Make Every Day Feel Like Employee Appreciation Day (Even While Remote!) With These 5 Easy Ideas We asked a handful of top managers from across America how they're supporting their remote teams in the face of so much uncertainty. Here's what they said.

By Lisa Freedman

By all accounts, most employees have worked harder than ever during the past year. They've had to figure out how to effectively do their jobs from home, while also facing endless waves of stress. (Including but not limited to: childcare issues, non-stop meal planning and dish washing, the news cycle, and all the uncertainties that come with a global pandemic, of course.) With holiday parties and in-person collaboration put on indefinite hold, managers continue to have a tough time finding opportunities to show their appreciation. Good news is, with Employee Appreciation Day arriving March 5th, you don't have to wait until the next holiday season to show your far-flung superstar team that they're valued. Whether organizing a company wide happy hour or sending Starbucks gift cards to your team members and colleagues, even the smallest gestures add up big.

But what to do? We spoke with particularly thoughtful managers from companies across America to see how they found success communicating appreciation. The resulting ideas are easy enough to execute and 100 percent worth borrowing for your team. Here are five ways to show your employees how much you value them, right now.

1. Offer more PTO and encourage its use

With early morning virtual meetings and late-night catch up calls, the line between work time and leisure time is easily blurred while working from home. To help employees feel appreciated (and help prevent burnout), lots of managers are adding to their paid time off policies. Some managers extended half-day Summer Fridays well into winter, gave bonus vacation days to annual accruals, and added more flexible work hour policies. Some even instituted mandatory vacation days. The executives at one online marketing education company, took things one step further: "As a way to show appreciation, we devised a system of Worry-Free Time Off," says co-founder Mark Webster. "This means that when staffers come back to work, their first day back isn't spent catching up on the backlog." To do so, Webster's staff pinch hits for OOO employees to cover their workload, ensuring staffers can comfortably — and fully — step away from their inbox when using PTO.

2. Send your team gift cards they'll love

The most popular idea that came up again and again: gift cards. Managers said they sent gift cards for food, alcohol, and, of course, coffee. "I think even a $10 Starbucks gift card is a great way to show a team that you appreciate them," says Jacob Dayan, co-founder and CEO of a full-service company with attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents. (In case you're wondering, Dayan is speaking from experience.)

A Starbucks gift card is sure to be well received and is incredibly easy to order for all the superstars on your team. In fact, Starbucks has a site where you can easily buy gift cards in bulk. To ensure a fast and safe delivery, managers can order eGift cards to be sent virtually to employees working remote. And for those looking for a special touch, co-branded cards are available too, allowing you to print your own company logo on physical card bulk orders.

Get a jump on Employee Appreciation Day and order Starbucks gift cards now with special code StarbucksEA5 to receive 5% off your total order value. Offer is good now through March 14th, conditions apply.

3. Facilitate at home fitness

Many managers said they added a budget line for employees to buy home workout gear — whether that's weights, new running shoes, a subscription to an online fitness program, or something else entirely. One tech company held a virtual Vino Vinyasa class for a group of staffers. (Think: yoga interlaced with wine facts and wine tasting.) "It was so well received, we are actually running another one next week," says Jessica LaTorre, a Senior Customer Success Manager at the firm.

4. Reward staffers with branded merch

Turns out, people get very excited about free swag — especially if they're proud of where they work. Over at one company that provides recruiting software, employees received a box filled with a branded backpack, hat, and notebook. (There was also a lot of confetti!) These sorts of items provide a bit of a morale boost and also add up to free advertising for your company if, say, a staffer takes your branded tote on a grocery store run. It's win-win.

5. Make donations to charity

There are so many deserving nonprofits and community funds out there and many of them suffered from extra hardships during the pandemic, either due to reduced help or a bigger demand on their resources — or both. "We made donations in the names of team members to their charity of choice," says Tyler Butler, founder and CEO of a strategy and corporate responsibility firm in Phoenix, Arizona. "This way, we were able to support the things that matter most to them, while giving to causes who are struggling amid these times." If you have a large staff, consider polling your employees to find out which causes are among the most popular and give to a few charities that will appeal to the most employees. Many of your staffers may be wanting to help but not in the position to do so, so this gesture will go a long way.