Restaurant Owner Hands Her Employees a Bag Each - They Are Taken Aback by What They Find Inside

Most people don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses. So when you find a great boss at a job you love, odds are you’re going to stick it out no matter what.

Well, after reading about this employer in Massachusetts, we have a feeling she’ll be retaining many of her employees in the years to come.

The Rough Start One Woman Had With Her Restaurant

Months before the pandemic locked down the world in March 2020, Jessica Travis bought a restaurant named Toast. Right away, things looked dire for Travis, as she lost her entire staff once the world shut down.

Slowly but surely, she re-staffed though and started doing takeout orders. Now, she credits her restaurant’s success to the great people who work there.

“I survived COVID because of my employees,” she told CBS News. “For the last three years, they stuck by me. Dedicated themselves just to make Toast what it is today.”

Travis knew she wanted to do something special to say thank you, so she hatched a plan to repay all 27 of her employees — and their family members — with an all-expenses paid, seven-day trip to Disney in May.

The Amazing Gift a Restaurant Owner Gave Her Employees

Right before Christmas, Travis put her plan into action. She called in her staff and handed them each a gift bag with mouse ears. Then she had them assemble a 30-piece puzzle. “It spells surprise we are all going to Walt Disney World,” employee Sean Lally told the outlet.

“I was kind of in shock. I thought it was a joke at first,” added employee Stevie Ryan.

Travis had a hard time keeping the secret, but she worked with one other employee to figure out everyone’s availability. “I love them, they love me,” she told Yahoo. “I’m a boss too, but we keep it close. You take care of them, they take care of you.”

What Travis’ employees don’t realize is this trip might be more special to her than it is to them. That’s because she’s using money she inherited from her mother a few years ago to pay for the trip. She knew she wanted to do something special after her mom passed away, and this was the opportunity to do so.

“She will look down on me, and I've been waiting to do something where she'd be like, ‘Now that's what I what I wanted the money to be used for.’ So that's what I am doing,” Travis added to GMA.

How One Restaurant Owner Put People First

Not all bosses can afford to send their employees on a magical trip, but this story gives you the feels because it’s a great example of an employer putting her employees first. And that’s not something all bosses actually do.

Rather than only looking at the bottom line or wondering what kind of employees best serve you, remember that it often takes a team and strong leadership to achieve great things. Finding ways to recognize hard-working employees, who are an integral part of your success, is so important.

That could look like a reward, of course. But it could also be something simple like taking them to lunch, publicly recognizing them for their amazing work, or just saying thank you.

And if you find a boss who gives you that kind of validation, hold onto them. Because great bosses are hard to come by.