Welcome to holidays in a recession. Retailers play chicken with discounts. Office parties are downsized or terminated. E-cards from friends are caught in spam filters while paper cards arrive from people you've never heard of. Public school teachers are forced to refuse gifts from parents of their students. "Bonus" is a dirty word.
The economy might depend on consumer spending, but workplaces depend on the opposite: finding low-cost ways of showing appreciation to recession-weary employees and colleagues. With reduced budgets, other forms of caring must be ramped up, even where commitment is in short supply. Cynics could say "show me the money." But compared to animated e-cards, human gestures have more substance and lasting value. Here are some last-minute ideas to stimulate creative thinking about giving services that improve quality of work life into the new year, with small cost but high payoff.
* Time. For the overloaded, time to breathe deeply is a valuable present. Can a deadline be extended? Work hours more flexible? Cancel a routine meeting. Send people home early.
* Personal introductions. Gift-wrap an offer of new leads, prospects, or connections. Everyone knows someone who could help someone else.
* Surprise entertainment breaks. Find dancers, acrobats, jugglers, singers, or rock bands, drawn from local schools or talented employees, to perform on the premises. Or hold an employee talent show.
* Name recognition. Put up street signs in the hallways naming portions after people who work there. Have a graffiti wall of signatures. Flash a rotating display of people and names on video monitors in public areas.
* Bosses serving staff. Senior executives could cook and serve breakfast, deliver the mail, or do valet parking.
* Memories. Bosses or team-mates could send notes and photos about positive events, framed for display.
* Personalized art. Bring local artists on site for live production of artworks or on-demand sketches.
* Rule suspension. Remove the most frustrating and least necessary rules.
* A service. Taking on a task for someone else can be a welcome gift — and also point the way to long-term efficiencies. Exchange of coupon books with personal services can substitute for holiday gift swaps useless objects.
* Notes to families. Send a letter to partners, parents, or children telling how their family member makes a difference.
* Convenience. Add to the services available on the premises. Find more ways to order in or have things delivered.
* Peace on earth — or at least in the office. A period of amnesty or apology for past conflicts or troubles can pave the way to a fresh start.
Of course, work still needs to be done, targets met, customers served, and shareholders satisfied. The unemployed still need jobs, and retail spending by consumers still matters for economic recovery — so let's hope that retailers meet their projections, profitably. But gifts that don't require a commercial transaction can strengthen human bonds. Saving money is not the only rationale. The gift of workplace caring keeps on giving, by providing energy and motivation for the hard work ahead.
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