It’s back again…December. The most wonderful time of the year! Wonderful yes, but often very busy. There are work projects to finish, tasks coming in that simply have to be done before Christmas, personal holiday preparations, and of course there are the Christmas parties. On occasion the work Christmas party can feel like just another item on the to-do list, but they are not a waste. In fact, events like the Christmas party are an important part of the employee recognition and appreciation toolbox.
It is well established that happy and engaged employees produce better business outcomes. As Chandler McLeod points out in this article, the Christmas party benefits organisations in several ways:
- Improving staff morale.
- Increasing retention rates.
- Encouraging a strong team dynamic.
- Building company culture.
Coming together as a company at the end of the year provides an opportunity to take a collective breath, reflect on and celebrate the year that was, and express gratitude. After a year like 2021 and the personal and professional challenges we have all faced, this is more important than ever. Let us stop for a moment and to recognize and appreciate the people that are part of our organisations. Recognize means you acknowledge what they have done, their external efforts. Appreciate means you acknowledge who they are, their inherent value. Taking that opportunity to say “I see you” and “I am grateful for you” is incredibly powerful for the receiver, both as an employee and a human being.
Gratitude at work can be expressed at three levels, this article from HRD outlines. The first is episodic gratitude, which is your unique moments usually stemming from specific events. As these episodes of gratitude are witnesses more consistently the second level persistent gratitude emerges. Here, a person begins to view the world through a generally more grateful lens. The third level, collective gratitude, means it has become a defining feature of the organisational culture itself.
While the workplace Christmas party provides an opportunity to reinforce gratitude at all three levels, it is just one event in the year. Celebrating people for who they are and what they do is a year-round event. We need not wait until December each year to celebrate our wins and to reflect on how grateful we are to have reached this point. Instead take time regularly to do this and turn it into a culture of celebration and gratitude.