Download How to Write a Thanksgiving Letter to Employees

Put the Thanks in Thanksgiving! Download “How to Write a Thanksgiving Letter to Employees” from your friends at gThankYou.

Thanksgiving is this week — and you can still “put the Thanks in Thanksgiving” in time to delight your employees and workplace!
For Thanksgiving, and for the rest of the holiday season, gratitude is the best gift company leaders can give employees.
Learn how to express your gratitude to employees with gThankYou’s free eBook, “Put the Thanks in Thanksgiving: How to Write a Thanksgiving Letter to Employees.”
This free how-to guide has step-by-step instructions on writing a memorable, meaningful holiday letter, as well as tips and real-life examples to inspire you.
Whether you’re composing a company-wide email, handwriting Thank You notes, preparing a speech, or just want to say “Thank You” more effectively in person — this is the eBook for you!

What Employees Really Want

Genuine, clearly expressed gratitude from leadership is what really “puts the Thanks in Thanksgiving” — and it’s what employees want.


A new Randstad survey of about 1,200 U.S .employees from a cross-section of industries and regions shows that some workplace holiday traditions — cookie swaps, the annual Christmas party — are not actually that important to workers.
What employees really want, more than anything, is to feel the spirit of the holidays in their workplace.
“Holiday spirit in the workplace” and “happier, more generous colleagues” ranked three to four times higher among employees than an office holiday party or gift exchange.
Surveyed employees gave the highest ranking to holiday philanthropy — “because they believe their employer should participate in such activities as donating to food drives or charities,” according to Randstad.
The takeaway from the study, according to an HR Dive brief, is not necessarily to cancel the holiday party but to be responsive to employees and engage with gratitude first.
If employees sense that leadership is just going through the motions, holiday workplace activities like cookie swaps and holiday parties will feel obligatory or stressful — and fall flat. You can’t have a successful holiday party or gift exchange without a sincere and sustained culture of gratitude in the workplace.
“Employers may want to poll their own employees about the necessity of the yearly holiday party,” HR Dive’s Valerie Bolden-Barrett writes, adding that some companies are discovering new ways to engage employees at the holidays. Notably, Spotify has a new flexible holiday program that allows employees to take off the actual days or holidays they observe, rather than settle with the “typical” days off.
“The program might not be suitable for all workplaces, but it’s the kind of creative initiative that supports diversity and inclusion,” Bolden-Barrett writes.
Another consideration? Stress. Holidays are a stressful time for many employees, according to a survey by staffing firm Accountemps.
“Keeping employees energized and engaged, especially during the holidays, when staffing — and temperaments — are often the shortest can be a bit of a challenge,” Bolden-Barrett writes.
Put the thanks in ThanksgivingOne of the best ways to bust workplace stress is to step back and recognize accomplishments.
A Thanksgiving gratitude letter from leadership that praises employees and recognizes the accomplishments of the year can go a long way toward helping employees stay balanced, focused and happy at the holidays.
Sharing gratitude at the holidays may seem obvious — but it’s actually quite rare. The workplace is the last place gratitude gets expressed, according to a John Templeton Foundation survey.
There’s an interesting twist to this. Even though survey respondents were least likely to express gratitude in the workplace, they still wished to be thanked more frequently at work.
The notion that a paycheck is thanks enough is actually hurting businesses and driving away employees.

Share a Letter of Gratitude with Employees

The good news is that workplace leaders have the power to change this dynamic. Employees learn the “tone” of their workplace directly from management.
Set the right tone by sharing a gratitude letter with employees this holiday season! Our “Put the Thanks in Thanksgiving” eBook guides you through the process of writing a memorable holiday message to staff.
You’ll learn:

  • The business case for sharing a Thanksgiving “Thank You”
  • Real-life examples of memorable Thanksgiving gratitude letters from bosses in a variety of industries.
  • Best practices for thanking employees and ideas for brainstorming your own unique approach.
  • Tips on how to share your Thanksgiving letter.

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