The Best Workplace Thank You’s
Simply Hired Staff
In the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, Simply Hired is featuring stories where routine jobs turned joyful through a simple thank you. Below are some of the most heart-warming stories about the best “thank yous” ever received at work.
Anonymous Gift
“A few months ago, I came into work and sitting on my keyboard was an index card. It was addressed to me and read simply, ‘You have the gift of teaching. We have been given gifts so that we may build others up.’ To this day I have no idea who wrote it, but I have it hanging on my desk. In some ways it makes it even more special to know that someone didn’t want credit for the gift, but just wanted to say something nice.”
A Delicious and Nutritious Treat
“One of my coworkers brought in donuts to work to thank us for our hard work. She knows that I don’t usually eat donuts, so she surprised me with an Odwalla protein shake along with a thoughtful note commending me for the awesome job I had been doing.”
A Lip(stick) for a Lip(stick)
“I work very closely with a remote coworker. When she was in town she forgot her lipstick at the hotel. I lent her some of my lip gloss for the day. A few weeks later, she sent me a box of twenty lip glosses! It was so unnecessary, but a very fun surprise.”
Emergency Thank You
“I’m a paramedic on 911 ambulances. Once I had to transport a patient to the hospital because he had a severe life-threatening injury. His family was extremely distraught. They followed us to the hospital and approached us to thank us for taking care of their family member. They told us that while the experience was difficult, that our care and quick thinking made the process a little better. I didn’t do anything special. I was just doing my job, but the fact this family was so appreciative really stuck with me. It felt good to be appreciated. This was years ago and I still remember it vividly.”
The New Guy
“In my first month at a new job, my boss took my wife and me out to dinner. He later told me that he struggled with the concept of thanking people at work, and that he had received feedback that he didn’t thank employees enough. He thought that because they had the job that they should implicitly know that he appreciated them, so it meant a lot that he went out of his way to thank me when I was new.
Campfire Thanks
“I was a camp counselor and had been working with the same campers for about 3 years and met with them on a weekly basis to help them through things they were struggling with. When it came to the time of year for them to participate in our annual counselor’s appreciation event, they could have done something simple – say thank you, write a thank you card, buy a gift card – but they went out of their way to do a full-blown skit with self-written lyrics, a custom powerpoint, a self-made soundtrack, and a dance that they had to practice for several hours just to get right. Their show of appreciation left such an impression that I still remember it despite it being more than 4 years ago.”
Sales Supergirl
“I work in sales and everyone knows that the end of the quarter can be difficult. One quarter I brought in some large deals and ended up surpassing my quota. At the next company all hands meeting, the CEO of the company presented a powerpoint slide that had a picture of my head superimposed onto Supergirl’s body. I took a photo of it with my phone and it still makes me smile.”
Lover of Learning
“I received a thank you note from the parents of a first grade student in a class I subbed for during the last three months of school. They wrote that their son was extremely quiet and shy and didn’t like coming to school until I became his teacher. They were so pleased at how he blossomed and became a happy child who was a ‘lover of learning.’ I was so flattered they felt that way!”
Danced for Joy
“I’m a behavioral therapist for children on the autism spectrum. One day I was with a student that I work with at a non-public school. This child never liked touching or being touched by anyone. He grabbed my hands and danced with me. I remember crying after that. It was beautiful.”
It turns out that simple thank you can mean more than you realize. This Thanksgiving season, take a moment and don’t forget to thank the people you work with every day.
