Aug 23, 2024 2:19:42 PM | Employee Engagement The Importance of Awareness Days and Holidays in Recognition Strategy

Employee recognition can be as simple as taking time throughout a company’s calendar year to celebrate diverse holidays and awareness days. Employee recognition is essential to improving workplace culture, productivity, and engagement. How you choose to recognize your employees is ultimately up to you, but it’s important to consider the powerful effects that acknowledging special days can have on a business's recognition strategy.

What is a Recognition Strategy?

“A recognition strategy is a definitive statement and plan showing intent and commitment to develop, implement, and nurture specific program objectives” (C.A. Short).

Implementing strategic recognition can greatly improve the quality of employee interactions on the jobsite. Tying this special recognition to a company’s mission, values, or even objectives can allow one to stay true to the company’s goal while simultaneously nurturing the employees’ firsthand experience with the company (Reward Gateway).

Importance of Awareness Days and Holidays

Annually, major federal holidays in the United States, such as the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, are widely celebrated. While these prominent national holidays hold significant importance, they often overshadow other awareness days and observances of comparable significance, including International Women’s Day, Juneteenth, and Kwanzaa. Consequently, these special days and months are put off to the side, despite their positive goal to encourage and uplift. Awareness days and holidays are “centered around causes and appreciation,” making them a “natural fit for reward and recognition programs” (AllStar). Awareness days and holidays allow you to encourage those whose experiences, cultural backgrounds, and beliefs are different from your own, resulting in a stronger, more inclusive workforce.

Celebrating special holidays and times of awareness in the workplace also facilitates greater understanding across an organization. When this occurs, the very foundation of workforce intercommunication is strengthened--resulting in a company that is “better equipped to provide much-needed support to employees and colleagues when they are navigating major life events” (Shoosmiths). This creates a sense of inclusion among employees, promoting mutual understanding of each other’s differences and often leading to their celebration. (Shoosmiths).

This October at C.A. Short, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is being celebrated. A company-wide recognition of an awareness month such as this one provides employees with greater insight into their significance and contributes to a workplace culture where all individuals are recognized, appreciated, and celebrated.

Conclusion

Awareness days and months offer individuals who might otherwise feel overlooked an opportunity to experience genuine appreciation. These observances acknowledge them not merely as employees, but as individuals with unique backgrounds, interests, and experiences.

Whether it be birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or celebratory months and days--we as a collective society are celebratory creatures. Celebrating is so special because it brings families, friends, and coworkers together. Celebration is the very act of engaging with arguably the most important aspect of our lives--people.

“While many organizations take pride in celebrating their business achievements, there’s a growing need to invest time and effort to deeply understand and genuinely honor the affinity celebrations that matter to their people.” – Luke-Mathew Iveson

Days to Recognize in 2024

January / National Blood Donor Month

9^th – National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

15^th – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

24^th – National Compliment Day

February / Black History Month

14^th – Valentine’s Day

17^th – Random Acts of Kindness Day

March / Women’s History Month

1^st – Employee Appreciation Day

8^th – International Women’s Day

30^th – Doctor’s Day

April / Stress Awareness Month

22^nd – Earth Day

24^th – Administrative Professional’s Day

May / Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

6^th – 10^th – Teacher Appreciation Week

6^th – 10^th – National Nurses Week

14^th – Mother’s Day

19^th – 25^th – National EMS Week

27^th – Memorial Day

June / LGBTQ+ Pride Month

16^th – Father’s Day

19^th – Juneteenth

July / Social Wellness Month

4^th – Independence Day

25^th – National Intern Day

August / World Cancer Support Month

17^th – National Nonprofit Day

26^th – Women’s Equality Day

September / Hispanic Heritage Month

5^th – International Day of Charity

15^th – 21^st – Truck Driver Appreciation Week

October / Breast Cancer Awareness Month

10^th – World Mental Health Day

7^th – 11^th – Customer Service Week

10^th – 16^th – Emergency Nurses Week

November / World Cancer Support Month

3^rd – International Stress Awareness Month

11^th – Veteran’s Day

December / Universal Human Rights Month

18^th – 26^th – Hanukkah

25^th – Christmas

26^th – Jan 1^st – Kwanzaa

Days to Recognize in 2025

January / National Blood Donor Month

9^th – National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

^20th – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

24^th – National Compliment Day

February / Black History Month

14^th – Valentine’s Day

17^th – Random Acts of Kindness Day

March / Women’s History Month

7^th – Employee Appreciation Day

8^th – International Women’s Day

30^th – Doctor’s Day

April / Stress Awareness Month

22^nd – Earth Day

23^th – Administrative Professional’s Day

May / Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

5^th – 9^th – Teacher Appreciation Week

6^th – 12^th – National Nurses Week

11^th – Mother’s Day

19^th – 25^th – National EMS Week

26^th – Memorial Day

June / LGBTQ+ Pride Month

15^th – Father’s Day

19^th – Juneteenth

July / Social Wellness Month

4^th – Independence Day

31^th – National Intern Day

August / World Cancer Support Month

17^th – National Nonprofit Day

26^th – Women’s Equality Day

September / Hispanic Heritage Month

5^th – International Day of Charity

14^th – 20^th – Truck Driver Appreciation Week

October / Breast Cancer Awareness Month

10^th – World Mental Health Day

6^th - 10^th – Customer Service Week

11^th – 15^th – Emergency Nurses Week

November / World Cancer Support Month

3^rd – International Stress Awareness Month

11^th – Veteran’s Day

December / Universal Human Rights Month

14^th – 22^nd – Hanukkah

25^th – Christmas

26^th – Jan 1^st – Kwanzaa