TIME-OUT!!! Thank you.

There was a campaign this summer that encouraged companies to plan a recess period at work as a way of thanking and engaging employees. Here’s more about the program:

“It has been proven that breaks are essential for satisfaction. But what does this mean to an employer? Well according to Rich DiGirolamo, Founder of Recess At Work Day, it’s simple……..Breaks lead to satisfaction; and satisfaction easily transfers to increase morale, reduced employee stress, more engaged and healthier employees; ultimately having a positive impact on productivity, absenteeism and profits.

Now in its 6th year; Recess At Work Day is the perfect complement to any Health and Wellness or Employee Engagement Initiative.”
This initiative hits a couple of HR goals, covering both praise and motivation as well as the continued movement toward corporate wellness programs and team building.
How can a game of Dodgeball provide  engagement? Consider this from Dale Sweetnam, an Army public affairs specialist who worked at Google’s office in Washington, D.C as part of a training program. While there, Google put on a “Recess at Work” day that included “square pizzas, chicken nuggets, juice boxes, four square and dodgeball.”

“I can’t remember ever having that much fun at work. The whole office got into it.  A computer and speakers were set up on the side of the room and a projector  displayed YouTube Michael Jackson videos while we pelted each other with         dodgeballs.  The event was a huge success. I really felt like it was recess. I was still attending recesses in grade school when Michael Jackson came out with “Bad” and it had probably been that long since I’d last played dodgeball. It was a             blast.  The event led straight into the weekend. As far as I’m concerned, weekends don’t start out much better than that.”

There seems to be a mini movement toward this idea of corporate recess as a reward. There *are* lots of creative ways to say “Thanks” and engage employees.
Stay tuned!

Rick Kiley is President of gThankYou, LLC, based in Madison, WI.  gThankYou® Certificates of Gratitude™ are one way savvy companies recognize employees’ great work at Holiday Time. The company is best known for its Turkey Gift Certificates, Ham Gift Certificates, and Grocery Gift Cards.