Why Employee Appreciation Day should be longer than just one day

It’s Employee Appreciation Day! But you probably already knew that. After all, it’s been celebrated on the first Friday of March every year since 1995!!!

This grand tradition was created as a way of drawing the attention of employers towards recognising their employees and their achievements.

Typically, businesses create one-off events for their staff. Sadly, the remaining 253 working days are often less celebrated and companies tend to revert back to the norm.

Employee Appreciation Day

How we want our employees to be treated

We at PayFit are firm believers that employees should be trusted, encouraged, rewarded, shown loyalty and be satisfied in their jobs all year round.

When we were set up in 2016, one of our founding principles was to make work a source of fulfilment for everyone at the company.

While over time the business has evolved and grown internationally, we have always looked to remain steadfast in maintaining and implementing our culture and values.

Showing appreciation through trust

Ensuring that employees feel appreciated goes far beyond a few fun games or laying on a few token gestures such as a bit of cake or, or if you’re feeling particularly celebratory, a couple of drinks!

Instead, appreciating employees can be demonstrated in a variety of different ways and we believe that a good place to start is by listening and valuing their opinions.

In a lot of companies, major decisions such as moving offices or implementing new company policies are regularly made without decision-makers taking the necessary steps to liaise with all those affected—including employees.

At PayFit, we believe that important company decisions—ones that affect the company as a whole—should be discussed between all key stakeholders.

For example, when we look to hire a new team member, we organise something that we call a BBQ Test to allow current employees to meet their potential colleagues. By doing this, we send out a message that we value our employees and their opinions and we want them to feel like they have input on the direction of the company.

All year and not just one day

While Employee Appreciation Day is just one single day, we believe that it’s nice to offer employees perks that they can use throughout the remainder of the year.

We provide all of our employees, no matter their seniority or longevity at the company, with both meal vouchers and travel to work schemes.

Providing small incentives and benefits like this is just our way of thanking each and every employee for the efforts and sacrifices they make throughout the year.

Rewarding loyalty

Companies often take employee loyalty as read; however, it’s important to remember that it is a two-way street.

The vast majority of employees are extremely employable and if they’re not feeling valued in their role then they may well be keen to look elsewhere.

Therefore, ensuring that employees are made to feel valued and appreciated in their individual roles is a sure-fire way of breeding loyalty and trust between an organisation and its staff.

At PayFit, we reward employees after their first anniversary in the company by providing them with a gift or experience that they can share with a close friend or relative. Once an employee has stayed for three years, they’re rewarded with tickets to go anywhere in the world with a person of their choice.

Celebrating together

Celebrations can and should be extended beyond personal events; for example, when a company or team reaches a milestone or achieves something particularly impressive, it’s often a good idea to have a bit of a jolly up.

It's also nice to have celebrations for no particular reason. From time to time, it's useful to remember that a job is just a job. Beyond the fact that people earn a living doing what they do, it's essential that companies recognise that special bonds and human relationships are created within the work environment.

Therefore, organising team building activities and social events outside of work is an excellent way to ensure that employees are able to relax and spend time with their colleagues in less pressured surroundings.

So, while today may be International Employee Day, the truth is that the day only holds significance if employers are willing to recognise their employees and their achievements on a more regular basis.