Employee Appreciation Week 2026: How UCI Health Turned Recognition Into Employee Value

Employee Appreciation Week 2026 has just wrapped up, and if your LinkedIn feed Employee Appreciation Week gives employers a dedicated moment to recognize their workforce, but meaningful appreciation needs to work across different schedules, locations, and employee interests. In 2026, UCI and UCI Health incorporated Great Work Perks into Co-Worker Appreciation Week, adding exclusive discounts and employee offers to a broader week of recognition.

The campaign provides a real example of how employee perk platforms can complement traditional appreciation efforts by giving employees access to savings and experiences they can use beyond a single event or workplace celebration.

Case Study: How UCI Health Extended Employee Appreciation With Great Work Perks

In March 2026, UCI and UCI Health held Co-Worker Appreciation Week to recognize employees across the organization. Great Work Perks supported the initiative as the employee savings platform, giving co-workers access to a dedicated selection of discounts across attractions, venues, theme parks, and other experiences.

With Great Work Perks serving as the perks and savings solution for the campaign, UCI Health was able to:

  • Launch Discount Deals Week: Great Work Perks helped open the campaign with a dedicated selection of employee discounts across attractions, venues, theme parks, and other experiences.
  • Exclusive Employee Rewards: UCI Health worked with Great Work Perks to make an exclusive Disney discount available as part of the appreciation campaign.
  • Extend Appreciation Across the Workforce: Great Work Perks made the discount component of the campaign available to all UCI and UCI Health co-workers, helping the organization pair recognition with tangible savings employees could access beyond a single celebration or on-site event.


Giving Employees More Choice With Great Work Perks Gift Cards

Great Work Perks Gift Cards give employers a flexible way to recognize employees while allowing recipients more choice in how they use their reward. Rather than assigning the same gift or experience to everyone, employers can give employees access to options that better reflect different interests and preferences.

  • More Choice in How Employees Use Their Reward: Employees can put their reward toward experiences that fit their interests, from movie nights and family outings to major theme parks and attractions. That gives employers a way to recognize great work while giving employees the freedom to choose what feels rewarding to them.
  • Fast Digital Delivery: Great Work Perks Gift Cards can be delivered by email or SMS, giving employers a convenient way to recognize employees without relying on physical distribution.
  • Flexibility Beyond Experiences: Great Work Perks can support a broader range of employee interests with reward options that extend beyond entertainment, including popular gift cards such as Amazon or Starbucks. This gives employers a more adaptable recognition tool without relying on a single type of reward.

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Employers can also customize the digital delivery with company branding and personalized thank-you messages, making the reward feel more personal and more clearly tied to the company’s appreciation.

Why Choice, Reach, and Practical Value Matter in Employee Appreciation

Employee appreciation is more effective when it reflects how employees actually live, work, and spend. Giving employees more choice, extending recognition across locations, and pairing appreciation with practical savings can make recognition more relevant across a diverse workforce.

  • Recognition That Fits Different Employees: Instead of assigning the same reward to everyone, employers can give employees more choice across travel, entertainment, local experiences, and everyday savings. That flexibility helps recognition feel more relevant to different interests, lifestyles, and priorities.
  • Value Across Locations and Travel: For employers with distributed workforces, Great Work Perks can support appreciation across 45+ countries while giving employees access to savings that extend beyond their immediate location. Employees can find value across hotels, travel, attractions, entertainment, and local experiences, making the benefit useful both where they live and when they travel.
  • Practical Value Beyond the Moment: Employee discounts can help employees save on travel, entertainment, local experiences, and everyday purchases. This allows employers to pair recognition with practical savings employees can continue to use beyond a single appreciation event.

Extending Employee Appreciation Beyond One Week

Employee Appreciation Week may last a few days, but recognition can continue throughout the year. Great Work Perks gives employers a way to connect savings, rewards, and communications with recurring employee milestones, seasonal needs, and other moments that matter to their workforce.

1. Recognize Employee Milestones

Work anniversaries, birthdays, project completions, and other milestones create natural opportunities to recognize employees throughout the year. Employers can use rewards and experiences to make those moments more timely, personal, and relevant.

2. Keep the Program Relevant Throughout the Year

Dedicated account management can help employers plan communications around seasonal moments, new offers, and changing employee interests. Travel season, back-to-school savings, holidays, and local events create recurring opportunities to surface relevant savings and keep the program useful throughout the year.

3. Use Engagement Insights to Improve Future Campaigns

For employers using reporting and engagement tools, program activity can show which categories and offers are attracting the most employee interest. HR teams can use those insights to refine communications, prioritize relevant offers, and shape future appreciation campaigns around demonstrated employee interests.

Summary

Employee Appreciation Week 2026 offers one example of how UCI and UCI Health used Great Work Perks to extend employee recognition beyond a single event. During Co-Worker Appreciation Week, employees received access to exclusive discounts and savings across attractions, theme parks, venues, and other experiences.

Great Work Perks gives employers a flexible way to connect employee appreciation with choice, practical savings, and year-round recognition. Employers can use the platform across appreciation weeks, employee milestones, seasonal campaigns, and other recognition moments to make rewards and savings more relevant to different employee interests and needs.

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