5 Creative Ways to Spread Love and Appreciation in the Workplace This Valentine’s Day
It’s officially the month of love and a perfect time to show some extra affection for your work family! While I don’t typically prescribe to fluffy employee engagement experiences, I think that Valentine’s Day is a perfect excuse to get a little mushy and have fun with spreading positive vibes throughout the day.
This day can actually be one that triggers sadness in many folks who aren’t feeling particularly loved. So if you’re an executive in your office leading any form of engagement, please don’t leave anyone behind.
The key here is taking a seemingly simple idea and making it meaningful by creating opportunities for storytelling, connection and a sense of true appreciation. I promise the warm fuzzies will create some mega warm energy that will serve folks well past the holiday.
Here are 5 ideas on how you can show & feel some love at work on Valentine’s Day and beyond!
1. Treat your work bestie to lunch.
This may sound like the most obvious, but being intentional about making the time to do it is key here. Pick a nice spot that you both enjoy and make the most of your time together. Share with them how much they mean to you and why you appreciate their friendship. Then pick up the check!
2. Write appreciation notes to people who support you.
You may call these Valentine Cards, but please, not the ones your kids take to class. Or maybe that’s perfect for your silly personality?! The key here is to make what you write inside meaningful. How have they supported you? What difference did it make? Why does it make you want to show them love this Valentine’s Day?
3. Ask your team to share “Why I love working for ____”.
In the week leading up to Valentine’s Day ask your teammates to email in a few sentences on why they love working for your company. You can compile them into an email to share with the whole team, add them to your newsletter, have an all-staff gathering and share them and/or put them up on your monitors around the building! Even in stressful environments, when you can shift the lens to the love for the people and/or the work itself good stuff follows.
4. Love Your Community.
Explore meaningful ways for your employees to share their skills, knowledge, and expertise with nonprofits in your area. If you can’t leave the office, have an on-site volunteer event in your breakroom. Volunteers often enjoy bringing in something special to be a part of a larger drive – such as items for comfort kits for people experiencing homelessness.
5. Make a “Top 10 Reasons You Love Your Team” and share it publically.
Think back to the old David Letterman days where Top 10 Lists can be both insightful and funny! If you lead a team, this is a really fun way to show EVERYONE the love in one communication. I’d encourage you to pull everyone together physically and share this with them publicly. If you’re feeling like a superstar, turn it into a nicely designed infographic and email and/or print a copy for everyone to remember well past the holiday.