On the first Thursday of April, the Netherlands celebrates National Colleague Day! It’s a chance to show your appreciation for your favorite colleague(s) and receive appreciation yourself. To help your creative thinking a bit, we’ve prepared a list of 5 fun ideas to celebrate Colleague Day.
1. Treat your colleagues
Whether you bake something yourself or buy something in the supermarket, anyone enjoys a little treat during their break! Hand out your treats individually or simply leave them in the break room. An easy way to help your colleagues have an extra special day.
2. Organize an after-work drink
Having fun colleagues makes your workdays a lot better. Why not invite them to a drink somewhere for Colleague Day? Meeting outside of work is a wonderful way to get to know each other better and talk about entirely different topics than you usually do.
3. Say it in writing
Write your appreciation on a card or note and leave it somewhere for your colleague(s) to find. You may need to get a little creative here, especially if your colleagues don’t have their own desks. Maybe put a post-it on their lunch, slide a note into their locker, or put a card under the windshield wiper of their car. It feels good to be appreciated – see how big of a smile a little note can put on someone’s face!
4. Share it in a Story
If you (and your colleagues) are comfortable with social media, create a Story or Status to show your appreciation for them and tag your colleagues in it! You could share your favorite picture together or take one if you don’t have any yet. If you are tagged by your colleagues as well, it can be fun to repost them in your own Story or Status. You may soon collect a ton of appreciation posts!
5. Help a colleague out
Does your colleague have a task that’s difficult to finish? See if you can help them out! If your type of work doesn’t allow that, you could always get them a cup of coffee or listen to their problem during break time. Who knows, you may be able to share some advice!
We hope these 5 ideas will help you celebrate Colleague Day in the Netherlands this year. Every workplace is different, so don’t be afraid to get creative with your situation. We’d love to see what you come up with, so feel free to tag us if you post something online! Above all else, we wish you a wonderful Colleague Day. May you get the appreciation you deserve 🙂