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Holidays and Celebrations Build a Team Environment and Employee Motivation

Holidays are usually considered something that is celebrated with family and usually means a day off from work. However, celebrating holidays can bring employees closer together just as it does a family! Close working relationships between employees, and between employees and management, can mean building of motivation throughout your workplace. Building high morale and motivation at work leads to higher productivity and an overall more positive work environment. The celebration of holidays and traditions can increase employee motivation and build morale.

These traditions are easy to plan and don't have to take a lot of money or time, simply acknowledging the holiday with a small get together is enough to let the employees know that you care about them on a personal level. These traditions can range from a food drive around Christmas and/or Thanksgiving to costume parties or a dress up day in the office around Halloween. Even something as simple as encouraging employees to wear green around St Patrick's Day can create a motivating environment in the office. These kinds of traditions are a fun way to get employees involved and working together.

It is a good idea to stay away from celebrating holidays that are related to a specific religious sector in order to honor the feelings of all of the employees. You might want to have a winter celebration around Christmas time instead of a Christmas celebration. Another idea is to come up with some fun ideas for traditions that are specific to your company. "Funky Tie day" is one that is commonly celebrated in offices around the US.

These are some simple guidelines to follow when planning an employee motivating tradition in the workplace.

1. Create a group of people to organize the event.
Ask for volunteers to plan company parties or events. Remember that these should be on a voluntary basis only. It is important to get people involved from all parts of the company. For example, you might ask a member of management as well as someone from accounting.

2. Allow new members to join the planning groups each year.
This will foster a way to get to know new employees and will also be a sort of training for when the older members of the planning committee leave the company.
" Pay attention to special needs.
Be sure that there is plenty of food for the vegetarian on your staff. Be sure that there are plenty of low fat deserts for the dieters on your staff. Be aware of any food allergies an employee may have. Some food should be labeled clearly with ingredients to avoid a serious food allergy reaction at your business event. These kinds of details can make the difference in a successful, motivating event and one that is irritating and sometimes disrespectful to some employees.

3. Keep good records.
If you are doing a charity event with your employees it is essential to keep records from year to year. This is a highly motivating part of the event. You will want to "beat" last years record, this is a great way to create a team like work environment and also to promote motivation. Even if you are not doing a charity event, it is helpful from year to year to know how much food or supplies were purchased and for how many people.

4. Have plenty of volunteers on board.
Make certain that all the needed jobs have been assigned and that there are enough people to cover the work. When a group pulls together they build motivation for the work that they are doing. They form a team. However when there is not enough people to complete a task, everyone feels as if they are being treated unfairly.

Motivation in the workplace is essential for a good working environment. Different things motivate different people, and it is important that you recognize this. Some will not want to participate in these activities and it is best to respect their wishes. But for most, creating new company traditions and celebrating holidays is a great way to increase motivation which will ultimately increase team work and productivity in the office!