As the strict lockdown measures are gradually lifted, now is a good time to say thank you to employees, colleagues or line managers. Read about how you can express your appreciation while simultaneously supporting the food service industry, which has been hit especially hard.
Flexibility required
The step-by-step relaxation of the coronavirus restrictions is enabling many of us to breathe a sigh of relief. Children – at least some of them – are able to return to school or kindergarten, people who live alone can stop working from home and return to the office, and restaurants are allowed to reopen, provided that they comply with the relevant safety measures.
At a business level, employees have had to demonstrate a great deal of flexibility. Some were working from home for the first time, some even suffered pay cuts having been put on short-time working, and others faced the difficult task of combing work and childcare responsibilities. It is hard to express thanks and appreciation by video call or over the phone. For that reason, it is now time to show our gratitude by other means.
Expressing our appreciation
Appreciation can be shown in many ways and by small gestures. Say thank you to your employees for their flexibility and commitment because this was and still is an exceptional situation. As employees, you should thank your line managers for their support, as they too are likely to have been under a lot of pressure. Show an interest and ask how the person you are talking to is doing – how did it feel to work from home? What was problematic? How are their projects coming along?
Empathy improves everyone’s sense of well-being and creates a good working atmosphere. Fears are allayed and people become more open-minded and positive when it comes to accepting challenges and changes.
Everyone appreciates small gestures of gratitude. Whether it’s your line manager, your colleague or a special business partner – a little present will make the other person feel important and appreciated.
Supporting the food service industry
Despite virtual after-work drinks and video calls, genuine social contact has been greatly missed. We can now fully appreciate one another’s facial expressions and gestures again, enjoy a good laugh together, and hear each other properly as the problem of a poor connection becomes a thing of the past. These are small matters that few of us valued until recently.
The food service industry also depends on togetherness and social contact, which is why this sector was hit particularly hard. Employers who enable their employees to enjoy a healthy lunch break through Lunch-Check meal subsidies are actively supporting the food service industry in the present crisis. In addition to regular contributions towards meals, there is also the option of thanking employees for their excellent work, friends for their moral support and business partners for the good working relationship in these difficult times with a gift card. On request, gift cards can even be personalised.
Because Lunch-Check is accepted as a means of payment at 8,000 catering/restaurant businesses, the recipient will be able to choose from a wide range of acceptance points and the revenues generated will support the food service industry throughout Switzerland. Recipients can decide for themselves whether they want to support their favourite restaurant in the town they live in or their preferred take-away near their workplace, for example. This type of support will also have a lasting impact as Lunch-Check gift cards have no expiry date – in other words, people who are still concerned about going to a restaurant in the current situation can simply redeem the balance at a later date.
With every “thank you”, we make our fellow humans’ day a little bit better and with every gift card and every visit to a restaurant, we support the food service industry on its long journey back to normality and help to preserve our country’s highly varied restaurant scene.