How Ecard Helps To Build A Joyful, High-Performing Workplace

What actually makes people look forward to logging in or walking into work every day?

It is usually not just salary, promotions, or perks. Most employees simply want to feel noticed. When someone takes a moment to recognize their effort, it changes how they feel about their work and the people they work with. Without that recognition, even a good job can start to feel routine and disconnected.

That is where ecards step in. They make appreciation feel easy, personal, and a little more fun than a quick email or chat message. A simple, thoughtful ecard can turn an ordinary workday into a positive moment that employees remember and carry with them.

In this article, we will look at how ecards create those joyful moments, why workplace joy influences performance more than many organizations realize, and how teams can use small acts of recognition to build stronger, more connected workplaces.

Key Takeaways

• Joy directly influences business performance.
  Employee joy drives engagement, productivity, retention, and profitability. It is not abstract culture talk but a measurable workplace lever.
  
• Joy is actionable; happiness is not.
  Employers cannot control long-term happiness, but they can intentionally create moments of joy through recognition and appreciation.
  
• Recognition creates lasting emotional impact.
  Timely, personal acknowledgment changes how employees feel about their work and their place within the organization.
  
• Ecards outperform everyday workplace communication.
  Unlike emails and chat messages, ecards are rare, memorable, and designed to create an emotional connection.
  
• Personalization and peer involvement increase impact.
  Recognition feels meaningful when it is specific and reinforced by colleagues, not just managers.
  
• Consistent joy-building strengthens culture and results.
  Organizations that normalize recognition see stronger performance and lower turnover over time.

What is Joy? A Science-Backed Explanation

According to science, joy is an intense feeling of positive emotion.

You experience something pleasurable in life; your body releases a combination of serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin into your brain; and you feel like you’re on top of the world.

Contrary to popular belief, joy and happiness are not the same thing, though they are similar. Joy is a momentary feeling caused by neurotransmitters in the body’s central nervous system.

Why is Joy Important in the Modern Workplace?

Now that we know what joy is, let’s talk about why it’s important. Here are five proven reasons to introduce more joy into your workplace. Trust us, you’ll be glad you did!

Engagement

Only 31% of U.S. employees are actively engaged in 2025. This number is down 2% from last year. (Though, it is 10% higher than the rest of the world, so… Winning?)

Employee engagement leads to increased productivity, performance, and retention, as you’ll soon see. Fortunately, there are many ways to increase engagement metrics for your company. For example, you could build an employee recognition program based on group cards.

Productivity

Lorman found that happy employees are 12% more productive than unhappy employees.

While you can’t make someone happy, human happiness is dictated by many factors outside your control, as we already discussed, you can give them moments of joy. An ecard here, an employee award there, a bonus at the end of the year. These small things add up in a big way.

When you inject joy into your workplace, you’ll motivate your team to work harder. This will help them get more done in less time, which will bump your team’s productivity to new heights.

Performance

Joy will help your employees get more done in less time. But will their quality of work suffer? If a study by Harvard Business Review is to be believed, their performance will increase.

According to HBR, companies with joyful employees outdo their competitors by 20%.

What if the occasional “Happy Birthday!” or “Congratulations!” ecard helped your team feel joy and outperform its rivals in a significant way? You would be interested in that, right? Absolutely! Stick around, we’ll talk about the power of ecards (and how to make them) soon.

Retention

Employees who enjoy their work are 49% less likely to seek alternative employment.

This makes perfect sense. Why look for a new job when you like the one you have? There are very few reasons to make this kind of change, which is why most employees don’t.

You’re probably wondering, “How do I make sure my team is happy in their work?” Simple: you give them jobs that align with their skill sets and preferences; then you recognize them for their contributions.

Doing so could save your company money, as it can cost up to 150% of a departing employee’s annual salary to replace them. That’s a lot of cash!

Profitability

Guess what happens when employees engage in their work, produce better results faster, and stick around longer? That’s right, company profitability goes up.

Your marketers will drive more leads. Your sales reps will close more deals. And your support associates will help retain more customers. You won’t have to hire and train new employees as often, either. All of these things will make sure your company keeps more money.

3 Reasons Ecards Bring More Joy to Employees

As mentioned, ecards (sometimes stylized ecards) are a fantastic way to bring joy to the workplace, much better than emails and Slack messages. 

Here are three reasons why:

Ecards are Rare

You receive emails and Slack every day. In fact, you probably feel like you’re drowning in these forms of office communication. Every ping on your phone sends shivers down your spine.

When was the last time you received a digital greeting card? For many people, the answer is, “Never.” For others, it’s “Not for a long time.” The truth is, ecards are way (WAY!) more rare than emails and chat app messages. Because of this, they’re more fun to receive, which creates joy. 

Ecards are Fun to Make

Ecards aren’t just a joy to receive, they’re fun to make. Have you ever been excited to send a work-related email? (No, the message telling your old boss that you quit and he can “stick it where the sun don’t shine” doesn’t count.)

Do you look forward to “Slackin’ it up” all day? Sure, you like to communicate with your team, and chat apps make it easier. But you don’t feel warm and fuzzy when you use these tools.

The act of creating an ecard is a different experience. The process is fun because it allows you to express your creativity. It also gives you quick access to funny images, memes, and other forms of media.

Plus, you know the whole time you’re making the ecard that your recipient will love it. These things elevate ecards above emails and chat messages, at least in terms of fun.

Ecards Last for Longer

Remember when Tim emailed you about that one thing on that one day? Of course, you don’t.

Emails and chat messages are incredibly forgettable, mostly because we receive them all day long, so they aren’t special. Past conversations are also a pain to dig up on these channels.

Ecards are in a different league. People remember who sent them a virtual greeting card, the reason for the communication, and what the digital note said. They might even reread them in the future, just to boost their mood. That’s not something we typically say about emails.

How Ecards Fit Naturally Into Everyday Workflows

Ecards fit naturally into everyday workflows because they do not require teams to change how they already communicate.

One of the biggest reasons recognition initiatives fail is not a lack of intent, but a poor fit within daily routines. When appreciation feels like an extra task, it quickly gets pushed aside. 

Ecards solve this by blending into existing communication channels, allowing teams to share recognition in the same spaces where they already collaborate. This makes appreciation easier to deliver, more consistent, and far more likely to become part of the workplace culture.

What Makes Ecards Easy To Adopt At Scale:

• They match how modern teams already operate
  Ecards align with digital-first work environments, whether teams are remote, hybrid, or distributed across locations.
  
• They remove timing pressure
  Recognition does not need to happen in real time. Contributors can add messages when it suits them, making participation more inclusive.
  
• They lower the barrier to participation
  Not everyone is comfortable giving public verbal praise. Ecards allow thoughtful recognition without putting anyone on the spot.
  
• They support recognition beyond managers
  Peers, cross-functional partners, and leadership can all participate in the same space, creating broader acknowledgment without hierarchy friction.

Ecards fit seamlessly into daily routines, recognition becomes sustainable rather than sporadic. This ease of use is what allows appreciation to remain consistent as teams grow and priorities shift.

How to Create Ecards that Spark Joy in Your Team

Creating ecards that spark joy starts with making them personal, thoughtful, and easy to relate to. Ecards will make your employees smile, assuming you create them the right way.

Here’s a seven-step process you can use to make better online cards in a flash:

1. Choose an Ecard Platform

The easiest way to make ecards is to use a proven ecard platform. There are a bunch of them on the market. The four below could be a good choice depending on your needs.

Kudoboard

Kudoboard is both easy to use and powerful. With it, you can create eye-catching ecards in minutes; ask other people to contribute personal messages, images, and videos; attach gift cards to improve your efforts, and study analytics to see how each card performs. 

Because of these things, Kudoboard can be used for one-off cards or to underpin a complete employee recognition strategy. But don’t worry, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to use. Subscriptions start at just $25 a month and include many top features for up to 50 employees.

Smilebox

Smilebox is another tool you can use to make ecards, as well as event invitations and slideshows. The platform is intuitive and includes a bunch of card templates, which is a plus.

Just know that most templates have an old-school, traditional greeting card look to them. (Like the kind of card you’d send loved ones at Christmas time.) If that’s what you want, log in to Smilebox, choose a template, add your own message or personalized song, and send.

Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain is best known for free ecards but offers paid memberships toojust in case you want more features. Many of the ecards you’ll find in the Blue Mountain library are video-based, which can add a fun, joyful twist to your employee recognition efforts.

However, the templates aren’t nearly as customizable as other platforms, which is something to keep in mind. Still, it’s hard to beat free if you only plan to send ecards every once in a while.

Jacquie Lawson

Jacquie Lawson has a unique style. Seriously, take a look at multiple ecards from different companies and you’ll immediately know which ones were created by the Jacquie Lawson team.

Besides a unique art style, Jacquie Lawson offers templates for multiple occasions and the ability to attach a custom song or gift card from a few dozen retailers. On the downside, Jacquie Lawson cards aren’t as customizable as other platforms and the website is a bit outdated.

2. Pick a Suitable Template

Once you’ve chosen an ecard platform, pick a template to match the situation.

Kudoboard, for example, has templates for birthday ecards, thank you ecards, retirement ecards, farewell ecards, work anniversary ecards, and many other occasions. We also cater to specific events, like company celebrations, office competitions, and employee awards.

Whether you use Kudoboard or not, the right template will help you access appropriate artwork, animations, and musical stylings. So you can make your card fit the mood in less time.

3. Write a Personalized Message

Your template will probably include a generic message. While these messages are often good starting points, we suggest personalizing the text. Your ecards won’t bring your recipients much joy if you skip this step.

Why? Because your employees want to know that you care about them. A standard “Thanks for being a valued member of the team!” note won’t cut it. Instead, customize your message so it mentions personal information and matches your recipient’s speech patterns or sense of humor.

Here’s an example: “Thanks, Jenny! Your hard work on “Project ABC” was SO appreciated. Your attention to detail and willingness to go above and beyond are awesome assets to this team.

I wish I had a dozen other employees like you. But since cloning technology is still a ways off, I’ll continue sending all the important projects your way. Keep up the good work!”

Put yourself in your team’s shoes. You’d be pumped to get that note, right? Personalized text will add WAY more joy to your employees’ lives than whatever is written on your ecard template.

4. Add Appropriate Multimedia Elements

Though both bring joy, ecards have multiple advantages over traditional, paper-based cards.

You can create and send them faster. You can easily attach digital gifts when appropriate. (More on this in a minute.) And you have more options when it comes to multimedia. Take advantage! 

Add images, animations, and/or memes to your messages. Shoot a personalized video for recipients. Include music to elevate the entire experience.

No matter the occasion, the right multimedia element will spark laughter, bring happy tears, or otherwise cause desired emotions.

5. Attach a Digital Gift (If Desired)

What if you want to do more than recognize your employees? What if you want to reward them for their good attitudes and hard work? Attach a digital gift to your ecard!

For example, with Kudoboard, you can attach gift cards to your ecards in two ways:

• Use company funds to purchase an ecard for your employee
• Ask team members to contribute, then pool money to buy a gift card

Once the money is collected, Kudoboard will attach it to your ecard. Recipients will then receive a lump sum, which they can exchange for a prepaid Visa card or a gift card to one of 150+ popular retailers. Recipients can also donate the money to a charity they care deeply about.

It’s easy to see how gift cards lead to joy, the knowledge that your company cares about you, the thrill of choosing a retailer, and the satisfaction when the purchased item arrives in the mail. While ecards alone are enjoyable to receive, ecards that contain digital gifts are even better.

6. Encourage Your Team to Participate

Before you send your ecard, ask your team to contribute their thoughts, memories, and well-wishes. This will make the card more impactful for your recipient and your organization.

A greater number of employees would rather be recognized by a peer than their manager, according to a recent Globoforce survey. Also, peer-to-peer recognition programs are 35.7% more likely to have a positive effect on financial results than manager-only recognition.
Peer-to-peer recognition is easy to facilitate with Kudoboard.

Simply create your ecard and invite your team to participate. Each member will receive a link to contribute in their own time. (Note: You can even set up Kudoboards exclusively for peer-to-peer shoutouts. Not a bad idea!)

7. Send the Ecard to Your Recipient

You’ve chosen an ecard platform and either started your free account or subscribed to a monthly plan. Then you chose an appropriate template with cool animations, funny animals or something else your recipient will appreciate. You even customized the text, attached multimedia elements and a gift card, and asked your other employees to do the same.

Now what? Click send! Deliver your ecard to the person you made it for and watch their face light up. That spark of joy when an employee sees an ecard for the first time never gets old.

Pro Tip: If you want to go above and beyond, use Kudoboard’s print feature. Ecards made with our platform can be turned into beautiful hardbound books or posters.

Build a More Joyful Workplace With Kudoboard

Joy in the workplace is essential to business success. Fortunately, a simple ecard can spark joy and lead to a host of benefits, like greater employee engagement, performance, and retention.

Kudoboard makes it easy to create high-quality ecards that employees love. Simply sign up for the platform, choose a template that fits the occasion, customize it to meet your needs, attach a digital gift card if you feel so inclined, ask other team members to contribute, and hit send.

FAQs About Ecards

1. Is there a free eCard?

Yes, free eCards are available on several platforms. They typically include basic designs and standard customization options without any cost.

2. What is the difference between an eCard and a digital card?

An eCard is a type of digital card specifically designed for sending greetings or messages online. A digital card is a broader term that includes eCards as well as business cards, invitations, and other virtual card formats.

3. Yes, eCards are generally safe when used from reputable platforms.

Avoid unknown sites and do not click suspicious links to reduce security risks.

4. Does Google havefree eCards?

No, Google does not offer a dedicated free eCards service. You can send images or GIFs via Gmail or Photos, but not official Google eCards.