Leaders, managers, and employees alike often find themselves short on time and caught up in the relentless machinery of ‘busyness’.
And in the quest for greater efficiency, speed, and productivity, the first workplace casualties to be sacrificed are the most critical, that is, politeness, kindness, and the more important employee wellbeing strategy of all, human recognition.
In today’s Workplace Wellbeing article, Dr. Louise Lambert, Director of HappinessMatters, explores the crucial role of genuine recognition in enhancing employee morale and fostering a productive, appreciative work culture.
It’s exactly in our busiest moments that we need to find and create time, and yes, perhaps even automate reminders to recognise and appreciate the efforts of our colleagues, team members and managers, not only for the sake of productivity but for the preservation and promotion of wellbeing in all of our organisations.
The need for more recognition is not only wishful thinking or something that is ‘nice to do’; in fact, it has become a business imperative. A sad statistic looms large on the organisational landscape – a mere 30% of employees feel recognised at work, according to Gallup’s 2023 report. A lack of recognition was identified as one of the main reasons behind employee’s decisions to quit a job, another statistic revealed by McKinsey in 2021.
Yet, even while managers and leaders know that recognition matters, expediency often prevails. Employees regularly receive bland ‘thank you for your efforts this year/month/quarter’ messages, sweeping cold gestures meant for everyone but resonating with no one. These impersonal missives might tick the recognition box and serve organisational agendas, but they leave employees feeling overlooked, unappreciated, and disrespected, resulting in nothing more than one more email for the delete box.
A better and more powerful alternative can be found in smaller, more frequent, and personalised forms of recognition tailored to employees for specific acts. Thanking individuals by describing precise instances where they went above and beyond in their efforts and interactions, or showed exceptional kindness, courage, or honesty within the context of challenging work conditions is key.
Delving into the details – the when, where, what, and how – describing precisely what was impressive and how it stood out is a much more meaningful form of recognition even if that note of appreciation comes once a year. Adding why it matters, not just to the recipient, but to the writer and the organisation as a whole, can also help employees understand how they belong and encourage more of the same attributes.
However, recognition does not need to be tied solely to action; it can extend to appreciating how employees are and their personal qualities. Acknowledging an employee’s willingness to encourage and teach others, forgive, show optimism, and use humour in the face of difficulty for example, are often overlooked.
Yet, these very qualities are what make work go smoothly; it is also what serves to raise the wellbeing of others that is being given for free. Recognising the essence of who individuals are, not just what they do, are central aspects of recognition. Indeed, not everyone will achieve great heights on a regular basis and valuing employees for their characters promotes their self-worth and makes it likely that they will be noticed by others for the same and in turn, will repay it by seeing the same in others.
Rewards, like recognition, can also be personalised for greater effect. A vibrant pair of coloured cartoon socks for the dapper dresser, coveted movie tickets for the known cinephile or rare plant for the office green thumb hold more influence than generic corporate gifts. Many of us have experienced the guilty kitchen bin disposal of expensive, impersonal branded plaques that were more a testament to corporate vanity than a genuine acknowledgment of our contributions.
Understanding how individuals prefer to feel seen and valued is key for managers – the generic ‘dear all’ memo indeed needs to be retired.
A Starbucks card coupled with the luxury of leaving work an hour early speaks volumes. It signifies that someone is attuned enough to recognise the value of a latte and the freedom of time – for that employee. Understanding how individuals prefer to feel seen and valued is key for managers – the generic ‘dear all’ memo indeed needs to be retired.
While recognition demands attention to how and who someone is, it doesn’t need to take hours to do. As you go through your workdays, notice who is great and why.
You can verbally recognise the person on the spot, or send a quick WhatsApp, phone text, email, sticky note, or voice memo sharing it. By building a habit of seeing people every day, recognition becomes something you can easily do and quickly become the manager your team needs you to be.
To help build this habit, you can also ‘see people’ at home and in other contexts. Recognising people is not only good to do at work, you can also do this for friends, partners, children, and even colleagues whom we often overlook, thinking they can only be recognised by managers.
By ‘seeing’ one another more effectively, we can draw a direct line between what people do and how they are seen, reinforcing more of the things we admire and like about them. The time you spend doing it will be paid back in loyalty, discretionary effort, and positive regard. In fact, it’s the cheapest form of workplace wellbeing you can give with the highest possible returns. Now, to whom will you write a quick note today? Don’t hesitate.
Dr Louise Lambert PhD (main picture) is the Director of Happiness Programming & Policy at HappinessMatters based in the United Arab Emirates. She is a researcher in positive psychology and conducts training in the development of high-quality connections for managers, as well as employee training in positive psychology for a better quality of life.
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