Employee engagement gifts and ideas to spread workplace kindness

By Stephanie Lamie

From offering professional development opportunities to organizing team-building activities to giving employee engagement gifts, companies work hard to keep employees motivated. Yet only 31% of employees opens in new window say they’re engaged at work. That means there’s room for improvement. A simple but effective way for leaders to boost engagement is through kindness. This reminder aligns perfectly with World Kindness Day—held Nov. 13—which inspires people to make compassion part of daily life.

Whether celebrating something special or just because, giving gifts is an act of kindness that can significantly boost workplace morale. When morale is high and employees feel valued, they’re more likely to be engaged at work. High employee engagement opens in new window can boost profitability by 21%. Let’s explore ways to bring more kindness—with help from employee engagement gifts—to the workplace.

Launch a recognition program

Compliments and recognition opens in new window can improve self-esteem, bring on positive emotions and make employees feel more fulfilled. A recognition program encourages regular kindness and provides a space for employees to acknowledge team members for a range of helpful behaviours.

Create a gratitude board. Provide chalk or liquid chalk markers and invite employees to share notes of appreciation, meaningful quotes or other positive messages. Or start a monthly award program where peers nominate others to receive a small token of recognition, like a fun pen or sweet treat.

Employees who receive regular recognition from their manager are 19 times more likely opens in new window to trust them, and up to three times as likely to feel engaged. Encourage leaders to show regular appreciation for their team. Perhaps they nominate someone from the gratitude board as employee of the month and thank them with a more substantial gift, like a paperweight or picture frame. Or incorporate visits to the company swag closet into performance appraisals so employees can select a branded trucker hat, hoodie or quarter-zip pullover.

Employees who receive regular recognition from their manager are 19 times more likely to trust them, and up to three times as likely to feel engaged.

Start a kindness challenge

Kindness is contagious opens in new window. Witnessing a kind act can inspire others to behave in a similar way. In fact, one study showed people were 70% opens in new window more likely to perform an act of kindness after seeing someone else do one first. Create a ripple effect and spread kindness throughout the workplace with a kindness challenge.

Create Bingo cards where each square contains a thoughtful gesture. Include a variety of actions, like offering to help a coworker, writing a thank-you note or inviting a new employee to lunch. Challenge the team to complete good deeds and, in turn, win branded employee gifts, like lunch coolers or colour-changing water bottles.

Begin a kindness challenge, where you perform a kind act for your team and challenge them to pay it forward. As an initial gesture, provide participants with a charging device or blossom kit for their workspace. Let them know the expectation isn’t that they’ll buy a gift—just that they do something nice for someone else. Keep the conversation going and share the love in an online discussion board where team members can talk about what they did and how it felt.

Employ and encourage random acts of kindness

A random act of kindness is a selfless gesture intended to brighten someone’s day. Research shows these acts increase happiness opens in new window for both the giver and receiver. A survey from south of the border found that 90% of adults feel better opens in new window after participating in a random act of kindness or being the recipient of one. As a workplace leader, little actions can lift spirits and inspire others to do the same.

Create a custom playlist for each employee. Perhaps it’s based on an artist or genre you both enjoy or music from the employee’s birth year. Share the playlist along with a Bluetooth^® speaker or set of earbuds as a show of gratitude for all their contributions.

If a custom playlist isn’t their thing, send a just-because care package or gift box to employees’ homes. Include items like a deck of playing cards, scented candle and fleece blanket. Don’t forget a hand-written card thanking them for all they do or highlighting their best traits.

Surprise your team with a meal or a spread of tasty snacks. At breakfast, set up a coffee bar and give each team member a branded travel mug. Incorporate a prize wheel with rewards like an early start to the weekend and new office supplies, including memo books, business card holders and novelty pens. As cooler temps approach, drop a flannel shirt on each team member’s desk. If they spend time outdoors, company-branded outerwear might make their month.

Better engagement, better vibes

An infusion of kindness benefits the workplace in a variety of ways. From improved morale to higher productivity, these employee engagement gift ideas can get everyone started on a path to more engagement and positivity. Give one a try in honour of World Kindness Day!

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