Ways to Celebrate & Kick Off the New Year at Work

Believe it or not, the new year will be here before you know it. Now is the perfect time to celebrate and kick off the new year at work with fun and creative celebrations. It may seem unnecessary to some, as the new year is just a day like any other, but planning events like this are incredibly important for employees. It helps everyone get together and plan towards a common goal. It’s a new year in home life and work life. It should be celebrated!

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Host an Awards Ceremony

One way you can celebrate the previous year while looking forward is to host an awards ceremony, giving out awards based on performance and praise. This gives everyone an opportunity to reflect on the previous year by looking at all they have accomplished, but it also gives your team motivation for the next year in hopes of beating their own records and getting their own awards.

These can be rewards such as making the most sales, finishing the most spreadsheets, or helping the most clients. Depending on your profession, these awards will change, but look back at your team’s greatest accomplishments and see what is worthy of praise. You can also stray away from work-related bonuses and make them about the office community itself, such as best listener or most likely to brighten your day.

The physical award itself can vary based on what you deem appropriate. You can order trophies, give out plaques, company merchandise, or something fun to hand out that you think your team will enjoy.

Plan New Year’s Resolutions

After you have looked back on this last year, take time to plan out your New Year’s resolutions for the new year within your team. Are there certain numbers you want to hit or stay within your budget this year? This gives your team a common goal to work towards throughout this new year.

A fun way to do this with your team is to create a vision board. These can be individual or team vision boards, but you should do them together. Provide magazines so your employees can cut out images, glue, tape, or anything else fun. Get creative with it! This activity gives employees a chance to unwind after the busy holidays while also engaging and thinking proactively about their own work goals this year.

Give End of Year Bonuses

While not necessary, most employees will be expecting an end-of-year bonus. This tends to increase happiness and loyalty within the company. You can give these bonuses based on performance, which will motivate your team to work harder the next year to get a higher bonus, a standard percentage among everyone, or the same amount for all employees. Consider what you think is best and what will satisfy your team most to keep them excited for the new year at work.

Plan a Countdown Party

What better way is there to kick off the new year than a countdown party to midnight with your team? Events like this can increase camaraderie since the team gets the opportunity to spend time outside of work hours together. You can provide snacks, drinks, and games to pass the time as you wait for the clock to strike midnight. Encourage your team to invite their family and friends to the party so they do not have to choose one or the other, plus it provides more mingling among partners and children to understand each other’s lives outside of work.

You should not make an event like this mandatory as that may cause resentment for the party, but you can consider providing incentives to encourage your team to attend.

If you happen to have remote workers, find a way to include them as well! Host a Zoom or Teams meeting where people can join with their own snacks and refreshments and still speak with each other as they wait for midnight to come.

Share Traditions

Everyone on your team can share their favorite New Year’s Eve or Day traditions with each other and it may provide some great insight on how you should plan your celebrations. These vary based on age, culture, and family, but there may be some great ideas you never even heard of. This provides a great opportunity to learn a little more about each other and become closer in the upcoming year. If they are simple traditions, you can employ these at your countdown party. If not, maybe you can plan something in the upcoming days to show your appreciation for everyone’s ideas and traditions.

As you plan to celebrate and kick off the new year at work, consider planning some of these fun and interactive ways. They encourage team building, reflection, and looking forward to getting everyone excited to work this upcoming year! Time really does fly, huh?