Seven (Low Cost) Ways to Show Your Employees Appreciation During the Holidays

It’s mid December. You know what that means, don’t you? An onslaught of holiday cheer (and 10 pounds added to the waistline).

Of course, in the office, this poses a conundrum for managers: What if, because of the economic crisis, there’s no money in the budget for a holiday party and/or bonus? How do you show appreciation to your hard-working employees?

Simple.

A day off.

I don’t care what your religious beliefs are, which holidays you’re celebrating, whatever. Everyone wants time off. (Trust me. Even though I’m Jewish, I certainly don’t mind having a day off for Christmas. And I bet you never heard school children complain when they had off for Rosh Hashana, even if they had no idea what it was.)

But, if you can’t to that (“Office Cut Day” probably wouldn’t go over well with the higher ups), there are certainly other ways to show appreciation to your employees during the holiday season.

Or you can have Wacky Tie Day. Wooo! Party!

Seven (Low Cost) Ways to Show Appreciation to Your Employees During the Holidays

1. Play Secret Santa. (Or Covert Chanukah Chaney, Whatchamacallit Winter Wizard, etc.) This is where each participating employee pulls the name of another employee and gets that person a gift. Usually there’s a set spending limit. The gift recipient doesn’t know who’s getting him or her a gift until the gift exchange day. And if you’re really hard core about it, you can have the gift givers leave the gift when the person isn’t around, so it remains a mystery. (Bonus: If you play the super secret way and you get someone you don’t like, you can literally give him a lump of coal.)

2. Have a Company Potluck. Everyone can bring in a favorite dish. Or you can have a themed potluck, and everyone can bring in something related to the theme. Then everyone bonds/gets to pig out. (Feel free to bring my office potluck staple: cups.)

3. Booze It Up. OK, OK, I know all you HR people right now are flipping out. If your company has a strict no-alcohol policy, than maybe this isn’t right for you. But if not, hey, we’re all adults, right? (Except for interns, but “school credit” is its own reward.) Whip up some margaritas, some eggnog, punch…I’m sure your employees aren’t that picky. Because nothing takes the sting away from not receiving a bonus like seeing the boss dance on his desk with a lampshade on his head.

4. Kompany Karaoke. Admittedly, singing, especially in front of a group, is not for everyone. But even non-singers will get a kick out of the Sales Rep attempting “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Badly. (Please note, this is probably best when combined with the suggestion above, boozing it up.)

5. Award Awards. Like the Dundies from “The Office,” you too can give your employees meaningless and often-times insulting awards. Employee with the stinkiest lunch, most dedicated, employee who had the best excuse for missing a day of work, and perfect attendance are merely a few suggestions.

6. Relax the Dress Code. As long as the employees don’t have to meet with clients, why not allow them to be a little more relaxed the week or so before the holiday break. Everyone is going to be mentally checked out anyway (yeah, I said it), so might as well make people more comfortable.

7. Bring in Bagels, Doughnuts and Coffee. Seriously, nothing makes people happier than free food. And breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You do the math.

What are some other ways to show employees appreciation during the holidays?