Finding fun, motivational, yet inexpensive office gifts in bulk to recognize your co-workers is no simple task. We’ll help you reward your employees with awesome swag without blowing your budget.

June 5, 2019ByLeo Victor

Employee Appreciation Gift Ideas Under $4 They’ll Love

Employee appreciation is a must. Even though there is a specific day set aside in the Untied States for employee appreciation, it really is something that needs to be practiced every day. When employees are recognized for their hard work, they will continue to treat your company like their own and take care of you and your customers.

“How people are paid rarely matters in terms of employee job satisfaction,” according to Ladders. “How employees feel about their job and coworkers matters so much more.”

This is not a fluke as studies have backed it up. Including a more recent one by Glassdoor which showed that “more than 80 percent of employees say they’re motivated to work harder when their boss shows appreciation for their work, compared to less than 40 percent who are inspired to work harder when their boss is demanding or because they fear losing their job.”

Showing your appreciation to employees can take many forms but doing something that is unexpected such as giving them an inexpensive gift is a great gesture. Doing so can be very motivating for employees and can be done using personalized promotional products.

We are going to show you a few employee appreciation gift ideas later in this article. However, we want to start by telling you how appreciation gifts really do work.

Why Motivational Gifts for Employees Work

Promotional products are not just looked at as salary or benefits. They can be personal and are appreciated by employees. Why? Because of their usefulness. Its not like receiving a fruit cake for Christmas. People enjoy and will actually use promotional items.

In fact, approximately 90 percent of consumers report owning multiple promotional items. Why so many? Because these items are useful. It was also reported that less than 30 percent of people throw away promotional items even if they don’t find it useful with the rest either keeping the product or passing it along to someone who will.

“Consistently giving gifts (tangible or not!) is the perfect reminder that you care about your employees as human beings.” – Inc.com

The three things people look for in a gift can all be found in promotional items. Those are quality, usefulness, and attractiveness. All of the employee appreciation gift ideas we will talk about include personalization. This means you can customize any of these products to fit all three of these categories so your employees will appreciate them even more.

While there are a ton of corporate gift ideas we can mention, we want to focus more on inexpensive gift ideas for employees. All of these are under $4 each. Many of them even less expensive.

Coffee Mugs and Travel Cups

Custom coffee mugs are a great gift for employees. They are useful and can be ordered in a variety of styles and colors. The cost for mugs can range anywhere from $1 on up depending on the style. If you want to purchase bulk gifts for employees, coffee mugs should be at the top of your list.

Here are some of the styles that we offer for customization:

People are always on the go and your employees are no different. As such, consider giving a travel mug as a motivational gift. Travel mugs are designed to keep hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold. They come in plastic, aluminum, or stainless-steel designs.

Eco-Friendly Seed Pens

Just like the name implies, these are custom ink pens with seeds that actual grow plants. Show your employees that you not only care about them, but also the environment.

Seed pens are made from biodegradable plastic so there is less plastic waste when disposed of down the road. They are budget friendly as they cost under $1 each depending on the quantity ordered.

The seed is held in the cap of the pen and can be planted at any time. You can choose the type of seed that comes with them including Basil, Sage, Thyme, Parsley, Arugula, Tomato, or Coriander. Not only are these pens useful, they are unique. Your employees will be talking about these for weeks.

We also offer a full line of eco-friendly promotional items such as reusable straws and bags.

Stress Balls

If you really want to show your appreciation, give your employees some stress balls. Stress at work can cause stress at home and vice versa. “All this worrying at work can have serious consequences for out quality of life,” according to Thrive Global. “not only at the office, but everywhere else as well.”

Stress balls can help reduce stress in the office. “The act of repeatedly squeezing the ball releases tension and helps to relieve stress,” writes Livestrong. They can also be used for physical therapy and help with people who always need to be doing something.

Stress balls come in more shapes than just spheres. You can order them in the shape of cell phones, footballs, dice, fortune cookies, light bulbs, and many more. Stress balls are great bulk gifts for employees as the more you buy the more you save. These are one of the inexpensive motivational gifts for employees that will not break your budget.

Sports Towels

Speaking of stress, did you know that exercise can also help you relax? According to Harvard Medical School, “Exercise reduces stress hormones and stimulates production of endorphins, which together help foster relaxation.”

Employees often exercise before or after work to help them relieve their daily stress and stay healthy. Show them you care by giving them a custom sport towel they can use for their workout.

Some of the best sport towels you can buy for under $4 include:

Virtual Reality Glasses

Yes, you can absolutely add virtual reality glasses to the list of employee appreciation gift ideas. And no, they won’t cost you an arm and a leg. There are many styles you can choose from for under $4. One of the most popular custom VR glasses are the Google Cardboard which can be purchased for less than two dollars depending on the quantity you order.

78% of Americans are now familiar with virtual reality technology. However, very few have actually tried it. It is still coming mainstream and some people think its too expensive (without checking the actual prices). Giving away a pair of these to employees will allow them to try out VR without having to invest their own money. Who knows? You may put them onto something they will enjoy for years to come.

Custom Ankle Socks

Brightly colored and bold, unique sock designs have become a global phenomenon that companies are taking advantage of from a branding standpoint. People always need a new pair of socks, and when you pair your logo with on trend designs and patterns, your employees will love wearing them while showing your brand off in the process.

Typically, crew style custom socks can cost over $10/pair, but our full color pantone matched custom ankle socks are now available for under $4, which makes them one of the best options among our budget friendly products. Custom socks have been huge hits for companies from trade shows to new employee welcome kits. With pantone matching included with our ankle sock, you can be sure your logo will pop the way you intended it to.

Ink Pens

We already covered seed pens, but what about regular ink pens? It may sound cheap and not thoughtful, but ink pens are truly a gift that employees will enjoy. Why? Because they are useful. In fact, nearly nine out of 10 consumers in the United States own a custom ink pen.

If you don’t think they are worth it, consider this. Ink pens are kept an average of nine months. This means that people are using them and not throwing them away. This shows that there are useful. In addition, 20 percent of consumers report owning 10 or more promotional pens. This means that one out of five people have multiple promotional pens.

Another great thing about ink pens is the cost. You can purchase an executive style pen or pen set and still be under $4. That way, you can give nice pen gift sets to you employees which look expensive, but don’t break your budget.

Last Word on Employee Appreciation Gift Ideas

There is never a bad time to show your employees that you appreciate them. An employee who feels appreciated is more likely to do a better job than someone working simply for the salary and benefits. Using promotional items is a great way to show such appreciation.

Give your employees something useful so they will feel you thought of them personally. For more ideas, you can also browse through our Swag Under $1 section on the main website.

Also, consider creating a corporate gift store so that you don’t have to purchase bulk gifts for employees. We keep the inventory for you, so you don’t have to store anything. We also take care of the shipping for you so you can focus on your business. Company stores are a great way to reward employees for a job well-done or a simple appreciation gift at the right time.

Finally, you can always reach out to us for more employee appreciation gift ideas. Our specialists are here to provide you with multiple ideas to fit your style and budget.