Explore the importance of celebrating teams and organizational values

Discover the power of workplace culture, kindness, and values, navigating new ways of working, embracing random acts of kindness and gratitude, promoting social distancing kindness, and fostering workplace community through giving and shared experiences. Learn how these aspects contribute to employee happiness, engagement, and overall success in the modern workplace.

Celebrating Teams and Organizational Values

Understand the significance of celebrating teams and organizational values in fostering a positive work environment. Discover creative ways to incorporate appreciation, connection, and shared joy into your workplace culture. From welcoming new employees with a memorable first impression to organizing team-building activities and recognizing achievements, find inspiration to create a culture that values teamwork and upholds organizational values.

Navigating New Ways of Working

Explore the challenges and opportunities presented by new ways of working, including remote and hybrid work models. Learn strategies to ensure equal attention and appreciation for all employees, regardless of their location. Embrace technology to facilitate communication and collaboration, establish clear expectations, and provide support to remote workers. Adapt your leadership style and embrace flexibility to navigate the evolving work landscape successfully.

Random Acts of Kindness and Gratitude

Embrace the power of random acts of kindness and gratitude in the workplace. Discover the origins of this movement and learn how small gestures can have a lasting impact on employee morale and well-being. Encourage acts of kindness such as showing appreciation, offering help, or providing support to colleagues. Foster a culture of gratitude through regular expressions of thanks, recognition programs, and encouraging positive interactions among team members.

Share Socially Distanced Kindness

Explore the importance of kindness during the month of February and beyond. Discover ways to show compassion, appreciation, and kindness to colleagues, promoting a positive work environment and strengthening relationships. From organizing virtual team-building activities to creating opportunities for virtual volunteering or supporting colleagues’ personal well-being, find practical ideas to promote kindness and connection while respecting social distancing measures.

Cultivating Workplace Community Through Giving and Shared Experiences

Understand the value of workplace community and the benefits of volunteering and giving back as a team. Learn how shared experiences and acts of giving can foster employee engagement, happiness, and a sense of belonging. Encourage team members to participate in community service projects, organize charitable initiatives, or engage in team-building activities that promote collaboration and a sense of purpose. Foster a culture of generosity and create opportunities for employees to connect through shared experiences.

Unlock the potential of workplace culture, kindness, and values to create a thriving and positive work environment. Celebrate teams and organizational values, navigate new ways of working, embrace random acts of kindness and gratitude, promote social distancing kindness, and foster workplace community through giving and shared experiences. Discover how these aspects contribute to employee happiness, engagement, and overall success. Learn practical strategies and gain inspiration to create a workplace culture that prioritizes kindness, values, and a sense of community.



  • Begin the Year Strong with Gratitude

    Start the year with gratitude

    As the new year kicks off, it’s a wonderful opportunity to assess what employees achieved and overcame during 2023. Organizations everywhere have worked hard to reassess priorities and make significant changes after the pandemic-related pandemonium.

    At gThankYou, we are advocates for weaving gratitude through the entire year. Stay tuned for our 2024 calendar, which provides a variety of ways to illustrate appreciation every month of the year. In the meantime, let’s take this opportunity to start the year on a high note. Here are some applicable tips to help foster a sense of appreciation in the next few weeks.

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  • Back to School: Appreciate Your Friendly Custodian

    Back to school - thank a custodian!

    As we head back to school, it’s a good time to take a moment to appreciate the hard work of custodial staff who keep our schools clean and safe. These essential workers often go unnoticed, but their contributions are vital to the success of our schools.

    National Custodian Day is officially October 2, but why wait?

    Kick off the school year with an abundance of gratitude for those who helped clean up and get our schools ready for staff and students. Hang a giant custodian thank you card and hang it up for everyone to sign and set the tone for everyone who enters the building.
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  • 15 Quotes for a Workplace Culture of Gratitude

    gratitude rocks the workplace

    Motivational posters may be a little outdated, but sharing positivity in the workplace never gets old. Whether it’s simply sharing a quote to conclude a meeting or a classy sign in a conference room, there are many famous — and not so famous — quotes that can impact how employees feel about the culture of an organization. We’ve pulled together 15 quotes for a workplace culture of gratitude that may inspire or encourage you and your teams.

    The most important application is for leaders to model an attitude of gratitude, taking the time and effort to thank and acknowledge what deserves praise. Flippant usage of “thanks” isn’t the goal … it’s providing a positive space to allow people to acknowledge and support each other.
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  • Celebrating Teams and Organizational Values

    Spikeball Players Celebrating Teams

    Photo by Spikeball on Unsplash

    When leaders understand the importance of celebrating teams and organizational values, important messages resonate beyond an “event.” There are many opportunities to bring people together to underscore that your business is about people and values, not just work and the bottom line.

    We’re in a time of heightened pressure to recruit and retain happy, committed employees and this big-picture thinking is critical. Here are a wide variety of ways you can incorporate “celebrating teams and organizational values” into your workplace. We hope this sparks inspiration for gifts of connection, belonging and shared joy.

    Give the Gift of Connection

    • Welcome new employees with a memorable first impression. Schedule coffee or lunch with the head of the company on their first day at work.
    • (more…)

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  • How to Navigate New Ways of Working

    navigating the new world of work

    Photo by Ali Bakhtiari on Unsplash

    NEWS ALERT: The work world has shifted. Priorities have changed, hybrid and remote working has become status quo, and flexibility is key. Collectively, we are figuring out how to navigate new ways of working.

    What’s really keeping HR people up at night is how to RETAIN talented and hardworking staff. If we thought retention was important before, we have a tighter grip now. But what is the secret sauce to keeping employees happy, healthy and gainfully employed by you? Appreciation and recognition go a long way. Here are some ways to navigate new ways of working:

    Pay attention equally to employees regardless of their location.

    With a shift to remote and hybrid workplaces, it is important to “spread the love” to those who may be working elsewhere. “Out of sight, out of mind” is the wrong approach. Be sure to show appreciation equally for people across town or the globe. (more…)

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  • Randoms Acts of Kindness and Gratitude

    Photo by Adam Nemeroff on Unsplash - Sign that says be kind with a heart

    We honor Random Acts of Kindness Week every February (Feb. 13-19 this year) to celebrate small acts of goodwill. We all know that every day is a good day to build workplace gratitude through kindness. But how often do you think about random acts of kindness? How often do you actually do it? It’s a great reminder that little gestures go a long way.

    Where Did Random Acts of Kindness Begin?

    The phrase “random acts of kindness,” is believed to have been coined by the writer Anne Herbert in the early 1980s. Apparently, she scribbled on a restaurant placemat, “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase uses language of war (“senseless acts of violence”) in a call for the opposite.
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  • The Power of Workplace Gratitude

    workplace Gratitude
    Gratitude in our personal and professional lives is a trending topic these days, but when we first introduced our popular ebook, Transforming Your Workplace With Gratitude, in 2013 we were in the vanguard of the workplace gratitude movement as it relates to company culture and employee engagement.
    Sharing new information related to this fascinating topic through our publications and blog has long been a priority. In the face of the worldwide pandemic, gratitude is again a popular topic. Be sure to check out our other posts on gratitude in the category, “Workplace Gratitude, Culture, Well-being”.Download your free copy and harness the power of workplace gratitude!Since its introduction, our eBook on workplace gratitude has been a helpful guide for companies, large and small, as they learned to embrace an attitude of gratitude.  Over the last five years, research has underscored the power of gratitude in our lives.
    This growing body of research demonstrates that companies that make an effort to appreciate employees are among the most successful, most innovative companies in the world and have the highest rates of employee satisfaction and retention. (more…)
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  • Focusing on Gratitude Adds Meaning to Holidays

    Melody Beattie Thanksgiving quote
    From “The Language of Letting Go: Hazelden Meditation Series”, author Melody Beattie.

    As we approach celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends, this quote from Melody Beattie beautifully reminds us of the transformative power of gratitude at the holidays – and every day.

    Beattie knows about the transformative power of gratitude having survived a traumatic childhood, addiction and the loss of a child but emerging from this to live a a full and rewarding life. After having an epiphany in rehab that got her to focus her energies on “the right things,” she became a renowned self-help author (she literally wrote the book on codependency, followed by many other bestsellers) and remains a celebrated writer and an inspiring beacon for many struggling with addiction and grief. The daily meditations on her website (or apps) are a good way to start or end your day!

    Let’s break down what she said in this quote because while it’s the perfect quote as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, it’s also a powerful reminder for us to look at every day through the lens of gratitude.

    Gratitude:

    “Unlocks the fullness of life…”
    Who doesn’t want to live their life fully, experiencing the maximum of satisfaction and joy at both home and at work. Gratitude opens our eyes to the beauty and goodness of the world around us. It energizes us and brings hope. Sharing gratitude brings out the best in those around us too.

    “Turns what we have into enough…”
    Gratitude allows us to be thankful for the abundance of good things in life and not be driven by societal or selfish needs. Gratitude helps us realize we are, and we have, enough.

    Research finds that “just acting grateful can make you feel grateful” says Arthur C. Brooks in “Choose to be Grateful. It will make you Happier.” He goes on to say:

    “If you want a truly happy holiday, choose to keep the “thanks” in Thanksgiving, whether you feel like it or not.”

    “…turns denial into acceptance…”
    Gratitude let’s us enjoy relatives and friends for who they are – imperfections and all. And, most importantly accepting ourselves for doing the best we can. Gratitude heals.

    In a recent Forbes article on gratitude, positive psychologist researcher and author Robert Emmons “cites research showing the effectiveness of gratitude in buffering stress and building resilience. He even recommends a strategy he calls “Remember the bad.” The point is not to dwell on the negative, but to look back and reflect on difficult experiences and how we got through them. In doing so, we learn not to take our current blessings for granted. We are also reminded of the resources that helped us weather past storms.”

    “…chaos to to order, confusion to clarity…”
    Stopping to take a breath and reframing stress that can come at the holidays (or any day) is an opportunity to clear your mind and re-prioritize what’s important. Being grateful helps put what’s really important in perspective.

    “…turns a meal into a feast, a house into a home and a stranger to a friend.”

    No matter the scale of the meal, gratitude for the bounty and those we share it with turns any occasion into a “feast”.

    Thanksgiving is a holiday uniquely steeped in a history of gratitude. It’s the one time of year we treat everyone as family. It’s gratitude that allows us to open our hearts and our homes.

    This holiday season share your gratitude and share in the joy you spread.

    Wherever and however you celebrate Thanksgiving, we hope the meal becomes a feast of gratitude for you and your loved ones.

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  • Secrets to Being a Great Place to Work

    Happy Diverse Workers
    An insightful Forbes article described culture as the backbone of a happy workforce.  That’s a great metaphor because a positive company culture favorably impacts recruitment, increases job satisfaction, inspires collaboration, boosts morale and reduces stress.  It’s the secret to being a great place to work. A referenced Deloitte study examining core beliefs and culture revealed there’s a link between employees who say they are “happy at work” and feel “valued by their company” and those who say their organization has a clearly articulated and lived culture.
    Speaking of culture, cultureIQ gathered their “favorite culture and employee engagement statistics” into one handy spot.  Their statement about the impact of culture is a strong reminder that:

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  • Being a Good Citizen is Good for Business

    Being a Good Citizen Is Good for Employers and Workers

    Being a good citizen is good.Being a good citizen is good for business — in more than one way. Last year, Harvard Business Review reported on the beneficial effects when employees engage in “citizenship behaviors.” That’s another way to say going above and beyond: “helping out coworkers, volunteering to take on special assignments, introducing new ideas and work practices, attending non-mandatory meetings, putting in extra hours to complete important projects, and so forth.”
    Research has found that employees who voluntarily demonstrate citizenship behaviors tend to find their work more meaningful. They also perform better and improve their companies’ performance, as well. For all of these reasons, smart employers want to encourage being a good citizen at their companies.
    HBR’s recommendation is to promote “citizenship crafting,” or offering workers the opportunity to figure out how their own strengths and preferences can best be utilized to add value to the business. The idea is straightforward: When employees can help in ways they find personally satisfying and that align with their own values and goals, the help will be better and come more frequently. This is also a relief for managers, who don’t have to push so hard when extra help is needed. (more…)

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  • The Power of Shared Workplace Experiences

    shared experiences such as community service

    Community service is a great way to get your team out of the office and bond over a project that makes everyone feel better. (Photo via Rocco Rossi, Flickr)


    Shared experiences among co-workers are instrumental when it comes to building strong and effective teams.  Don’t forget to include remote workers when communicating, collaborating and creating shared experiences – they are an important part of your team too!
    In an article on shared experiential learning on HR Dive, author Tess Taylor explains the basics:

    Employees benefit from having a common experience during the learning process. This social interaction helps individuals digest new concepts and gives them an opportunity to learn from each other.

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  • In a Giving Culture, You Get a Lot Too

    Creating a giving culture means learning how to take sometimes, too.

    Creating a giving culture means learning how to take sometimes, too.

    Companies with a giving culture are more successful.
    They say it’s better to give than to receive. It turns out it could be way better!
    Beloved Wharton School professor Adam Grant’s 2013 bestseller, Give and Take, used groundbreaking research to show that giving can have a revolutionary positive effect on all kinds of businesses. Givers are employees who help others regardless of whether they’re getting something in return. And the best-performing employees and leaders inevitably turn out to be givers. By taking steps to foster a giving culture, companies can significantly improve their productivity and efficiency, and their employee engagement and loyalty. One consulting firm estimated that implementing a giving culture saved it more than $250,000 and 50 workdays. A pharmaceutical company credited its giving culture with saving over $90,000 and 67 days of labor. (more…)

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  • Cultivating Workplace Community by Doing Good

    Support your teams in cultivating workplace community by doing good

    When workplace volunteers come together it builds satisfaction, happiness and community engagement. Building workplace community is easy in the summer! Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels


    Summer is an opportune time to cultivate workplace community by volunteering in the community as a team.  Just in the month of June alone there are two officially designated dates that you can celebrate: The United Way’s Day of Action 2018 which occurs on (or around) June 21 and United Nation’s Public Service Day on June 23.  It’s always great to recognize the good work that your staff does in the workplace, but doing good outside the office is likely to boost happiness, improve engagement and build workplace spirit.

    Why Volunteering As A Team Is Valuable

    A Huffington Post article exploring how workplace giving and volunteering can drive employee engagement explained that “prosocial” behavior, doing something for the benefit of someone else, positively affects the individuals participating in it, and in return, their workplaces.
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  • Workplace Benefits: Perfect for Back-to-School

    flexible workplace benefits are especially valued during back-to-school

    Make it easy for employees to adapt to back-to-school routines with flexible workplace benefits. (Photo via U.S. Department of Agriculture, Flickr)


    It’s back-to-school time! Are you engaging employees with flexible workplace benefits — benefits that ease the transition from summer vacation to the demands and routines of the start of school?
    Flexible workplace benefits consider employee experience in practical ways that help employees manage work-life balance.
    “Employee experience” is a relatively new concept in HR. As author and futurist Jacob Morgan writes for Inc., it works best in tandem with employee engagement.
    “By combining employee engagement and experience to work together, organizations can build an environment where employees feel valued,” Morgan writes.
    (more…)

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  • What’s Trending in Workplace Gratitude?

    What's trending in workplace gratitude?

    What’s trending? More workplace gratitude! (Image via FutUndBeidl, Flickr)

    As the value of workplace gratitude gets more recognition, leaders are exploring its impact and studying how to better implement it.
    The power of a positive, appreciation-driven culture is clear.
    Employees at organizations with positive cultures scored significantly higher scores in leadership caring, confidence and listening, a CultureIQ poll found. (more…)

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  • Great Workplace Culture Through Public Service

    Building great workplace culture with your team.

    Building great workplace culture doesn’t just happen inside the workplace. Sometimes going out into the community with your team is the best way to strengthen company culture.
    The United Nations’ Public Service Day is June 23, and it’s an opportunity for this kind of culture-building community outreach.
    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon describes Public Service Day as a celebration of the individuals and organizations dedicated to “serving people and improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable.”
    What does serving the public good have to do with building great workplace culture? A lot, it turns out. (more…)

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  • It’s Time to Improve Your Employee Development Skills

    Investing in employee development skills is critical.

    Want to improve your employee development skills? First, start an open discussion with staff. (Photo via US Army Corps of Engineers, Flickr)


    New research analysis by Gallup shows only two in 10 employees “strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.” Are you sure your management team’s employee development skills are working effectively?
    Even if your company is above average at employee development, there’s an “immediate disruption” happening in the workplace that is a game changer for everyone.
    That’s according to Gallup’s new research paper Re-Engineering Performance Management. The old ways of handling employee development and recognition simply aren’t working, the paper explains, and it’s time for HR to reevaluate and overhaul. (more…)

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  • 11 TED Talks to Inspire Workplace Culture

    Ted Talks to build better workplace culture

    Want a better workplace culture? Get inspired first by pioneers like software titan Stephanie Shirley, pictured here. (Photo via Steve Jurvetson, Flickr)

    Want to build a better workplace culture? Join the club. The way we work is changing, and companies are scrambling to catch up.
    “The necessity of workplace culture is a recent phenomenon,” according to a column in The Commentator. “It’s clear that in order to attract, retain and engage the modern workforce, companies must intensify their focus on improving company culture.”
    That’s because employees in all industries now are expecting work that is meaningful and engaging — and to be appreciated for it, beyond a paycheck.
    Employees are also “pushing employers to forego traditional structures,” according to Gallup research. (more…)

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  • 6 Days to a More Mindful Workplace

    Be mindful. 6 Days to a more mindful workplace.

    April is Stress Awareness Month. Build a more mindful workplace daily by focusing on wellbeing and gratitude with employees. (Image via libookperson, Flickr)

    A mindful workplace is your buffer against the kind of employee stress that disrupts productivity, drains happiness and drives high turnover.
    With Stress Awareness Month coming up in April, now’s the time to plan workplace activities focused on stress awareness — and to give employees the tools they need to handle stress before it takes over.
    The first step toward busting stress is mindfulness. (more…)

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  • 9 Free Resources to Inspire Workplace Kindness

    Want to inspire wworkplace kindness? Read on for free resources to help.

    First step toward a kinder culture? Smile! And take advantage of the many free resources to help your organization build workplace kindness. (Photo via Kamil Porembiński, Flickr)

    Are you inspired by Random Acts of Kindness Week to build workplace kindness in your organization? Great! We can help with free resources to inspire workplace kindness – everyday!
    Now’s the time to start. Only one in four employees feel valued at work, a 16 percent drop from last year, according to the TINYPulse Employee Engagement Report.
    “Managers are falling behind in their recognition efforts,” the study concludes. (more…)

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How gThankYou Certificates Work

Step 1

Order Certificates

Choose the gThankYou Certificates you want and order them online or by telephone.

Step 2

Ship directly to your business

Your order is delivered by UPS. Nearly all orders ship the day received. Overnight shipping is available.

Step 3

Distribute to your employees

Personalize your gThankYou Certificates with Giver name or logo (both optional) and give them to employees.

Step 4

Redeem at any grocery store

Recipients redeem Certificates at major U.S. grocery stores and select the items they want.