Holiday Season Presents Opportunity for Businesses to Show Gratitude

As we enter the holiday season after a full year of conducting business during the coronavirus pandemic, many company leaders are looking back on the year’s challenges and accomplishments. Employee advocates are calling for small business owners to show gratitude to their employees during the holiday season, and not make it a rare occurrence the rest of the year, Forbes reports.

One advocate, Michele Bailey, author of “The Currency of Gratitude: Turning Small Gestures Into Powerful Business Results,” believes that business leaders who haven’t made gratitude a core value of their organization should strongly consider it going forward into the new year.

“The current context of workers leaving in droves basically demands it. The holidays are the perfect time for leaders to set a new tone and show they are sincere about showing appreciation consistently,” said Bailey. She suggested several ways that small business owners can regularly express gratitude:

• Prioritize mental health: The pandemic has added anxiety for millions of workers, and for many people the holiday season causes increased stress and depression. Bailey suggests checking in with your workers one-on-one, letting them know you care, and keeping them engaged to boost morale and lessen burnout.
• Give praise: Publicly praising an employee or team that has done an outstanding job makes them feel valued. Doing this can boost their self-esteem and their enthusiasm for the company.
• Make gifts meaningful: Bailey suggests putting thought into a useful and memorable gift as a reward for employees. Consider including a note of appreciation detailing how employees have contributed to the success of the company.
• Consider the real cost of hiring a new employee: Unappreciated employees are more likely to leave, so making your workers feel valued makes economic sense. The cost of recruiting, hiring, training, and onboarding a new employee can be significant, especially for small business owners facing a competitive labor market.