How to spend a $500 to make the office a happier place

December 14, 2023 8:35 AM

I work out of a satellite office with a small staff (myself and no more than 8 other people on any given day). I was given a $500 gift card and would like to spend it on something that the folks in my office will enjoy. They are also thinking of possibilities and we will select something together next week.

Things we have:
A large fridge that is cleaned weekly
Microwave (replaced this year)
Keurig coffee maker that I maintain and supply pods for

I don't have access to any sort of plumbing or electrical work, and don't have a budget or support to maintain something like a vending machine. I buy lunch for my staff once a week. Everyone on staff is already receiving a bonus, and I will also supplement their bonus out of pocket as well. I have a great staff and it's important to me that I take care of them the best I can throughout the year, so things that can make the office a happier place for all of us will be appreciated.

posted by honeybee413 to Shopping (32 answers total)

Air purifier? White noise machine?
posted by jabes at 8:43 AM on December 14, 2023

How about: mugs for the staff (could be personalized); shelf-stable individual snacks such as these from Bunny James; live plants; an electric kettle and a variety of bagged tea; framed art prints (maybe from a local artist)?
posted by wicked_sassy at 8:47 AM on December 14, 2023

If you don’t have another water source, an office water cooler with one of those giant bottles on top.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:51 AM on December 14, 2023

Does the nature of your work allow you to listen to music? Then some decent wireless speakers for ambient listening and an office subscription to a music streaming service.

Fund 1 in-office happy hour a month (simple snacks, drinks) to start at 4pm on a Thursday. (Or some other time that allows people to enjoy kicking off work hours early, not requiring anyone to stay late.)

A countertop dishwasher.
posted by phunniemee at 8:55 AM on December 14, 2023

A couch
posted by sciencegeek at 9:06 AM on December 14, 2023

If you don't already have an office dishwasher, a small countertop dishwasher for mugs etc. could be a nice addition.
posted by mosst at 9:12 AM on December 14, 2023

Is there anything physically uncomfortable about your space that you can make better with e.g. fans or space heaters for offices, a comfy place to sit on breaks, better lighting, a nice toaster oven?

I'm not sure about the budget on this one but perhaps it would be feasible: A massage therapist to come in as a one-off and offer chair massages on a day when most of the staff will be in? (Note: This one might end up weirdly gendered, a former workplace offered this a few times and it became apparent that only women were signing up for it. The supervisor asked around to figure out if e.g. maybe she needed to be bringing in a male massage therapist too or set it up differently somehow if the men were feeling weird about having a female massage therapist, and it turned out that no, they had apparently just gotten together and decided that the whole concept of getting massages from anyone was unmanly. Their loss, our massage therapist was great! But ultimately that was probably one of the reasons we only did that a few times.)
posted by Stacey at 9:17 AM on December 14, 2023

Do you have any outdoor space you can upgrade (or create)?
posted by lapis at 9:17 AM on December 14, 2023

I'm not sure about the budget on this one but perhaps it would be feasible: A massage therapist to come in as a one-off and offer chair massages on a day when most of the staff will be in?

We had this back pre covid before everyone gave up and went remote. What the company did was subsidize the massage therapist down to a price point people would be happy to use them ($15-20 for a 20 min session depending on the office) and then facilitate deducting the cost of the massage from payroll. So all an employee had to do was sign up, get the massage, and then see the -$20 on their next check, no money had to change hands, no one had to think about tipping, etc.

Also we had a private, locking wellness room where the lights could be dimmed, which I think was key. No one wants to get a massage in view of their coworkers.
posted by phunniemee at 9:22 AM on December 14, 2023

Shelf stable healthy snacks and/or weekly fruit delivery and/or fizzy water in the fridge.
posted by vunder at 9:55 AM on December 14, 2023

Just a small plea on behalf of your colleagues to not buy the white noise machine or speakers. I'm just mildly noise-sensitive and either of those would irritate me wildly at work - headphones were invented for a reason.

I'd go for a pleasant and comfortable break-out space. Comfortable seats, nice lighting, maybe some office plants, if you think you'll manage to look after them.

It's very "90s Google", but if your office includes a space where noise can be contained, maybe some kind of recreational thing like table tennis/Fussbal/a dartboard, if enough people in the office would enjoy and use them and it doesn't become gendered like a reverse of the massages, with all guys playing darts or something.
posted by penguin pie at 10:01 AM on December 14, 2023

Space heaters or fans for the desks, so people can have better temperature control where they sit. A couch. Weekly snack or fruit deliveries?
posted by Toddles at 10:19 AM on December 14, 2023

In office chair massages. one company i worked for had someone come in quarterly.
posted by Silvery Fish at 10:28 AM on December 14, 2023

If I knew in-office massages were happening I'd call in sick that day! But really, all of the suggestions above will probably be thrilling to some staff and abhorrent to other staff. An office vote is a good idea or maybe having the staff rate all the suggestions in order of best to worst and not implementing any of the ones chosen as worst.

Here's an additional suggestion for your list: Every staff member gets to purchase something their office space needs: a plant, artwork, mug, a small fan - each gets their own choice.
posted by mulcahy at 11:16 AM on December 14, 2023

I'd also be looking first and foremost at ways to remediate any existing discomfort (temperature, sound, light). I agree re: not adding in sounds.

I love the couch idea if you have space for it and can find a used one in good condition.

Plants, nicer soap and (very lightly scented or unscented but nice) lotion in the bathrooms, maybe some seasonal decor (literally- like snow/pine tree kind of stuff) to bring some life in and make the space not feel like a bland box, if that is an issue.

I do not want to be massaged at work, even in a special room.
posted by wormtales at 11:16 AM on December 14, 2023

Everyone's favorite snacks that they personally and individually suggest (as long as they're okay having them available at the office). So, not a bag of snack bars, but the things individual folks have requested, available at the office, without them having to get them.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:28 AM on December 14, 2023

Air purifier to reduce smells (musty? someone brought fish for lunch? bathroom smells in that hallway?)

A way to add privacy to one small space (e.g., for private phone calls), or to everyone's space (like privacy screens, white noise, etc.)

An electric kettle to heat water

A free-standing water dispenser and a year's worth of supply

An array of fancy food or a big box of treats for them to divide up and take home for the holidays

Replace fluorescent overhead lighting with task lighting and/or softer yellower lights
posted by wenestvedt at 12:25 PM on December 14, 2023

choice of personal space heater or fan for each person? Or both, if folks have big workspaces that would allow it.

(massage is one of those things that sounds good but in practice is unlikely to really be compatible with the mood of a functioning office, in my experience. I have work to do at work; and when it's done I want to go home.)

fruit delivery is really nice for most people, although I've seen them go heavy on the red delicious apples, which are really only good for horses.
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:27 PM on December 14, 2023

Plants, they purify the air and reduce stress. Also some nice lighting if your office usually has flourescents.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:10 PM on December 14, 2023

choice of personal space heater or fan for each person?

Probably the facilities guy or office manager or whomever would veto space heaters: they tend to trip circuit breakers when grouped on a single electrical circuit. (Plus, from personal experience doing desk side IT, many people run them under the desk near their damn smelly feet, and it smells.)

I would go for plants and an air-scrubber instead, plus maybe a Purple brand gel seat cushion.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:12 PM on December 14, 2023

I was super skeptical when my office upgraded things in our break room (added a pretty throw rug, bought a nice table with storage for the appliances and dishware, put out nice mugs and baskets for snacks, etc) but it did really make the whole space so much more pleasant!
posted by TwoStride at 1:32 PM on December 14, 2023

Nice bathroom things, if you haven’t already done that, or just standard things that people generally expect to find in a home bathroom and are too rarely found in office bathrooms: tampons, pads, deodorant, hairspray, wet wipes, toothpaste, moisturiser. Good lighting for touching up makeup. My favourite office bathroom ever had a hairdryer & straighteners, years ago, I barely remember the job anymore but that stood out.
posted by conkystconk at 1:52 PM on December 14, 2023

In the space heater vein - a stack of fluffy blankets, possibly company-branded. And an umbrella stand with generic cheap umbrellas if anyone takes public transport or has a longer walk to a car. (Both are based on some of the best company gifts I got.)

Plants are good but make sure someone takes care of them. You may luck out and they're someone's hobby already - in that case get that person's buy-in on what kind of plants. Personally I just can't with succulents for example, while another green thumb I know reliably kills ferns.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 1:53 PM on December 14, 2023

Fishtank. I love going into someone's office and seeing fish. It's so nice to have office pets.
posted by mygothlaundry at 2:20 PM on December 14, 2023

Air purifier for smells and, you know, COVID. Plus let people who would like white noise sit nearer it.
posted by clew at 2:25 PM on December 14, 2023

Not sure if you're interested in one-time only stuff but adding a few options on that front:
- catered breakfast/brunch party with fancy food and maybe something they can take home
- some kind of joyful group activity that also involves getting out of work early (bowling, axe throwing, cooking class, etc.)
- bring in a speaker/trainer/interesting person and have a workshop with delicious snacks

For something that lasts longer:
- GPT4 subscriptions for everyone
- If people listen to music on headphones while working, Spotify (or other music) subscriptions for all
- Books relevant to your work to have around the office - basically create a lending library
- Magazine/newspaper/digital subscriptions relevant to your work
- Toaster oven
- Office hammock
- Chill break out area with comfy seating (really depends on your space)
- Wider selection of food/snacks/drinks
posted by luzdeluna at 2:44 PM on December 14, 2023

Hepa filters
posted by aniola at 4:12 PM on December 14, 2023

Thanks to replies in this thread I now own a Zojirushi water boiler and feel like I live in luxury because I can make tea any time I want. No waiting. Just dispense the hot water on the tea. Would also work well in an office setting for instant oatmeal or soups or other things that use hot water!
posted by hilaryjade at 6:13 PM on December 14, 2023

Flower or fruit box subscription
posted by like_neon at 5:04 AM on December 15, 2023

How about a field trip somewhere (on work time)? A friend of mine was telling me that her workgroup got a new manager and that the manager had sent out a request for activities that they would like to do--real pie-in-the-sky stuff, like going to Antarctica or making cookies in all 50 states. She collated them and discovered that all the responses had a common theme of wanting to see animals in more wild surroundings so they ended up taking the group on an outing to a large animal refuge about an hour from their office that is basically a safari park. It was very popular. Obviously you would want to tailor the activity to individual physical limitations and local attractions.

Other than that, I'd second the recommendation for really nice mugs and maybe a Nespresso or an inexpensive espresso machine.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 3:40 PM on December 15, 2023

$500 worth of HEPA filtration machines to keep the office air scrubbed of germs.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:59 PM on December 16, 2023

Or $350 worth of air-scrubber, and a lot of replacement filters!
posted by wenestvedt at 7:50 AM on December 18, 2023