Should You Celebrate Your Employee’s Life Events?

There are moments that change your life forever. I call these before and after moments. For example, when I had my first child – There was a life before kids, and a life after. The loss of my closest aunt. There was a before her death and an after. Marriage and divorce are before/after events. A move across the country can be another one.

The question is – as an employer, should you acknowledge these events and if so, how? Let’s start with the simplest answer. Yes. As an employer, you have a group of people, not robots, who work for you. And people have personal lives. The idea that a person can completely separate their personal life from their work life is antiquated.

Acknowledging major personal life events makes a statement that you care about your employee outside of the confines of work. When so many companies are using their employees, pushing them to the point of burnout, acknowledging life events, and giving your employees the support they need during these seasons, builds trust between you and your team.

Let’s walk through an example. Let’s say a person on your team is getting married. Why should you talk to them about their wedding? This allows the employee to acknowledge the elephant in the room – wedding planning. First, it builds the connection between you and your employee. It also gives them a chance to note any changes that may occur during this time. Perhaps they won’t be able to work outside of work hours until after the ceremony. That’s good to know and plan for as their supervisor, and it makes the employee feel supported and appreciated.

Then, when you give them a wedding gift, you are showing you celebrate this non-work commitment they’ve made. You are happy for them to find happiness outside of their role within your organization. This is another strength-building action.

What are the consequences for not acknowledging the upcoming nuptials? While it may be subtle, or even subconscious, not acknowledging your employee’s big event can create a feeling that your employee can’t bring their “full self” to work. They might work after hours, even though they still have wedding planning to do. This can push them into staying up late and missing sleep. Then…you get it. As an employer or supervisor, it’s best for you to open the door of communication when you see an obvious life event on the horizon. That way you can have this conversation ahead of time.

We created our corporate gift boxes to be suitable for many occasions. Some, like client appreciation gifts, are obvious. But gifts for weddings, major moves, a new baby, or other life events, might be less obvious, and more appreciated because this isn’t as common as holiday gifts. We love seeing the notes come through that offer celebration and comfort through life’s ups and downs.

Have you ever received a gift from your supervisor for a life event? What was it and how did it make you feel?