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6 Exciting Employee Thank You Gifts

By: Eleanor Hecks

 

Close-up of a basket with colorful fruits in the basket placed on the dining table in the kitchen. A young couple is sitting with see laptop at the back of the basket. Health fruit concept.

Thanking your employees for their hard work is an excellent way to make them feel appreciated and boost morale. No matter if you’re shopping for the holiday season or want to thank employees for their help in making your company surpass its profit predictions for the quarter, here are six ideas they’re sure to love.

1. Lunch Boxes

You can probably remember feeling excited as a kid when going to buy a new lunch box for school. Those accessories come in just as handy for adults. Many of today’s options for grown-ups offer plenty of style and space, making them gifts recipients will love.

Some companies also sell personalized options. You might design one with your company’s name or a reference to a recently completed project as an extra thoughtful gesture. You can give lunch boxes at any time of the year, making them equally appropriate for giving at a New Year’s Eve party or as a summertime surprise.

They could also make a difference in helping your workers stay organized. Many types have compartments for utensils, beverages and food containers. When people use those, your break room could suddenly become a lot tidier. Plus, there should be fewer instances of people unsure if popular items in the fridge — such as cans of Coca-Cola or yogurt containers — are theirs or someone else’s. They can keep everything in their lunch boxes to remove uncertainty about ownership.

2. Portable Phone Chargers

Almost everyone can recall occasions when they’ve been on the go and hoped their smartphone battery would have enough juice to get them by until they returned home or reached somewhere else with an accessible power outlet. A portable phone charger can save them from those frustrating experiences.

Consider giving them to a team before they depart for extended time on the road. Another possibility is to present the gifts before transitioning to a work-from-home arrangement. The additional smartphone apps a person uses while working remotely may drain the gadget’s battery faster than usual. Sometimes it’s easier to plug into a portable phone charger than use an outlet, especially if the nearest one isn’t close enough to a person’s desk.

Choose a portable phone charger compatible with both Android and Apple phones. That way, it’ll almost certainly work with any device a recipient has now and might purchase later. Alternatively, maybe your workplace purchased a specific type of phone for all team members to use at work. In that case, select a portable phone charger to keep that model charged.

3. Gourmet Food

Tasty food gifts will delight your employees and maybe even give them chances to enjoy delectable items that become new favorites. Some baskets follow a recognizable theme, such as offering baked goods or meat-based items.

Fruit baskets are also great for health-conscious individuals, and they’re ideal wintertime gifts. Many people find a dwindling selection of locally available fruits during the winter, which would make them especially appreciative of a fruit basket. Providers offer delicious assortments of goodies ranging from cherries to citrus fruits. You can even get some items dipped in chocolate or caramel to add variety.

Another possibility is to give your employees food subscriptions to thank them. Then, they’ll get periodic shipments during your desired timeframe. Those are fantastic if you want people to keep enjoying your gift for months after you give it. Many individuals feel awkward about treating themselves to gourmet food, deciding it doesn’t fit their budget. When they receive it as a work gift, it’s easier to simply enjoy and feel grateful for the gesture.

4. Self-Care Boxes

When life gets hectic, people don’t always remember to set aside time for themselves. If that habit continues, they can quickly get worn down, and their work quality may drop.

Gallup polls conducted between March 2020 and February 2021 found a significant percentage of people classified as “struggling” or “suffering” concerning their quality of life. More specifically, 47% of women and 43% of men fell into one of those categories. Think about giving workers assorted self-care items to remind them to take time to unwind and recharge.

For example, you might include a desk calendar with daily meditations to help people start or maintain a healthy, de-stressing habit. Alternatively, aromatherapy oil or a scented candle can help people stay calm.

Think about how you could coordinate these gifts with your company’s plans for maximum impact. Maybe you plan to launch a new product line in three months. If so, now is a great time to give the gifts and help people get equipped for the potential extra pressure ahead.

5. Plants

When people can’t go outside, the next best thing is to bring the outdoors to them with a carefully chosen plant they can put on their desk. They’re great gifts for anytime of the year, but you can often find adorable items around the winter holidays or near Easter.

Select plants that thrive with limited care to give people confidence that they can enjoy the gift without previous green-thumb expertise. For example, spider plants do well in indirect light, and the soil tolerates drying out between waterings. Aloe vera only needs water every week or two, and the gel-like substance in the leaves has various medicinal uses, such as to soothe sunburn and small cuts.

Another option is to gift desktop herb gardens. You can find many self-contained options that bring personality to an office space and don’t require extensive care. Since many herbs grow quickly, people will love seeing the frequent progress as they work.

6. Digital Photo Frames

Photos are common sites on office desks worldwide. However, many people have so many loved ones and fun times in their lives that it’s hard to decide which pictures to display. Digital photo frames take care of that by letting people change the showcased snapshots whenever they want or set the frames to show several rotating photographs.

Some models even let someone send a photo straight from a smartphone to the frame. Those are perfect for helping people share memories despite physical distance.

Think about preloading the frames with pictures from a recent company event, such as a grand opening ceremony or a team retreat. Then, besides feeling excited about the item itself, recipients can cherish memories and laugh about the great times they had with colleagues.

Send Thank You Gifts With Confidence

Whether you have ten employees or 150, it’s not always easy to figure out how to thank them with gifts they’ll genuinely appreciate and use often. However, these six ideas will get you off to a great start. When employees know that you recognize their dedication to your company and their duties, they’ll feel more motivated to contribute to the organization even more in the future.

Published: May 12, 2021
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eleanor hecks

Eleanor Hecks

Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.

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