From www.helpothers.org, used with permission.

• Take flowers to work and share them with coworkers.
• Write a note to the boss of someone who has helped you, praising the employee.
• Leave enough money in the vending machine for the next person to get a free treat. (Tape the change
   and a Smile card* tag to the machine)
• Have a food drive, ask employees to bring nonperishable food items to donate to food bank.
• Get to work before others and leave a piece of candy, brownie, fruit, flower, etc. at every desk attached
   with a Smile card.
• Leave a cake or other food item in a central area anonymously with a Thank-You note.
• Appreciate a co-worker by giving them a gift of service. For example, instead of a tie for birthday or
   Christmas, make a contribution to sponsor a cataract surgery in a developing country. Attach a note
   explaining how their gift affects someone else’s life.
• Gather a group of your colleagues and take them to a fundraiser.
• Email an article about an act of kindness to your group every week.
• Give your manager or co-worker a thought-provoking book.
• Print an inspiring story and put it on your work bulletin board.
• Buy a cup of coffee or snack for someone who’s having a long day.

*Smile Cards are markers of a newfangled game of tag, where “you’re it” because someone has done something nice for you. Then it’s your turn to do something nice for someone else and, in the process, pass the card along. 

Helpothers.org is a portal dedicated to small acts of kindness. There you will find inspirational stories & articles documenting acts of kindness, downloadable Smile card designs and much more!  www.helpothers.org

Introduce the activity by discussing the importance of being appreciative and how it can make a positive impact on job satisfaction, relationships with others and the overall work environment. This information can be delivered via lecture or drawn out through group discussion. Either way, the following points should be made:

• • When you appreciate what you have, instead of dwelling on what you don’t have, you stay in a more positive frame of mind. You tend to be happier and others want to be around you.
• • When you take the time to thank someone for doing a good job, they are likely to perform at the same level — or do even better — next time. (Studies show that recognition — not money — is the true motivator of productivity.) 
• • In workplaces where people show appreciation to one another, there are fewer situations where people feel taken for granted. As a result, there is less dissatisfaction and resentment.
• • Being appreciative of others (and what they contribute to the organization) is a sign of respect.

Have group members think about a time when someone went out of their way to show them appreciation. How did it make them feel? How did they react? If time allows, have participants share their answers with the group.

Next, have group members think about what/who they should be grateful for (in the context of their job) and how they should show it. Pass out a worksheet containing the following:

Be Appreciative Worksheet

Use the table below to help you show appreciation for the people around you who make it possible for you to do what you do at work.

Optional Follow-Up:  Reassemble the group after they’ve had time to complete the actions they’ve identified. Ask them to share: What reactions did they receive? How did showing appreciation to others make them feel?

Based on material in the Leader’s Guide for the CRM Learning program, Start Right…Stay Right: Orientation Basics

Need help in this area? Encouraging the Heart uses a variety of real world examples to illustrate how important (and easy) it is to recognize the contributions of others.