Your frontline employees work hard. And amid busy schedules and the holiday rush, it can be easy to overlook showing them how much you appreciate their dedication to your organization.

Hourly workers often put in more than 40-hour work weeks during the holiday season — especially amid a labor crisis — and miss out on celebrations with family and friends. 

Although frontline employees receive overtime pay for their extra hours, it’s a requirement by the department of labor. 

Rewarding your hourly workers beyond what is expected of you, especially when they sacrifice so much, is essential to let them know you care. 

employee appreciation gifts

What is Employee Appreciation

Employee appreciation is the act of showing your frontline workers you acknowledge the value they bring to your organization. It is often less focused on performance and more on recognizing their worth as team members. 

Employee appreciation is beneficial to your bottom line, as well. 

Regular displays of appreciation can boost morale and employee engagement. Frontline workers who feel appreciated by their employer are 38% more engaged and 18% more motivated to go above and beyond at work. 

Keep your hourly workers motivated and happy at work with regular employee appreciation gifts and watch productivity spike and profits soar. 

Employee Appreciation Gift Ideas

Show your team members you value them with one of the following employee appreciation gifts for hourly workers.

In addition, download our employee engagement communications calendar and discover even more opportunities to thank your frontline workers, like Employee Appreciation Day and Food Service Workers Day. 

Gift cards

Give your employees a gift card to a local coffee shop or restaurant. The gesture will still show your workers you are thinking about and appreciate them. A gift card is a great gift for small businesses that don’t have a large budget for employee recognition. 

Healthy Food and Drinks

The holiday rush and other busy seasons can be challenging for frontline workers to stay healthy at work. Fatigue from long hours, interactions with potentially unwell customers, and deliveries in inclement weather can deplete their immune system. Stock up on healthy snacks and drinks during busy times and show your employees their health is important.

A Fun Company Event

Treat your frontline workers to an evening out. How about disco bowling or laser tag? This might require closing up shop early one day, but it will go a long way in showing your hourly workers that you put people over profits. 

Happy Hour

Everyone loves a good happy hour! If you can’t take your hourly workers out for dinner, bring happy hour to them. Order pizza and alcohol-free drinks and enjoy a little holiday cheer with your team at work. 

Employee Gift Bag

Surprises are always fun, and even adults enjoy a thoughtful gift bag. If you’ve got company swag like coffee mugs, water bottles, and t-shirts, create a swag bag with them. You can even include hard-to-find British candy, eco-friendly candles, or specialty teas to make it more exciting.

A Small Desk Plant

While hourly workers who sit behind a desk are in the minority, they do exist! Plants improve oxygen levels, clear toxins, and are pleasant to look at. A desk plant is a lovely accent in any office setting. Do a little research ahead of time to ensure you get a plant appropriate for the space — don’t get a full sun plant if the office only has a few windows.

More Employee Appreciation Ideas to Show You Care

hourly workersExpressing your gratitude through employee appreciation gifts is a fantastic way to show you care. Everyone loves a tangible gift. However, showing your employees you care all year round is essential.

Buying employees gifts for every special occasion can get costly. Use these ideas to convey your appreciation and keep morale and engagement high year-round. 

Publicly Acknowledge Excellence

If a frontline worker or team beats a sales quota, receives an exceptional customer testimonial, or goes above and beyond for your company, let everyone in your organization know. 

Use goHappy goAlerts to send a text message to every team member and publicly acknowledge excellence.

Frontline workers want recognition as a valuable part of the team. SMS text is an affordable way to show appreciation year-round and ensure your hourly workers get the recognition they deserve. 

Ask Employees for Their Opinion

Employee appreciation doesn’t always need to manifest in gifts or outward expressions of recognition. Asking your frontline workers for feedback is just as meaningful as an employee gift. 

Asking for feedback on new menu items or a more efficient way to organize the warehouse shows your hourly workers that you value their opinion and ideas. In fact, studies show that asking people for their opinion is a form of flattery and can increase self-esteem. 

The goHappy Frontline Feedback Module is easy to send to your entire team via SMS text and collect immediate feedback. 

Improve Employee Appreciation with goHappy

Employee appreciation can take many forms, from an elaborate gift to a simple thank you. 

goHappy makes it easy to show your employee appreciation at any time with an easy-to-use and affordable texting tool. Within a week, you could send company-wide text messages to every team member, an individual employee, or a segment of workers. 

The great thing about a texting tool is that it doesn’t leave out any of your team members — goHappy works on all cell phones, including flip phones. 

And since almost every adult in America has a mobile phone, you can feel confident knowing your messages will reach them.

Are you ready to appreciate your employees all year round and not just on special holidays like Christmas? 

Schedule a demo today and learn more!

employee engagement