The first Friday of March is a big deal. Scratching your head? It’s because there’s a relatively new holiday on the calendar. The first Friday of March has been officially declared Employee Appreciation Day. 

This year, this special day falls on March 3. And that means you have some time to figure out a great way to celebrate your team. 

Why employee appreciation matters

It hasn’t been an easy few years for employers, but times have been tough for employees, too. Everyone could use a nice pat on the back. In fact, some encouragement for your team might be a necessity.

In November last year, a report came out called the Human Workplace Index Survey. It found that more than one-third of American employees plan to leave their jobs sometime in the next year. 

That’s obviously not great news. But there is a silver lining there. Employers can learn from the employees who aren’t planning to leave. And what’s making them stay? A good relationship with their employers. 

Employee Appreciation Day gives you a tangible, somewhat easy way to show your employees you care. Heck, we’ve even teed up some ideas for you to make it extra simple. 

Ways to celebrate your team

These are just a few ideas to get your wheels turning: 

• Treat them to something sweet. Who doesn’t love cookie dough? With some safe-to-eat-raw Doughp, you can gift your team an easy way to treat themselves. Plus, they’ll be happy to see you supporting a small business who gives back! Doughp donates a portion of every purchase to a mental health & addiction recovery nonprofit.

• Best of all, we make it super easy for you! You can order corporate gifts online or contact us for help at gifting@doughp.com.

• Go on a field trip. Remember how exciting it was to get to leave school and go somewhere new? You can foster that feeling in your team with a company-sponsored field trip. Maybe you visit a local museum or botanical garden, or maybe you go on a hike or hit the beach/lake/river. Letting people leave the office a couple of hours early to go do something fun as a team can go a long way. 

• Provide lunch. You’d be amazed how much a pizza party or other takeout can brighten peoples’ day. Ask around about any food allergies before you dive in here, but once you pick a good food option, let your team know they don’t need to bring or buy lunch on Friday the 3rd. A full belly gives them a tangible way to know you value their hard work. (Just don’t forget dessert!)

• Write LinkedIn recommendations. A glowing review from their boss can help your employees feel confident as they grow their professional network and skills. And you can delegate this out to your team leaders so you don’t have a huge stack of writing to tackle yourself. 

What are you waiting for? If you start now, you’ll have plenty of time to come up with a way to treat your team on Employee Appreciation Day, whether that means ordering Doughp or getting LinkedIn recommendations pre-written.