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While management might be the head honchos in your office, it is the administrative professionals who make a lot happen. From answering phones to helping with projects, administrative professionals are the glue that keeps a business together when there’s deadlines, issues, and busy days. Beginning in 1953, office staff have dedicated time during the end of April to recognizing the administrative professionals that make their jobs easier. On Wednesday, April 27, 2016, recognize your administrative professionals using some of these methods.

Put It In Writing

Whether it’s a certificate or thank you card, recognize your administrative professional with something that says how much you appreciate all of their hard work. If you choose to give out certificates to administrative professionals, consider hosting an award ceremony in your office that really shines a light on these employees and all of their efforts. On the other hand, if you opt to write thank you notes to your administrative staff, get everyone to sign these cards.

Celebrate Their Efforts

How would your administrative employees like to celebrate all of their work for your company? A barbecue for the entire staff on a sunny afternoon? A decadent lunch out with the bosses at a local eatery? Taking a few hours to recognize your administrative professionals with a party or special event is an effective method for demonstrating your appreciation. You could host a dessert buffet in the office and have non-administrative staff make or buy their favorite sweet treats for the celebration. Even a trip to a nearby cafe for a warm cup of coffee and a delightful conversation is a kind way to recognize their hard work.

Take a Break

Sometimes the best way to recognize an employee’s efforts is by awarding them with time away from the office. Give administrative staff gift certificates to a spa for an hour or two of pampering or simply grant them an extra vacation day in the near future. The gift of free time goes a long way towards boosting morale and demonstrating appreciation.

Share The Memories

Is there a shutterbug in your office? Ask them to share their pictures and create a scrapbook or PowerPoint presentation that shows off all the fun and happy memories your staff has had together. If you don’t have a collection of photos to choose from, select one really good picture and have it nicely framed as a gift for your administrative staff. People spend a significant portion of their lives at work, so there’s no reason those memories shouldn’t be joyous and shared.

Invest In Them

Every day, your administration professional invest their time and energy into your business. Return the kindness by investing in them. Whether it’s giving them shares in your company, offering them professional development opportunities, or gifting them with a class in a subject or skill they’ve always been interested in, this is a gesture that continues to give long after Administrative Professionals Day has ended. For example, maybe your administrative professional is really interested in social media so you could pay for a social media marketing webinar for this employee.

Whipping your employees into improved physical shape doesn’t have to involve a whip at all. In fact, a few fun office exercise challenges can be engaging enough that the spirit of competition and an awesome certificate of achievement will do. The key is to ensure you keep the office exercise challenges easy to track, amusing to complete and at a level that ensures all can participate. Oh yeah, you’ll also need a few good ideas. Here come five of them.

The Elevator Plague

Office building got an elevator? Have employees avoid it like the plague. Set up a contest to see who can refrain from taking the elevator for a set number of days. Start with a day or two of taking the stairs only, and then extend the length to a week or entire month. Employees who can go the greatest number of days without setting foot on the elevator win.  

The Lunchtime Mile

Reward employees who successfully walk a mile every day during lunch for a month. If your crew is already high endurance, you can up the stakes by making it a 2 or 3 mile lunchtime walk – or even a mile-plus lunchtime run.

The Total Steps Tally

If your company can help employees obtain fitness trackers or pedometers, keeping track of total steps throughout the day is a great way to prompt a steady stream of movement. Employees get credit for walking to work, at work, during lunch and at home, whenever and wherever they can pick up steps.

Tally each employee’s steps at the end of a week or month, rewarding things like the highest overall step count, the highest number of steps in a single day or even the biggest improvement in movement.

The Super Stretcher

Create a booklet packed with easy yet effective stretches employees can do right at their desks, and then reward those who make a habit of it every day for a week, month or even longer. Some simple examples include the:

•       Seated shoulder stretch
•       Seated upper-arm stretch
•       Seated chest stretch
•       Chin tuck
•       Head turn
•       Side neck stretch

The Impromptu Challenge

Call employees together and then randomly choose a fitness-related challenge they can try right on the spot. Ideas include:

•       Greatest number of push-ups
•       Most graceful headstand (or other selected yoga pose)
•       Longest amount of time spent balancing on one leg
•       Most impressive hula hoop or jump rope performance

Keep your certificates of achievement as fun as the office exercise challenges themselves with pithy sayings, cool designs and maybe even a rhyme or two. Then simply sit back to watch your employees flock to participate in the art of getting healthier.

They are the backbone of your business and work together to reach company goals day in and day out. So on Friday, March 4, celebrate your employees. Each year employers across the country take time out of the first Friday in March to honor a job well done on National Employee Appreciation Day.

Relax the Schedule

Start the day off right by allowing employees to come in late, or leave a little early — their choice. This relaxed schedule will allow them to have a leisurely breakfast, or a little personal time before picking up the kids and heading home for the day. And since the celebration is on a Friday, consider a casual work day dress code complete with jeans and T-shirts.

Share a Lunch

At mid-day, treat the staff to a celebratory lunch. If you’re a small company with a handful of employees, book a table at a favorite restaurant. For larger businesses, have a buffet lunch catered to the office. Before the meal, say a few words about the day and remind everyone of the ways they strengthen the company’s progress, brand and morale. Feel free to share some company growth numbers and feedback from customers.

Write Personal Notes

Ask supervisors to take a little time to write personalized notes to each person in their department. These hand-written note cards should highlight individual assets of each person and how they make a positive impact on the company. The sentiments can reflect a specific project or be more encompassing of the employee’s overall performance.

Let Everyone Know

Spread the word about how cool your company is by sharing your activities on social media, especially if you’re recruiting and expanding your workforce. Include a group photo of everyone acting silly, candids of the luncheon and an overview shot of decorations or gifts for the employees. Let customers and fans know you treat your staff well.

Honor Each Person

Everyone loves a little gift. Nothing says thank you like a small monetary bonus tacked on to the Friday pay stub, a goodie basket filled with snacks and wine or a gift card to the local coffee shop. Present these tokens of appreciation at the end of the day as a concluding way to celebrate National Employee Appreciation Day.

Are you ready to make plans for your office? Get started by browsing customizable certificates and note cards at Paper Direct.

Do Thursdays at work seem to drag on and on and on? So, why not goof around a bit? Thursday, January 28 is National Fun at Work Day so it’s completely appropriate to play a few gags on your co-workers, plan a special event or try one of these boredom-busting activities to get the entire office laughing.

Hold a Costume Party

Why wait until Halloween to play dress up? Encourage everyone in the office to dig out their favorite past dress-up clothes, or set a theme for the day. You’re bound to have a little fun at work if everyone is dressed as their favorite celebrity. Or, if you need to keep it a touch more professional, ask everyone to wear the same color shirts or goofy hats that can easily be removed before important client meetings.

Schedule a Breakfast Potluck

There’s nothing better than starting the work day with a relaxed meal. Plus, there’s no such thing as too much bacon or too many doughnuts. Ask everyone to bring their favorite morning foods to share with the rest of the team and let the staff ease into the day with brimming cups of cocoa and steamy lattes.

Set up a Photo Booth

Convert the break room into a goofy photo station. Encourage employees to dress up with props such as oversize glasses and feather boas and take photos with their co-workers. Post the pictures on social media throughout the day to let your customers know that you know how to create a fun work environment for National Fun at Work Day.

Bring Your Pets to Work

Nothing elicits more smiles than cute puppies prancing down the hallways. Or, maybe that quiet guy from IT has a pet iguana on his shoulder to admire. Who knows! Plan to have a pet parade over the lunch hour so all the animal lovers can attend. And don’t forget to give out a few awards for best tail wag, longest whiskers and most colorful critter.

Celebrate Ridiculous Awards

Brainstorm some wacky honors and document it on cool certificates and with small prizes. Throughout the day, reward individual staff members with crazy awards such as Most Likely to Eat a Box of Doughnuts, and present them with a fresh dozen. Or, what about dubbing someone #1 Sales Call Smooth Talker and present them with a new case for their cellphone. This is best for a small staff, so by the end of National Fun at Work Day, each person has earned an award and small gift.

Are you ready to create some cool invites for your employees to this year’s National Fun at Work Day festivities? Or, maybe you need to print some award certificates to commemorate the silliest of participants? Paper Direct has a huge assortment of options available for you to browse online. Shop now!

It requires ongoing efforts to keep your company’s sales force motivated and closing new clients. Of course you compensate them appropriately and provide regular recognition for their service, but if you’d like to get the most from your team, you’ll need to provide creative incentives that go beyond standard rewards. Here are ten sales recognition ideas designed to keep your team whistling while they work.

Shoutout Board 

Go a little old school and tack a bulletin board to your office wall. each week recognize someone for an achievement. Whether it’s straight up sales goals, shortest to close, had work, or another recognizable goal, giving them a shout out is a great way to recognize sales employees. 

Upgraded Work Gear

This one is kind of a win-win for your salesperson. If someone makes a big sale, why not give them a new phone or computer? Not only will your employee appreciate the new toy, your client will appreciate the fact that your salesperson is handling their account with state-of-the-art technology. If a little inter-office jealousy happens to breed some friendly competition, all the better.

Go With A Gadget

These days, everyone has a hobby, and every hobby necessitates some kind of gadget. If you’re looking to recognize a salesperson’s hard work, find out what their hobbies are and then get them a little gadget. In other words, get your employee something they’d want, but they’d never buy for themselves. They’ll be grateful for the personal approach to recognizing their sales work.

A Trip

This one is obviously on the pricey side of things, but if you’re really ready to shine down some affection on one of your high-performing salespeople, consider springing for a trip for them and their spouse. You can bet a  paid all-expenses vacation is something they won’t forget for years to come, and you really can’t put a price on that kind of incentive. It doesn’t have to be a two-week getaway to Europe, but a night or two at a nearby vacation destination will certainly demonstrate your appreciation.  

Bring In Food For Everyone

If you’re looking to single out someone’s performance, but you’d also like to help build a little office camaraderie, consider ordering a meal for the entire staff. When everyone is milling around, enjoying their free eats, take a moment to give credit for the lunch to the specific individual you’re trying to praise. They’ll look like a hero in front of their coworkers and you’ll look like the coolest boss on the planet.

Show The Winner You Value Them

When you’re trying to instigate a little competition among your sales staff (which is never a bad thing), why not single out your highest performing salesperson by having a semi-extravagant lunch prepared and delivered directly to their desk. You can bet your other employees will take note.

Tickets To a Weekday Matinee

A good movie can be a great stress reliever, as can a little time out of the office on an otherwise mundane workday. When you’re the boss that combines the two, then you can bet your employee will take note. Nothing says, “thanks for the hard work,” like the implication that you’re employee has things so well handled that they can take a few hours to enjoy it.

One Word … Beer

The headline here says it all. Few rewards pack quite the same punch as the gift of beer. Whether it’s a six pack at the end of the week for your top earner or a case for everyone who deserves a little recognition, beer is one gift that rarely, if ever, fails.

Say ‘Thank You’ With a Certificate

You would be utterly amazed how far a private or public “thank you” will go with your employees. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and it will be immensely appreciated. Look them in the eye and proclaim your appreciation for their hard work with a certificate; you’ll never regret it.

A Night Out On The Town

Spring for dinner for two at a five-star restaurant. Maybe throw in some extra dough for babysitting money, if applicable. Rent a limo. Really show your salesperson the recognition they deserve. A fun night out on the town with their spouse is just the ticket when you’re looking to incentivize your sales team.

Research shows, “Seven out of 10 employees who report they’ve received some form of appreciation from their supervisors say they’re happy with their jobs.” 

When deciding on an employee of the month, you want to evaluate individuals based on a variety of factors. Key employee of the month criteria include work performance, demeanor, professional growth, client/customer service, loyalty, dedication, and workplace cultural contributions.

Work Performance

Most, if not all businesses, will want to recognize a particular person if his/her work performance stands out from the rest. When deciding on an employee of the month, work performance should always be included in your evaluation as it is one of the most important aspects of an staff member’s contribution to your company. Whether it’s a sales leader or a customer service powerhouse, work performance is the top employee of the month criteria.

Demeanor

No one has a good day every day. Despite that, this is the employee who always has a smile on his/her face, and offers positive reinforcement when a project takes a turn for the worst. You’re not going to award the employee of the month honor to someone who is short-tempered, hard to work with, or is overall unpleasant more often than not. Recognize the worker who demonstrates what it means to love their job and to remain dedicated to it even during a bad day.

Professional Growth

There’s room for growth in any position. An employee who takes the time to seek out learning or networking opportunities to better themselves for the job is someone management should absolutely recognize. This worker is dedicated to strengthening their professional skills and knowledge in service of the company. Over time, this person will become a stronger asset for your business.

Client/Customer Service

When an unsatisfied customer gets in touch with your business to complain, this employee can turn lemons into lemonade. Or maybe this employee is a networking master who has built invaluable client relationships for your company. Your business would not exist without clients, so your next employee of the month might be the person who best met your customers’ needs.

Cultural Contributions

Every business has its own culture, and certain employees go above and beyond to contribute to the overall wellbeing of their workplace. Pam from marketing always spear heads charitable efforts the office can participate in. Or maybe IT tech Dwayne designed a green initiative to reduce your company’s carbon footprint. An employee recognition program is an invaluable component of your corporate culture, so a staff member’s efforts to contribute to that should be reviewed when considering who to recognize as employee of the month.

As businesses vary, you’ll want to determine which employee of the month criteria best suit your company, its culture, and objectives before launching this employee recognition initiative. Consider what employee of the month criteria would define a top-performing staff member in relation to your business goals and company values.

For businesses, the holidays are a time to sell, sell, sell. Whether you’re working in the retail sector or have an office job, your boss wants to see the company’s monthly profits soar this time of year. To boost those numbers, why not host a few friendly holiday contests among your employees to motivate them to do their best?

Per Transaction Race

If you manage a grocery store, home improvement center or store with several lanes of cash registers, create a contest for your cashiers. Since they are the customer’s last point of contact, urge the employees to suggest small add-on sales to boost their average transaction dollar amount.

At the end of the day, pull the numbers from the POS system and see who has the highest per transaction average. Post these numbers daily in the office or break room, and at the end of the month, see who wins the race! Offer a cool prize, like a new tablet or substantial gift card to the store, to increase employee enthusiasm.

Close More, Earn More

Does your office work on a commissioned sales basis? If your employees earn a set amount for each sale they complete, offer an added incentive to be as persuasive as possible and close as many deals as they can during their shifts.

First offer an added bonus payment for each sale (a five percent add-on or flat rate cash tip is encouraging), then offer a grand prize to the person who makes the most deals at the end of the month.

Increase Loyalty Members

From grocery and pet stores, to clothing shops and nail salons, several stores off loyalty cards to their customers. Businesses rely on new customers to sign up for these cards, so they can use their contact details to keep them in the loop about on-going marketing efforts.

Hold a contest with your staff to see who can get the most new loyalty card sign-ups in a month. Help them along by offering an added incentive (such as a coupon or percentage off their sale) to each customer who signs up during the special promotional period. The employee who gets the most new loyalty card members should earn a special bonus payment or an extra paid day off during the holiday season.

Speed Dial Contest

If you’re not directly involved with sales, but reach out to customers or do a lot of follow-up with potential customers, track it! This holiday season, hold a contest to see who can make the most points of contact by phone or email. This will encourage your staff to revive old sales leads, work on new opportunities and finally tackle those tough calls they’ve been avoiding.

Then, reward the person who makes the most calls each day, week or month during the holiday season. For small daily prizes, stock up on gift cards to the local coffee shop and favorite lunch place. For larger prizes, consider a weekend getaway at a posh hotel or a new tech device like a fitness tracker or e-reader.

Ready to organize a contest? When you announce the winners, make them feel extra special by presenting a personalized holiday certificate. Paper Direct has dozens of styles and designs for you to browse. Shop today!

The year is rapidly dwindling to an end, which means it’s time to recognize your company’s employees with awards. Rather than giving out the standard Hardest Worker or Most Dedicated titles, have fun with your staff recognition awards this year. End 2015 on a high with these award ideas for end of the year recognition.

Swifty Swift Award

For that one employee that can wear many hats and take on any challenge they encounter with aplomb, the Taylor Swift Award recognizes the most dynamic multi-tasker in your company.

Fury Road Award

The fourth film in the Mad Max cinematic universe, the Fury Road Award goes to that staff member that pushed the metal to the floor and powered through some of your company’s most-challenging tasks this year.

Joy Award

There’s always one person in a group who can keep cool even when emotions are running high. The Pixar movie Inside Out demonstrated just how hard it can be to keep your feelings in-check when faced with anxiety and stress, so this award goes to the employee who always came to work with a level-head and helped other keep their heads in the game even when it was hard to do so.

The #Sqaud

The award can be presented a team or group that meshes well and turns out outstanding work. Squad goals.

Aca-Awesome Award

photo via

This Pitch Perfect 2 pop culture reference can be given to anyone who works hard and has a positive attitude.

Game of Thrones Geek Award

This award goes to that beloved employee that lives for this springtime HBO epic action drama. They’re probably searching for next season’s predictions as we speak. 

Escaped Llama Award

In February, two llamas had fifteen glorious minutes of fame when they escaped their enclosures in Sun City, Arizona. Maybe you have an employee who knocked it out of the park at a major industry event or delivered a deal-sealing presentation this year. Recognize that shining moment with the Escaped Llama Award.

YASSSSS Award

Someone who is. killing. it. all. the. time.

Next Presidential Candidate Award

photo via

Since there are a comically large number of candidates running, why not nominate a hard-working, intelligent leader in your own organization?

Jurassic Award

If you have an old timer that keep producing outstanding work, give them the Jurassic award. Sure to be a blockbuster hit every time. 

Retiring Legend Award

After over twenty hilarious years as the host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, John Stewart retired from his position in September. Your office’s John Stewart is the person who is retiring this year, but will be remembered forever. 

B.B. King Award

A blues legend, B.B. King dedicated his career to music. Give this award to the employee who has been with your business the longest as a way of recognizing their continued years of hard work, loyalty and dedication.

The Top Intern Award

The latest movie The Intern shows how important these workers are for our mental health, production and support. Reward your top-performing intern with an employee recognition award.

Tis this season to be merry, and what could be merrier than recognizing your team’s hard work throughout the year? Christmas parties and employee achievements should go hand in glove. The dilemma is how to recognize them with freshness and panache.

With the right printable gift certificates and awards plus a handful of fun ideas, you can put together a holiday event that’s both memorable and inclusive. Let us show you some offbeat ideas for getting everyone into that holiday cheer!  

Celebrate the Rookies

Not so fun fact: the highest turnover time in most companies is within the first week. Being the new guy or gal can be a lonely and overwhelming prospect.

Show the cubs they’re appreciated from the outset and watch them blossom into great team members. Simple printable gift certificates from higher management instantly create a feeling of welcome and solidarity.

Democratic Recognition

When it comes to awards like “Employee of the Year”, the norm is to let management decide. Why not put a little power back into the hands of your employees? A coveted award granted by an office vote makes the gratitude that much sweeter and the recognition more palpable.  

Good Attendance That Matters

Time is more valuable than money. You can’t replenish it, you can’t get it back- but as an employer, you can create more a little more of it!

Look over your attendance sheets and give the gift of time for Christmas. Consider printable gift certificates that award perfect or near-perfect attendance with additional vacation time in the new year. Your employees give you so much of their lives as it is- be magnanimous and give them some of it back!

Recognize Spouses and Family Members

Have you ever considered how much employee success is made possible by a nurturing home life? From helping your employees recover from an illness to pitching in at special company events, families are the invisible glue that holds your company together.

So embrace the unorthodox and create rewards for them too! There’s nothing like expressing gratitude to these unsung heroes to warm hearts and garner goodwill.  

Secret Saviors

Too often we take employees in auxiliary roles for granted. Janitors, delivery staff, facilities technicians, IT help… these are the people who are scrambling in the background while others receive the glory. You and your employees might not even remember their names sometimes…

But the holidays are the time to get reacquainted and let them have the limelight. Christmas parties are a wonderful time for singling out their contributions and giving them the applause they readily deserve. Have a heart this Christmas- root for these secret saviors!

Reach Out

Need more choices than printable gift certificates for showing holiday gratitude? Paper Direct runs the gamut of good ideas- frameable awards, promotional screen printing, engraved gifts, even lapel pins. Get in touch with our friendly staff and see what a collaboration can do for your company’s mirth and morale!

“The single most important thing is to make people happy,” founder of CD Baby, Derek Sivers, once said. “If you are making people happy, as a side effect, they will be happy to open up their wallets and pay you.” If the customer is the most important aspect of your business, the second-most important is your company’s customer service staff. Therefore, there’s no time like Customer Service Week to recognize your company’s customer service reps.

Customer Service Week has been a nationally-recognized event since 1992. With five business days dedicated to recognizing customer service reps, you’ll probably need some inspiration for how to celebrate these employees’ hard work. These five ideas will not only make your staff feel appreciated, but improve business relations with your customers.

Decorate the Office

Decide on a festive theme for Customer Service Week and decorate the office to the max in that theme. For example, themes such as “Hawaiian Paradise” to “A Night at the Oscars” will get people excited and engaged in celebrating Customer Service Week. Really let your imagination run wild as you think of interesting ways to keep your office professional while still having fun recognizing the hard work of your customer service reps.

MVPs

While your business might not engage in any sporting events, your customer service team is full of Most Valuable Players (or Professionals). Depending on the size of your customer service department, either select your top-performing employees or choose to recognize the whole team as MVPs with speciality certificates and awards. Allow MVPs to take an extra-long lunch during Customer Service Week or surprise them with a special pancake breakfast in the office, but whatever you do, make sure you let your MVPs shine.

Chair Parade

Let your customer service team take a break from work by asking them decorate their desk chairs as miniature parade floats. Then, host an office-wide chair parade where your customer service reps get to show off their creative skills. Give other departments fun prizes to share with their favorite floats, such as candy, funny desk knickknacks, gift certificates for coffee, company swag, and whatever else you can think of to celebrate your customer service employees.

Best Of

In the days leading up to Customer Service Week, have your employees vote on the best customer service moments from the past year. Some of the Best Of categories can include:

• Best Handling of an Irate Customer
• Best Funny Response to a Silly Question
• Best Customer Service Rep for the Quarter

Have everyone vote and then host a small award ceremony where you award certificates and prizes to your Best Of winners.

Team Building Activities

Your customer service department is a crucial team to your business. Let them have fun while building relationships with their teammates using creative activities such as cake decorating, a scavenger hunt, a relay race, or whatever else you can think up. The stronger your customer service team is, the more satisfied your customers will be with your brand.

There’s a fog of inattention seeping into your workplace. Morale seems lower, intrigue and insubordination higher. Your team is less cohesive than it should be. How did things become this way, and more importantly how can you fix it?

Don’t blow your top or despair just yet. It’s never too late to reinvigorate your team and reclaim their focus. It’s all about integrity, availability, and recognition of their talents. Here are a few tested strategies for getting back on the good foot with your employees.

Lead From the Front

Zhou Qunfei once made watch lenses for less than $1 a day. Now she’s the richest self-made woman in the world. Her company supplies the cover glass for billions of computing devices, and her success came from an encyclopedic knowledge of her workers and their tasks.

“She’ll dip her hands into a tray of water, to determine whether the temperature is just right. She can explain the intricacies of heating glass in a potassium ion bath. When she passes a grinding machine, she is apt to ask technicians to step aside so she can take their place for a while.”

The lesson here: get your hands dirty. Literally putting yourself in the place of your employees gives you appreciation for their hard work, refines your process knowledge, and garners respect and loyalty from those you lead.

Revise Your Communication

You’re probably tired of George Bernard Shaw. He had the temerity to observe “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”. One quip, and ever since talk is cheap.

Make sure yours isn’t. Your employees aren’t just listening (or not listening, perhaps) to the words coming out of your mouth. Real communication lies in tone, empathy, responsiveness, and revision.

Read up on body language and active listening. Be concise, specific, and factual with all your directions. Most of all, learn about your employees and invite their observations. After all, why should they listen to you can’t return the favor?

Respect the Chain of Command

Some wise words from Saving Private Ryan: “Gripes go up, not down. Always up. You gripe to me, I gripe to my superior officer, so on, so on, and so on. I don’t gripe to you. I don’t gripe in front of you.”

Think for a second. Do you ever find yourself visibly exasperated with your own superiors? Ever make a biting comment or incensed gesture towards them in front of your team? You’re sending the wrong message- “Since I disrespect my boss, you can disrespect yours.”

Set an example. Gripe up. Always up.

Praise and Encourage

Your employees are people, and people are easily discouraged. A typical existential monologue goes something like this: “Why am I spending my life doing this? Does anything I do make a difference? Why do I get up in the morning? What’s the point of everything?”

While no one expects you to be a philosopher or cleric, a boss does have to furnish some context and meaning. So take every opportunity to show your employees that they and their work are meaningful.

Start right now. Delegate an important job, something that will empower that person and showcase your trust in them. Lavish awards on your team. Talk less about project setbacks and more about singular contributions. Believe in them, and they may surprise you by reciprocating.

You don’t have much of a business without a dedicated staff by your side. So, celebrate them.

Each year when an employee’s hire date comes up, move beyond the customary reviews and annual evaluations. Use one of these ways to celebrate employee anniversaries to make each person feel truly appreciated for their talents and dedication to the company.

Host a Lunch

Everyone loves a casual workday — and free meal! When an employee’s anniversary pops up, make the day extra special with an in-office lunch that allows people from various departments to mingle and visit with the honored employee. For a small staff, consider catering the meal from a favorite lunch spot. For a larger group, do it up potluck-style with everyone bringing a dish to share.

Do a Presentation

Do you have weekly or monthly staff meetings? Whether you’re gathered in the same room or via video conference call, take a few minutes to give a shout out to the employees having anniversaries. Say a few words about each person including how they contribute to the company and something they’ve done recently that should be commended. Then present each employee with a personalized certificate highlighting their number of years of service.

Give a Gift

All anniversaries are special, but some deserve a little extra fanfare. When an employee reaches a milestone — such as 10, 15, 20 or 30 years with the company — present them with a small gift to show your appreciation for their long-term dedication to the company. A piece of jewelry, trophy or certificate for a getaway weekend would be truly appreciated.

Make it Public

Let your customers and staff know about employee anniversaries by making them public. Create posts for your social media channels highlighting each employee’s anniversary and what they do to push the company forward. Don’t forget to include a picture of the person and a few words of gratitude for the work they do day in and day out.

Are you looking for more ways to celebrate employee anniversaries? Paper Direct can help you create personalized plaques, certificates and gifts to recognize everyone in the office on their anniversary days. Shop online today!

While reaching for yet another cup of coffee to combat office sleepiness may seem like the most obvious thing to do, it’s not necessarily the best. Overloading on caffeine can actually make you feel worse, eventually disrupting your natural sleep pattern, making you jittery and nervous, or even resulting in heart palpitations or a stomach ache. Yuck is right, especially when you have a host of healthier ways to stay awake.

Check out a number of perk-you-up tips based on our own experience combined with info from Mark’s Daily Apple and Dr. Frank Lipman.

Get Enough Nighttime Shut-eye

Yeah, this one may seem obvious, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 41 million workers are still getting fewer than six hours of sleep each night. It’s not a wonder so many folks are slumped over at their desks; it’s a wonder any are even awake at all.

Try prepping your body for sleep with an electronic shutdown of your home around 10 p.m., turning off all computers and other electronics that prevent your body’s natural production of sleep-inducing melatonin. Blackout curtains and a sleep mask can additionally help eradicate all traces of light once you’re ready for slumber.

Let there be Light

That same light you’re trying to avoid at night should be sought out during the office slump. Take a quick walk outside in the bright sunshine or otherwise head into a super-bright and super-lit room.

Move it

Simply getting up from your desk and moving around the office can help increase alertness. Go one better with a bout of afternoon exercise. Instead of spending your lunch hour at the dark and crowded diner, try heading to the gym for a quick workout. Exercise can not only help you stay alert during the day, but it can help you sleep better at night (not to mention what it can do for killing off calories and stress).

Splish and Splash

A study out of Tokyo says bathing can help you stay awake, which means you’d get a double dose of natural pep if you showered after your midday gym workout. For those who don’t have a bathtub in their cubicle, you can try the age-old art of splashing cold water on your face fight daytime drowsiness.

Grab a Cat Nap

Got a quiet corner office no one’s using? Ask your boss if you can enjoy its solace for a quick, midday nap. Researchers from Missouri’s Harry S. Truman Veterans Administration Hospital found naps that lasted from 10 to 30 minutes seemed to increase alertness throughout the rest of the day. Going longer than 30 minutes, however, seemed to make people even groggier and less productive than before the nap.

Schedule Upbeat Afternoon Activities

If your afternoons are typically spent staring at a computer screen or otherwise engaged in mind-numbing work, why not try to switch it up with more vibrant activities. They can still be work-related, of course, but they can include an invigorating meeting with a new prospect, productive business gatherings, or even awards activities where employees can be rewarded with motivational gifts and honors. Bet no employee would dare fall asleep during one of those shindigs!

Pump up the Jams

Add music to your activities, or even your mind-numbing computer work, and you can increase your alertness to even higher levels. A report published by the New Zealand Transport Agency found sleepy drivers who turned on their car stereos dramatically decreased their accident rates.

Try a Green Juice Boost

Greens are good at providing a burst of energy, particularly when you consume them in the form of vitamin-rich juice. Head to a juice bar during your afternoon break, or get a juicer for your home to create freshly pressed juice you can bring to work for an afternoon perk. Sounds like too much of a pain? Powdered green drinks are on the market you can mix and sip right at your desk.

And yes, you can still have your coffee. As long as you’re not downing more than four cups of coffee per day, MayoClinic reports that most folks do OK with moderate amounts of caffeine. Don’t forget caffeine is also found in chocolate and tea, which may also work in a pinch to get you through that afternoon office slump when napping, exercise, music, bathing or bright lights just won’t cut it.