It’s a common sight to see organisations appreciate their employees by sharing their achievements at the workplace or even celebrating their birthdays with a simple celebration. How often do employees thank their bosses or supervisors for being kind and fair throughout the year?
Boss’s Day or also known as National Boss Day is an occasion commonly celebrated in a growing number of countries like the United States, Canada and Romania. This day, celebrated on 16 October each year, was first created in 1958 to strengthen the bond between employers and employees. Employees get to show their appreciation to their bosses or supervisors that generally are well deserved.
There are times employees do not understand the hard work and dedication that their superiors put in and the challenges they face on a daily basis. Bosses Day is a great opportunity to appreciate and be thankful for all the things management have done for their employees.
“A good manager is a man who isn’t worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him.”
– H. S. M. Burns
Here are ten great ways that employees could show their appreciation towards their bosses or supervisors on Boss’s Day:
Bake a cake
Let’s go back to the basic rule of Giving Gifts 101; making a gift from the heart – baking a cake. Baking a cake does not have to be a tedious solo task. You can get together with the rest of your colleagues and bake a cake together as a team exercise.
Besides adding a personal touch that everyone gets to enjoy, it also cultivates teamwork and simple team bonding. It gives a reason to encourage employee participation and this gives you the opportunity to get to know your colleagues on a personal level. A cake may sound simple but it is the thought and effort that counts.
Create a team card
So nobody is daring enough to bake an edible and tasteful cake. Another way to celebrate Boss’s Day is to get your boss a gift with a personal touch. A simple card signed by the employees is another way to say “We appreciate you”.
Select a card that fits the supervisor’s personality and then hand-write a note containing specific examples of the supervisor’s contributions. Once everyone has had a chance to sign the card, gather a group and deliver it to the boss.
Give a gift
Another way to celebrate Boss’s Day is to give a gift. Gifts are a fine idea especially if they come from a group of employees. Do make sure all your colleagues have got a chance to donate to the gift fund. The more personal the gift is, the better.
Examples of gift ideas include:
- A gift basket full of different types of tea leaves with a mug is perfect for your boss who is a tea (not coffee!) drinker
- An athletic supervisor? A gift certificate to her favourite sporting goods store might be the perfect “Thank You.”
- A crafty manager deserves a canvas painting or a lesson voucher to pottery.
Do be cautious about giving overly personal gifts because they could lead to awkward moments, office rumours or other issues you want to avoid.
Make a magazine cover
This is great fun! Find a photo of your boss (a nice one, nothing embarrassing!), and then use a service such as this one, to create a magazine cover. Add a few of their common sayings, or something a little fun, and then have it printed. For a few dollars more, you could frame the print as a great memento for bosses day this year.
Award ceremony
Even bosses and managers deserve a pat on their backs for a job well done once in a while. Take a break from the desk during a scheduled tea or coffee break and have a simple award ceremony. Have a private team meeting with only your colleagues and no supervisors around and have a vote on which supervisors get what title.
Create a light-hearted trophies or badges for bosses with quirky awards such as:
- Best Dressed Boss
- The Coolest Supervisor
- The Funniest Boss
- Company record for the most coffee consumption per day
Image: Unsplash
After work celebrations
Get out of the office and have a good time after work with bosses and colleagues. You can organise a night out packed with activities with your boss and the rest of your colleagues. Start with a simple dinner where the rest of your colleagues could also mingle and get to know the other colleagues outside the workplace.
Head somewhere after dinner or even hold a small competition with the bosses or management team over a game of pool or bowling. Heading out together as a team encourages employee engagement in a more relaxed atmosphere and it is also a very good time to bond with colleagues and for them to get to know each other better on a personal level.
Do take note that any event planned should always focus on the supervisor or bosses but it is also a good time for employees to relax, mingle and spend time interacting with each other.
Create a thank you video
We all have the ability to create a video in our pockets – most phones have great quality video cameras! Wait until the boss is out one day, and then walk around and the team record very short thank you messages to her. Then upload it to YouTube, setting the video to private if you wish.
On bosses day, then post the link to your intranet or company chat – she will love the thought and effort that went into you create a short video, and will no doubt look back fondly at this video in the time to come.
Potluck party
Another one of the fun ways to celebrate national boss day is by have a simple party in the office and get everyone to bring in a dish to share. It may not be considered team work but it creates opportunity for team bonding and employee participation. Get some colleagues to contribute a recollection of amusing or witty events that they encountered with the bosses and end the celebration by asking your boss to give a speech.
Potluck is easy to organise if all your colleagues truly participate. Send an email out with a list of dishes for anyone to bring and do not forget to inform the team the list of ingredients to stay from for those who have allergies.
Create a fun voucher book
This is a free and fun way to say thank you to the boss. Ask the team for suggestions and volunteers, and then create a voucher book full of things the team will do for her. Let’s say ‘make you a homemade lunch’ or ‘Clean your coffee cup’ or ‘wash your car’. There are a 1001 ideas if you think about it, and it’s a special and definitely unique way to say thank you and show gratitude on bosses day.
Have a picnic lunch
Why not attend a nearby park if the weather is good, and have a picnic on bosses day? Everyone could bring a dish, or you could just get your usual lunches, and sit on the grass. The time out of your usual workplace will be appreciated by your boss and everyone else in the team.
In Summary
These are just ten fun ways to celebrate Bosses day. Put your thinking cap on, and I’m sure you’ll come up with many more.
It also is appropriate to offer a “Happy Bosses Day! Thanks for everything you do” greeting as you pass by your supervisor in the hallway. The gesture may be informal but if the sentiment is sincere, your boss will know and appreciate the overture. Even an email is better than no recognition at all. Take the initiative to tell your boss that you appreciate what she does and ask how you might better assist him to get the job done.
However you and your colleagues decide to celebrate Boss’s Day, always remember to have fun and have a great time getting to know your bosses and colleagues better.
