Sunday, June 16th, we celebrate Father’s Day. Since 1910, we have honored our bonds with our fathers and their influence on society. With 96% of employed fathers working full time, we don’t always see or talk about the sacrifices they make to support their families. Father’s Day is the perfect opportunity to recognize and thank the hard-working dads and their impact in and out of the office.
Here are four ideas to celebrate the fathers in your workplace:
Picture perfect — A picture is worth a thousand words. Give the working fathers in your office picture frames so they can display photos of their children at their desk. It’s a great personal gesture that allows them to celebrate fatherhood every day in the office.
Appreciation lunch — Host an office lunchtime celebration. Have the office fathers show pictures of their children and take turns talking about their children. Have them share the activities they do with their kids. Afterward, post the father’s and children’s pictures on a bulletin board for all to see.
Bag it up — Use this as a team building opportunity and have the office create gift bags for the young children of the dads in your workplace. Some great ideas of items to include are: coloring books, crayons, markers, bubbles, stickers, kites, beach balls, and tattoos. Also, consider including a fun Father’s Day-themed worksheet for the kids to fill out and give their dad.
Recess — To help them stretch their weekend celebrations a little longer, give your working dads extra ½ day off either the Friday before or the Monday after Father’s Day. This time off provides them extra time to spend with their family or pamper themselves. Similar to summer Fridays, it’s an inexpensive perk that has been shown to generate greater productivity, higher morale, and reduced turnover.
A version of this article was originally published on wforce.org.