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It’s probably no surprise that “Happy Birthday to You” is the most commonly sung English song, according to the BBC. Guinness World Records. But surprisingly few workplaces have a clear policy on celebrating birthdays, possibly because employees often have different views on birthday celebrations at work.
While nine out of 10 Americans say they like to celebrate birthdays with family and friends, 67 percent say they prefer to celebrate their birthdays quietly and privately at work, according to research from online gifting service Snappy. On the other hand, 81% said public birthday acknowledgments in the workplace do help improve employee morale.
Given these somewhat confusing messages, what should HR managers do? After all, every employee has a birthday every year. Are birthday celebrations an opportunity to help boost morale, or are they destined to cause friction and possibly even unintentionally embarrass employees?
One thing’s for sure: If done right, birthdays can be a great opportunity to let employees know they’re valued. According to a survey, employees typically increase job search activity by 12% on the eve of their birthdays Harvard Business Review A birthday blunder at work could prompt a valuable employee to jump ship, a survey shows.
HR leaders and consultants offer the following advice on what managers should consider when recognizing employee birthdays:
Be thoughtful and consistent. Kim Jones, vice president of human resources, said managers must get clear guidance from each employee ahead of time on whether they want their birthday to be recognized because any birthday celebration at work needs to be an “opt-in” “activity. Toshiba America Business Solutions, Louisville, Ky.
For example, some employees do not celebrate birthdays for religious reasons, while others choose not to celebrate for personal reasons, including avoiding potential embarrassment. “Forcing these people to participate can quickly cause problems and can lead to disengagement,” she said.
It’s also important to be consistent. Managers should ensure that the same celebrations are provided for all employees on the team and that employees who want to celebrate their birthdays are not accidentally left out of the rotation. “Allowing one employee to have a happy hour while sending a birthday email to another can lead to hurt feelings and resentment,” Jones said.
Be creative. A one-size-fits-all approach that includes listing birthdays in a monthly email or throwing a pizza party for everyone with a birthday that month will certainly do the job, but it’s not enough to make employees feel truly seen and heard, Morin says. celebrate. Cawley, chief people officer at Saatva, a luxury sleep retailer based in White Rock, N.Y.
Instead, Saatva offers floating birthday leave so employees can spend their birthdays without taking up vacation time. “These small actions can have a big impact,” Cawley said.
personalise. Laura Summer, an HR specialist at Vignette Express, an online shipping company in Katowice, Poland, says a great way to celebrate an employee’s birthday is to send a personalized message and gift card. Summer recommends asking the employee’s team and close colleagues for help in making the message unique.
Another idea is for HR to find out the employee’s favorite candy and place it in the kitchen with a note suggesting coworkers treat themselves to celebrate the employee’s birthday. Summer says this is a very effective way to get happy birthday wishes from colleagues.
admit. Promoting important employee milestones, including birthdays and work anniversaries, is a smart move, says Annie Rosencrans, director of people and culture at New York City-based HR tech company HiBob, which will These dates are included in the company’s several employee directories. For birthdays, be sure to note the month and day, but not the year.
“Adhere to people-oriented [approach] Automatically marking employee birthdays is a great way to create a culture where everyone feels like they belong,” says Rosenkrans.
Find a balance. Kristen Fowler, SHRM-SCP, head of strategic search at Chicago-based global executive search firm Clarke Caniff, suggests that some kind of middle-ground approach might be the smartest way to celebrate an employee’s birthday.
“It’s best to find balance in celebrating your birthday,” Fowler said. “You shouldn’t ignore someone’s milestones, but you also don’t need to go all-out as that can be time-consuming and costly for the company.”
Depending on the size of your organization, she says, you could organize each celebration within a small group or team of colleagues, so there’s no need to acknowledge the birthday to everyone in the company.
Employee recognition. Ingenovis Health, a Cincinnati-based workforce solutions company for the healthcare industry, holds monthly employee recognition events that include birthdays, rather than calling out each employee on their birthday (which some employees don’t want to do). Additional employee birthday celebrations are determined by individual department managers who have unique insights into each employee.
“You really have to understand your employee base,” says Denise Triba, chief human resources officer at Ingenovis. “Good leaders know what works for everyone on their team.”
Know your people. “If you’re a manager and you don’t know who likes or dislikes having their birthday recognized, you have a management problem,” said Joshua Freedman, CEO of Global Six Seconds. explain. Emotional Intelligence non-profit organization based in Liberty, California. The company has 80 employees, and Friedman keeps track of the birthdays of people who report to him on his personal calendar, noting which ones want to acknowledge their birthdays publicly, privately, or not at all.
One way he learns about his employees’ preferences is to ask them, and he asks managers to do the same with their direct reports.
At least, send a card. George Yang, founder of Shanghai-based hyperbaric chamber manufacturer OxygenArk, explains that birthday cards can make an impact and help employees feel valued. That’s why the company gives each employee a birthday card signed by a team of employees and sends digital cards via email to each remote employee, he said.
Bruce Horovitz is a freelance writer living in Falls Church, Virginia.
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