Top 12 Holiday Gift Ideas for Employees

Employee gift ideas from Back Market

Looking for a few Christmas gift ideas for your staff or maybe you decided that you want to show a little appreciation for one or two of your employees? It can definitely be difficult to shop for one of your workers, but depending on your budget, you might consider a few of these tech gift ideas. Electronics might seem like higher priced gifts, but they don't always have to be and Back Market can help make sure of that.

Back Market is an e-commerce platform for refurbished electronics from your favorite brands, such as Apple, Samsung, Google and Sony. We work with a team of professional refurbishers to give a second life to used electronics, giving you an alternative to spending top dollar on buying the newest devices. We work with only certified refurbishers that meet our high quality standards to ensure our customers can’t even tell the difference between a new and a refurbished device. You get the savings and the planet catches a break from megatons of electronic waste.

Whether or not you’re on board with gifting refurbished, this gift guide should still help give you a few ideas on what to get for your employees.

1. A Tablet: The crowd pleaser

Tablets are a great holiday gift idea especially if you have several employees because they're incredibly versatile and an easy crowd pleaser. They're great for reading, watching movies, browsing the internet, playing games, and listening to music. Plus, they make connecting with friends and family more effortless than ever via social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. You can also use your tablet for work by storing documents or using popular apps such as Word or Excel to complete tasks at home when a computer isn't available. 

The best part is you can still gift these without needing to set a high budget when you shop for refurbished tablets. For example, you can currently find the Galaxy Tab 8.0 or a 4th Generation iPad for under $50 on Back Market!

2. AirPods: The best employee stocking-stuffer

For lots of people, life revolves around music, and a productive working environment can be optimized with some background noise to enhance focus. Everybody has experienced the frustrating mess of earbud wires, especially when pressed for time. All of these issues are solved with AirPods, which makes them a small, but still amazing gift for your employee.

AirPods are wireless Bluetooth devices compatible with a laptop or smartphone. They are lightweight, simple to use, and compatible with the voice assistant, Siri. They're a lifesaver for zoom meetings and can be utilized outside of the work environment as well (great for your employee who likes to workout during the week). 

Apple products tend to be more expensive, but you can save a little extra on your holiday budget when you shop at Back Market. You can currently find 2nd Gen Apple AirPods for under $85.

3. Headphones: More budget-friendly audio gifts for bigger offices

If you like the idea of gifting AirPods, but Apple products are slightly out of your holiday budget because you have a bigger office, then you can always find great alternatives with wireless headphones. To effectively reduce ambient noise in a work setting, noise-canceling headphones are highly recommended and can help keep your employees focused.

They make excellent gifts for employees in management, accounting, law offices or any other professions who need to pay close attention to detail. Plus, users can enjoy the hands-free functionality to make calls. Back Market has a range of Bluetooth headphones from companies like Beats by Dre, Sony, and JBL. You can currently find some great options on Back Market for as low as $20, giving you more flexibility to find the right price in your budget.

4. Smartwatch: a Must-Have for all Tech-Savvy Employees

A smartwatch might be the perfect gift idea for your employee if you have a slightly bigger budget and want to give them something they’ll use every day. 

Smartwatches keep all the information and data about your activity right there on your wrist. The added connectivity to your other devices will make sure you never miss a meeting, email or notification. But more importantly, it will put your employees health at the forefront especially with newer models that can track stress levels, heart rates and sleep patterns.

This makes smartwatches a great present for employees who are into sports and exercise, or for employees who love great tech. Back Market has some of the most popular brands including Fitbit, Apple Watch, Samsung Watch and Garmin with prices starting from $45.

5. Video Game Console: A welcome upgrade to your office space (and culture)

Sometimes a great gift is one that will influence your employee’s work environment. While you might not have the budget to give all your employees a gaming console, you can always add one to your communal space and bring some excitement to the office. Video games offer a great way to unwind, learn new skills, and even increase employee communication. Video games have lots of positive benefits, as they can improve cognitive functions that will enhance concentration, and develop problem-solving abilities, logic, hand-eye coordination, and multi-tasking abilities, but at the end of the day, it can just be a great way for employees to blow off steam. 

The three main gaming consoles in the market today are Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo. All 3 are great options, but the Nintendo Switch might give you the best options for fun, friendly gaming in the office.

6. Retro Camera: For the nostalgic photographers

Making joyful memories is essential to living a long life. For a creative employee or a lover of art, a camera is an excellent holiday gift idea, especially if they have an appreciation for retro things. They can even place their favorite framed photos on their desk, to make their work environment feel more personal (if they haven’t done so already). 

Kodak cameras make a great retro gift and you can find a few options on Back Market currently for around $30.

7. Radio Alarm: A fun throwback gift

Considering all the deadlines your staff might have to meet for their meetings, and other commitments, a radio alarm will help them to efficiently manage their time. But other than that, it’s a fun, unique, throwback gift from an all but forgotten piece of technology. These days, some radio alarms have some added functionality to connect to your devices or even make video calls, so the technology has come a long way.

We have a few different radio alarms available at Back Market from as low as $19.99, but you can find fancier ones as well for around $150.

8. iRobot Vacuum: For the employee always dealing with pet hair

If your employee has a dog or cat that sheds non-stop, then an iRobot vacuum might just be the most thoughtful gift that they’ll truly appreciate. It’s a little on the higher priced side, but this is something that can offer a lot of convenience to their daily life. Currently Back Market has a Wi-Fi connected Roomba for around $175, which would allow your employee to control and schedule their vacuum at convenient times.

9. Ninja Blender: For the employee who always packs their lunch

If you have an employee who loves to cook their own food or that you’ve noticed always tends to pack their lunch when they’re in the office, then giving a kitchen appliance as a gift might be a thoughtful option. The Ninja Blender in particular is highly regarded as a great brand on the market and has the versatility to give any chef an extra hand in the kitchen. Back Market currently has Ninja Blenders in a few different colors for $49.95

10. iPhone: Go big for the employee with an outdated phone

Gifting an iPhone to an employee definitely might be a bit overkill, but if you have the budget and you have an employee that deserves something nice, then it will definitely be a gift they won’t soon forget. Especially if your employee is still using a phone from 2015 with screen cracks so big, that you wonder how it still works. 

We do understand, however, that Apple can be an expensive brand, particularly when it comes to their smartphones. Back Market can help you find great iPhones for less that still work as good as new (your employee likely won’t be able to tell the difference). For example, you can currently find the iPhone XR for as low as $180, the iPhone 11 and 12 for around $250 and even the more recent iPhone 13 series from $449.

11. iPhone Cases: Creative, low-budget gifts

So maybe gifting an iPhone is out of the question (completely understandable) and you’ve noticed that your employee already has a nice, updated smartphone. If you're looking for a budget-friendly gift for an employee, why not choose a fun, patterned smartphone case? We stock a variety of modern and stylish customizable cases. You can find something distinctive and appealing to suit your employee's taste and personality. 

Back Market has over 100 smartphone cases to choose from, but just make sure you get the right model to match your employee’s phone :)

12. iMacs: A generous gift for employee of the year

Our last and biggest gift idea for your employee is the iMac. This is certainly the highest price item on our list and should only be considered for a deserving employee (potentially the employee of the year!).

The iMac is definitely a welcome upgrade to anyone’s work space especially for remote employees. iMacs have an elegant minimalistic design with a built-in keyboard and mouse, as well as a camera and microphone. iMacs are ideal for working, browsing the internet, gaming, and streaming TV and movies, plus the speakers offer great sound quality for listening to music. The long battery life makes it a practical option that works for both the office and the home. We have a few more affordable iMac options from earlier generations starting under $200, but if you have the budget, you should consider more recent and advanced models (for only your best employees!) which can range from $600 to over $2,000.

Benefits of gifting refurbished tech to employees

If you’re still unsure about buying refurbished gifts, here are a few reasons to reconsider:

• Refurbished tech is not the same as used tech. Refurbished products are previously used electronics that have been repaired, cleaned and tested so you can trust their performance to be similar to new.

• All products sold on Back Market come with a 12 month warranty and 30 days to change your mind, so you can have confidence that your device will perform as expected or otherwise be covered under warranty.

• We offer free standard shipping on all purchases (no hidden or unexpected fees when you go to check out).

• Your purchase will actively promote a more circular economy that discourages manufacturers from using limited resources to constantly create new products.

• Back Market offers a Buyback program where you can sell us your old smartphone, tablet, game console or headphones, which will put more cash in your pocket while giving your old device a second life after we repair it. More money for you, less e-waste for the environment (win-win!)

Giving your employees a gift is not always necessary, but it can go a long way to show your appreciation for their hard work throughout the year. A gift big or small can have the same impact if you give it some thought and effort. Surprise your staff this Christmas with a gift or two from our shop that is 70% less expensive than brand-new items. 

We hope this list has given you some inspiration for employee gifts during Christmas or any other Holiday season.  Your staff work hard all year, and the holiday period is the perfect time to let them know that they're valued. Happy shopping!