Author: Leah Stephens

Spring has officially sprung and there is no time like the present to get out into your community and volunteer. April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month, so there will be countless opportunities to volunteer throughout this month. Here at Swoovy, we encourage you to utilize our services to promote volunteerism within your company, whether that looks like providing employees with incentives for volunteerism or setting a goal for your company’s engagement in volunteerism.

National Volunteer Appreciation Month

National Volunteer Appreciation Month is an extension of an already existing holiday, National Volunteer Appreciation Week, which dates to the 1940s. Each April time is taken to acknowledge volunteers and give thanks to all that they do for their community every day. We believe that this acknowledgement and appreciation should not only be shown in April, but each day. By showing your employees gratitude for their volunteerism through your company, employees are not only happier, but also display increased productivity at work.

How Appreciation is Processed in The Body

The brain is an incredibly part of the body and everything that we do and say effects what happens within the brain. Showing appreciation is one of the most amazing ways to produce chemicals in the brain that effect our happiness. When we are shown gratitude, our brains produce dopamine, which is the chemical in our brain that makes us feel happy. This release of dopamine and inherent increase in happiness drives us to crave the feeling repeatedly. This desire to feel that jolt of happiness pushes us to perform the act again and to do it even better than it was done before. Showing employees gratitude for their volunteerism is a mutually beneficial act, the employees feel happy, while the company benefits from increased motivation to. This is a great thing to keep in mind in the workplace while encouraging employees and showing appreciation for all that they do. Additionally, the brain produces serotonin, also known as a happy chemical, when gratitude is felt . Serotonin releases in the brain to trigger the sensation of happiness within the body. Science has proved, yet again, that by focusing on the positive, we can increase the happiness of ourselves and of those around us. By showing appreciation towards your employees for their volunteerism, you trigger happy chemicals in the brains of your employees and your own brain- it’s a win-win scenario.

The Inherent Effect of Appreciation on Employee Engagement and Volunteerism

When appreciation is shown to employees, they are more likely to repeat the action that led them to receiving that token of appreciation because of the way that appreciation triggers brain chemical to produce happiness. When employees feel appreciated by their company, they feel like the work that they are doing is valuable to those around them thus keeping them

• Engaged

• Motivated

• Striving to improve in effort to feel appreciated again

While keeping employees happy, engaged, and motivated is very important, there is another very valuable benefit to showing appreciation to employees for their work and their engagement in volunteerism, employee loyalty. A great deal of employees, 66% to be exact , have admitted to leaving their job because of a lack of appreciation shown to them. Showing appreciation to your employees and volunteers has the power to improve your company’s happiness, engagement, motivation, and loyalty.

Implementing Appreciation in Your Company

Throughout this month, I encourage you to display appreciation to the volunteers in your workplace and in your community for all that they do. The gratitude that you show and the appreciation that they receive will encourage engagement and improvement tremendously. So, don’t forget to say “thank you” to those around you and even surprise them with a latte, a gift card, or any other gift to show your thanks for all that they do not only during this National Volunteer Appreciation Month, but throughout the year as well.