It’s that time of year again, the time for giving to others. Did you know that your brain reacts more favorably and rewards you more when you GIVE rather than RECEIVE? Crazy, I know, but true!
As a business owner, I give and receive all year long. I give paychecks, benefits, food, and praise to my team and in return I receive a work product that I can sell. By its very nature, there is a symbiotic relationship between business owner and employee. When that relationship is not in balance, the employee can leave, or the business owner can fire the person. Balance and symbiosis are good things.
How can a business owner improve that balance and symbiosis? By being extra generous during the holiday season, of course! If you are on a calendar year, you should already have a pretty good idea of how well your company did financially. If your company was successful and profitable, then ending the year with extra good feelings toward you and your company will go a long way toward ensuring a positive start to the new year. How about giving a really generous holiday bonus to your team?
You can’t do the great work you do without your solid and fantastic team behind you, making things happen. Why not show them in a robust way how much you appreciate them? Especially your long-time employees…they’ve been with you through thick and thin, you trust them, and they trust you. You know, the ones you wish you could clone and then you’d own the world? The ones who you’d double or triple their pay if you could. At this time of year, when you know how your company has done, really give from the heart and dig deep into your wallet. Not so much that it damages your company, of course, but really, as much as you reasonably can.
And your newer folks? Give them a generous demonstration of how much you’ve enjoyed working with them so far and let them see how much you appreciate them and how beneficial it would be for them to stay on, year after year. And year after year, increase their bonus, cementing their status.
Let everyone go home, enjoy the holidays with their families, and treat themselves with this extra bonus money. Pay them fairly during the year, and as much extra as you can at the holidays.
And don’t discount that great feeling you get when you give to people you know who deserve it…it’s like a new drug!
