With the holidays coming up, you’re probably thinking about what gift to offer your employees for all their hard work. Gift cards for major retailers are OK (as we’ll discuss below), but they’re pretty generic. Foodstuffs from candy and cookies to a Christmas turkey may seem like crowd pleasers, but employees with dietary restrictions from gluten intolerance and diabetes to vegetarianism would feel left out. A cash bonus is always appreciated. But then you might feel pressured to match or exceed that amount each year – even when economic circumstances change. Key chains, coffee mugs and other tchotchkes don’t express how much you value your workers (unless you think they’re basically worthless).

Gifts for Play

So, what do you give your employees this year? It’s nice to start with a token present that workers can use to have fun outside of work. If you have a small business and know your employees well, you can choose a specific gift certificate to their favorite ‘watering hole’ where everyone gathers for lunch or happy hour. That shows you’ve been paying attention to what they like. If you have a larger business, a gift card that can be used online (Amazon.com, Target, etc.) can come in handy. They can spend it however/whenever they like and the dollar amount doesn’t have to be too high to make it a nice gesture.

Gifts for Work

As an employer, you also want to make coming to work every day more pleasant for your workers in the coming year. So, doing something to improve the workplace over the long term is another thoughtful and appropriate present. If your employees have been struggling with noise and privacy concerns in an open environment or one with low cubicle walls, panel extenders or desk-mounted privacy panels would be a welcome workstation bonus. We’ve even got these products in red and green if you wanted to do a holiday theme. Of course, since you’ll be using these all year round, it’s probably smarter to just pick a color that matches your décor. You can shop our selection of classically muted fabrics or order panels in a custom color, textile or design.

CC license image courtesy of Flickr user danperry.com