And, if they are items that the employees want, it gives them a sense that you think and care about them. These are just a few of the items that you can customize with your branding to create great gifts your employees will actually use. 

2019 is about to bid farewell. As an office manager, this holiday season is a great opportunity for you to show your employees that they are appreciated. There’s no better time of year to brush up on your employee appreciation best practices than right now! 

Recognizing your team members can help to change the culture of your workplace and incentivize them to strive for new goals. When your employees are recognized for their hard work, the work becomes rewarding from their perspective.

In this article, you’ll find 10 creative and thoughtful employee recognition and appreciation ideas, plus tips about how to boost your company culture.

How Important is Employee Recognition?

You don’t need to wait for a transformative success to recognize employees. Showing employees they are appreciated by their manager and office colleagues boosts morale and increases workplace effectiveness. 

Remember the last time you felt appreciated? It was a glorious moment for you, wasn’t it? It’s the same for all of us because appreciation is a basic human need.

Employees respond to appreciation because it’s affirmation that their work is valued. In fact, 60% of best-in-class organisations stated that employee recognition is extremely valuable in driving individual performance.

Moreover, when employees are regularly recognized for their hard work, studies show they are more likely to be productive. When employees are highly productive, your company will reap a variety of benefits, one of which will be increased revenue. 

On that note, it can be immensely beneficial to express your appreciation for your workers, and doing so doesn’t have to be complicated. If appreciation is shown at your company, your employees will know their work is extremely important and their contributions are valued.

So whether you are interested in budget-friendly tips or you want to do something quick and easy, here are some creative ideas to jump-start your employee appreciation efforts:

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1. Celebrate With Free Food or Snacks

Employee recognition means that you should celebrate your employees’ successes. And there’s no better way to celebrate than having delicious free food on our plates!

So bring in or hire a caterer to feed your employees. This type of reward will not only bring your office together and strengthen their interpersonal relationships, but it will also give them all the feeling of being appreciated.

Also take the time to highlight employees who have made extraordinary work strides, but make sure to do this in the moment. This is a fun way of saying their hard work is appreciated and, over time, can lead to a strong sense of pride and ultimately a high level of employee engagement.

2. Give Small Gifts or Treat

Staff appreciation ideas don’t have to be complicated. If you want to recognize an employee in a friendly manner, hand them a gift card to their favorite coffee shop, leave a box of chocolates on their desk, or as simple as sending a creative letter that says “Keep up the good work!”.

How about gifting a book they love or a trophy that will serve as a visual reminder of someone’s achievement? Clearly, there are many great tokens to show appreciation. This gesture will remind them that their hard work has not gone unnoticed.

3. Give Employees Extra Time Off

Nothing says “We appreciate you,” like giving someone an unexpected day off!  The most valuable way to recognize an employee today is through time – that is, time off, time to do something else besides work. It could be a family, a hobby, a charity, or a short vacation. 

If you can afford to give one of your employees some well-deserved free time, it will go a long way. A lot of employee recognition award ideas are built around awarding varying amounts of time off for a job well done.

4. Make Wellness A Part Of The Workplace

Since heavy workloads can affect us physically and mentally, doing what you can to keep your employees healthy can combat stress. There are several ways you can encourage wellness in your workplace that you can also benefit from.

It can be as simple as providing healthy snacks and encouraging breaks, up to providing free fitness memberships, health coaching, therapy, or checkups.

Clearly, by offering comprehensive wellness programs that entail physical, mental, and financial health, your company can create an environment that provides not only a happier and healthier workforce but show how much you value their hard work.

5. Sponsor a Retreat/ Fun Activities

The right retreat can help employees bond as a team and encourage everyone to share their thoughts and ideas. Additionally, employees need to feel they can choose which style of fun works best for them. Group activities like a visit to a winery, a trip to a local entertainment venue, or a bowling night are affordable ways to recognize and reward your workers. 

By emphasizing the chance to choose, you’re showing that you value diversity and their opinions. If you can create a positive, fun and flexible workplace, most employees appreciate the independence of knowing they are trusted to get the work done and feel part of a team.

6. Give Away a Free Vacation

Who doesn’t want a free trip? Spending time away from work and being with those we love most is a great time to de-stress and unwind. Thus, this could be one of the best perks you can offer to your staff.

Of course, it seems counter-intuitive to think keeping your people out of the office and on vacations will increase productivity, but that’s exactly what study after study is finding.

Not only for productivity, but also your employees will feel better about their jobs and they’ll want to stick around longer. And of course, there are health reasons why that time away helps the company—less sick days and stress-related illnesses. 

Giving a vacation away isn’t cheap, so you might want to reserve this perk for employee awards related to a huge accomplishment like landing a major client or closing a big deal. 

7. Upgrade The Employee Break Room

Sometimes having a safe area to unwind is all it takes for an individual to recharge and get the extra boost of energy needed to increase workplace productivity, performance, and job satisfaction. 

Jazzing up your office break room and making it a happy place for them is one of the best ways to show they are being valued. To guarantee your employees are getting what they need out of their breaks, it helps to make sure your office is supplied with all the components that make up a great break room.

Doing this will show your appreciation for your employees’ hard work, do your best to separate it from the workspace as much as possible.

8. Express Your Gratitude on Social Media

There’s something heartwarming and sincere about receiving a personal ‘thanks’ from your manager. If an employee has gone the extra mile, don’t hesitate to thank them. Bonus points if this occurs in a public setting for other people to see such as on social media. 

A social media shoutout is a popular employee appreciation idea because it can boost morale and show people how capable one of your employees is.

Apart from that, you can add staff photos and bios to the company website to show genuine appreciation! Create a new page in your company’s website to show all the people who make things happen behind the scenes. Even consider spotlighting employees in a blog post, asking them a series of fun questions to answer.

9. Offer New Educational Opportunities

People want to further their education, and you can roll out a new program before this year ends or early next year. 

Acknowledge their strengths and invest in making them better. Maybe there is a class or conference that helps to hone their skills coming up? Employees will feel more appreciated if they see that you contribute to their career development.

Expressing interest in the employees’ professional development could also mean looking out for courses and sending them emails about them, assisting them in accomplishing their goals faster, or even paying for their tuition fees. In turn, your employees will appreciate the interest and guidance on achieving their dreams given by their management.

10. Throw a Great Party

Who doesn’t like an epic party? To mark a special milestone or achievement, you can throw an office party or a gathering event, especially this holiday season. And if you want to recognize an employee for their achievements in front of their peers, you can gather everyone together for a special announcement. 

This is something that you could do to reward employees who have had an exceptional performance this year.  Not only does this help to recognize them, but all of your other employees can join in.

If your holiday party hasn’t been planned out yet, check this out: 15 Fun Ideas to Shake Up Your Office Holiday Party This Year

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The Takeaways

When your employees achieve something noteworthy, they deserve to be rewarded for their hard work — a pat on the back for a job well done! 

There are plenty of other inexpensive ways for you to show the employees the recognition that they deserved. Whether it is a simple gift or an elaborate award, recognizing your employees when they work hard is always in the best interest of your business.

Further, don’t limit employee appreciation to just one day or week or only this year-end season. Recognition can come in many different forms, but the simplest and greatest is still a simple ‘thank you!’– It goes a long way and can mean the world, especially when it is said often.

Remember, a culture of employee recognition sparks employee engagement — which benefits your company as much as it benefits them!

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It’s that time of year again — time to focus on New Year’s resolutions. Many people begin an exercise program, but abandon it a few weeks after. It’s a tale as old as time: How does one stay healthy when you sit at a desk all day? 

This question can be particularly daunting in the fast-paced, ever-shifting world of the contemporary workplace. This is why it’s so imperative for companies, both big and small, to institute workplace wellness programs for their employees.

We’ve written about office fitness challenges before, but this time we’re focusing on a more collective approach to office-wide health objectives. In this guide, we’ve put together our points to consider when setting and encouraging your employees to achieve their new year’s fitness goals.

Let’s start!

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Employee Wellness Program 

The primary step in achieving better health and fitness in the office is setting up a workplace wellness program. 

These programs can range from ideas that have a specific purpose, such as helping the employee to stop smoking or to lose weight; to onsite gyms or gym memberships; to incentive programs that provide rewards for participation or for achieving the desired results.

There are many benefits to creating a wellness program. Not only will employees love participating in one, but they will also learn many things which will help them maintain healthy lives. 

To make your program more relevant, ask your employees what kinds of activities they’d participate in if they had the opportunity. Know their fitness goals. You could conduct an informal survey, hold a brainstorming meeting, ask everyone to email ideas or set out a tried-and-true suggestion box.

In this way, you’ll be able to create a specific wellness program that is attainable, and you won’t lose sight of why you’re doing it. You’ll make sure that every part of your program benefits both the company and staff.

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What To Include In A Workplace Wellness Program?

It may seem impossible to reach your fitness goals when you sit at a desk all day. So, consider how the following ideas can be incorporated into your day-to-day to bring your employees’ fitness goals to life despite working a desk job. 

Here are some activities and benefits you can offer that cover all areas of employee health:

1. Fitness Activities

Exercise is an important part of any healthy lifestyle. But with busy schedules and balancing family needs with hobbies and work, it can be hard to find time to hit the gym. Make sure you give employees the time they need to exercise, even if that means offering a more flexible schedule. 

Amenities such as an on-site gym also give employees the opportunity to exercise more frequently and together, creating a strong work environment. You can also offer subsidized fitness passes or invite personal trainers and coaches to the office to create workouts for employees.

2. General Health Benefits

Among all the health and wellness trends, primary care has become indispensable in the big picture. You can bring in on-site flu, measles, pneumonia, shingles, and other vaccinations into the workplace to encourage employees to get inoculated in risky seasons. 

It’s also a great idea to have a stocked first aid kit and a private “wellness room” where people can tend to personal health needs.

Such benefits ensure productivity and help employees stay healthy at no additional cost to them. These benefits have proven really effective at improving rates of employee absenteeism because of illness. 

3. Healthy Snacks Benefits

Making healthy snacks easily available for your employees should be included in your wellness program. By stocking up on these healthy snacks, you can promote healthy eating, make healthier snack choices, and get that much-needed energy boost your employees need.

Essentially, healthy snacks can keep them feeling good so they’re better able to focus on the tasks at hand. You are nourishing their bodies with foods that empower them to complete their workday goals!

4. Mental Health Activities

Stress is a silent killer that can trigger serious health problems. It also goes hand-in-hand with mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

First and foremost, make sure no one is burning the candle at both ends. You can institute an office closing time to ensure everyone leaves at a reasonable hour. You can also require employees to take time off when they’ve incurred a certain number of paid time off days.

Lastly, you can incorporate meditation into their healthy lifestyle by offering yoga classes and massages that help your employees with mindfulness while working. 

5. Social Activities

For some employees, they prefer and enjoy activities that help them get to know their colleagues better. So, consider offering social activities like an office book club, game nights, and whatever else your employees enjoy doing. Smiling and laughing is an important part of health too.

Further, consider introducing break room or relaxation areas where people can go to get away from their desks, get a change of scene, unwind, or think creatively. It’s essential to encourage employees to take a proper lunch break, away from their spaces, as this can improve concentration as well as provide a much-needed rest.

6. Team Building Activities

One of the benefits of a wellness program is that many activities strengthen the bonds between team members. 

By putting some time and effort into team building activities, your team will be healthier, happier, and more energetic. They’ll also be more alert and, ultimately, more efficient.

In addition, your fitness challenge could also be to encourage employees to create sports teams or join existing ones. Sports are not only a fantastic way to get exercise, but they are also a great opportunity for cross-departmental communication and relationship-building.

7. Community Service Activities

Many people feel good when they help others. Doing good deeds is fulfilling and can help keep things in perspective.

You can organize a volunteer day for your staff to go into the community and help out. You can get your employees to represent the company for several charity events – be it sponsored walks, marathons, or even a fun run. 

The whole workforce can take part and make it a real joint effort, getting some quality team-time in as well as some exercise too. Aside from the clear physical benefits, staff charity events are great opportunities for your team to get to know one another. 

It’s quality time spent with your team, so there are benefits to be had all-round. Your staff could even take part in a charity that is really close and significant to them.

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Tips to Achieve a Successful Wellness Program

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of a wellness program and what to include, let’s talk about how you can implement a successful program. Here are some basic steps for getting a wellness program going in your workplace.

1. Form A Team

Creating a comprehensive wellness program can take a lot of work and a long time so it’s a good idea to put a team on the project. The team will likely be led by HR but should also include executives, people from finance and others who are interested in promoting a healthy workplace.

If possible, you can also hire a fitness coach that will act as a leader, motivator, and coach — all of which pushes your employees to do more, stick with their routine, and keep going when the process gets hard.

They can help people to make sustainable and realistic lifestyle choices in the workplace by facilitating behavior change and by coaching the whole person, not just the work person. 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your company could be among those to provide this great workplace benefit?

2. Create A Plan

With your team in place, start planning what your program should look like. Creating a wellness program is a fun project but don’t lose sight of why you’re doing it. 

Make sure every part of your program benefits both the company and staff. In order to do that, it is important to keep these things in mind:

• Form a budget, research ideas and get input from your employees. 
• Decide what kind of fitness or wellness program you want to create. 
• Set the main objective and goal of your wellness program.
• Determine if you want it to be a team challenge or an individual one.
• Frame your wellness program according to the goal you have set.
• If there are fitness challenges, set the rules and choose the duration you want the challenge to run.
• Keep track of your employees’ progress and keep motivating them.

When the time is right, call a company-wide meeting to announce the new wellness program and get into the details. Make sure your employees know everything it includes so they can get the most out of it.

3. Approach Health From All Sides

There are many facets to a person’s health, and not everyone fits into the same mold. Fitness, diet, and mental health are only a couple examples of the different aspects of a person’s health that you can consider when putting together the health-related goals for your office. 

Try to create a series of wellness programs that are varied enough to suit the needs of everyone in your office. For example, if some members of your team are trying to eat more healthily, you could establish a ‘meatless’ day of the week in which they are encouraged to adhere to a vegetarian diet.

If other employees are trying to incorporate more physical fitness into their lives, you could set up a lunchtime jogging group. If still other employees are looking to become more mindful, you could establish a ‘meditation room’ in which they can experience peace and quiet throughout the working day. 

None of these initiatives are particularly costly, and when put into action they start to foster a workplace which meaningfully contributes to the health and well-being of its employees.

4. Track Food and Progress

Providing healthy snacks in the office can be an amazing way to implement good nutritional habits into the lives of your employees. Maintaining good nutrition is one of the most important aspects of leading a healthy life, even more so than exercise.

Encourage employees to keep track of daily caloric intake, avoid junk foods, and eat healthy snacks and lunches. You can create a week-long challenge, wherein you ask participants to eat a healthy meal every day at work.

Further, you can bring in nutritionists to speak to employees during lunch, organize after-work healthy cooking classes for the office or communicate healthy lifestyle tips. Or you can invest in an on-site behavioral health specialist such as a health coach, health educator, or registered nurse to discuss chronic disease risk factors like obesity, stress, poor diet and high blood pressure.

5. Lead The Change

Chances are you aren’t the only one at work who is trying to be healthy, lose weight, or exercise more. Be a leader by offering to find healthy alternatives to pizza for the next lunch-and-learn session. Or suggest starting a wellness committee that creates opportunities for employees to eat well and move more at work. 

If you find something that’s helpful or cool, share it with your employees. It may be just a suggestion or motivation they need that day to get to the gym or make time for a run. By setting an example at the office you may make the team healthier and you’ll stand out as a leader. 

6. Uplift Those Who Struggle

We all know that getting healthy can be hard! And it’s very likely that some of your employees won’t see progress right away. Be sure to foster an environment of encouragement for those who don’t succeed on their first try. 

Keep the dialogue as supportive and positive as possible and try to find solutions to problems wherever possible. It’s great to think big, but with health-related goals sometimes it’s better to promote and celebrate incremental change, so encourage your employees every step of the way!

7. Get Feedback and Optimize

The idea of a wellness program is to create different health-related tasks daily and encourage your employees to partake in them. However, a successful employee wellness program is never done. 

Your team should always be open to feedback and new ideas so the program improves and employees get even healthier. Just keep in mind that when it comes to health-related goals, everyone progresses differently. 

Therefore, success cannot be reduced to a universal number. True progress lies in improving the way that your team feels – both physically and mentally. 

If you want to know more, here are some workplace wellness ideas to make your workplace successful and engaging: 10 Office Health And Wellness Trends For 2020

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There You Have It

Working in an office doesn’t mean you have to be unhealthy. Being in good physical and mental shape sets an employee up to be great at their job. Many companies understand this and offer their employees a series of benefits and activities that promote health and well-being. 

Organizing health-oriented activities like fitness challenges and wellness programs are one way to do so. 

So use the tips and ideas above to bring yours and your employees’ fitness goals to life. With support from co-workers and the right ideas in place, you will all be more successful in achieving your New Year’s fitness goals.

So, go ahead and promote the best health behaviors among your employees by introducing an awesome office fitness and wellness program!

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Make sure to share this article with anyone you think could use it!

When you find yourself in need of wine, coffee, kombucha, tea, beer, or snacks for your office or event, shoot us a message!

This article was brought to you by Office Libations, your San Francisco Bay Area office coffee, keg delivery, and snack service. Delivering top local brands and kegs of cold brew coffee, kombucha, beer, and wine.