How to Show Appreciation for Others at Work

Showing appreciation in the workplace is a basic human kindness that can go a long way, especially in a place that has the potential to be competitive and even contentious. By taking measures to express your gratitude, you can create an open and welcoming environment where you and your colleagues can bond and easily work with one another. So what’s the best way to show that you’re grateful for all that they do? Here are some suggestions.

Send a Thank You Note

It doesn’t take much effort to send a thank you note, and it’s something that you can do at any time to show your colleague that you’re appreciative of their efforts. It’s also highly unusual to send handwritten notes in this day and age, so it will help you stand out and show that you’re genuinely grateful. You don’t have to say anything too flowery or verbose; in fact, the simpler, the better.

Give a Small Gift

Giving a small gift is an easy way to offer your gratitude without going over the top. You can easily make someone’s day better by giving them a gift card worth a few dollars to their favorite coffee shop, for example, along with a custom ceramic mug. Again, simple is best: if your relationship only exists within the workplace, it might be awkward to present them with anything more extravagant.

Treat Them to Lunch

Maybe they helped your team achieve a specific goal, land a big client, or otherwise, bring positive attention to your group. Whatever the achievement, you can make your expression of thanks more personal by treating your co-worker to lunch. Another option is to grab a drink and snacks after work. Because you’ll both be in your finest custom business casual work clothing attire, you can relax and enjoy the moment as you celebrate success together.

Inform Their Manager

Whether you share a manager or your colleague works for someone else, you can help them stand out even more by informing the higher-ups about the achievement or accomplishment in question. There are a number of ways that management can help reward the employee. They might choose to announce the person’s success in a company newsletter, or they might present them with a special corporate gift in honor of the occasion.

Offer to Write a Recommendation

Why not make a more public display of gratitude by celebrating the person’s professionalism? You might opt to write a flattering review for them on their LinkedIn profile or offer to be a professional reference. Your words of praise could come to be invaluable for someone who is networking and actively seeking new career opportunities.

Host a Small Gathering

Hosting a small group gathering is a great way to express your gratitude. Make it fun! Celebratory outings are a great way for co-workers to spend quality time together outside of the confines of the office. You can keep it light by going to a happy hour event after work, or arrange to do something on the weekend, like bowling or karaoke. If there’s a new restaurant everyone wants to try, you could also book a table there. Be sure to prepare a few kind words to properly thank your colleague!

Offer to Cater Lunch

Although it’s typically the boss who hires restaurant industry personnel to set up, serve, and clean up lunch, there’s no reason you can’t broach the subject to your manager and explain that you feel the employee deserves to be celebrated in a special way. Make it a surprise event if possible—your colleague will be delighted and feel incredibly appreciated.

Honor Them in Public

Another way to express your thanks is to make your gratitude public. There are a couple of ways to go about it. You might want to make a brief announcement before a team meeting, for example. If the achievement was particularly notable and had a profound impact on the company, it might even be appropriate to call it out during the annual holiday party. Your boss may elect to give them a promotional product giveaway of some kind to further honor and recognize their efforts.

Tell Them Privately

Conversely, keep it super simple and tell them directly that you genuinely appreciate what they’ve done, and that you value how much effort and time they put into helping you. You don’t need to be flowery or too wordy in how you say it—a simple “great job” is an effective way to show that you’re pleased.

Showing Your Appreciation

Showing appreciation to your colleagues is an expression of kindness and goodwill. But even more importantly, it’s a significant way to strengthen workplace relationships and boost confidence and team morale.