According to a Gallup survey, fewer than one-third of American workers received praise from their boss in the last week. And, the survey also found that 65% of Americans haven’t received any praise from their boss in the last year. This is not good for employees or companies.
- If an employee says they have received recognition or praise for doing good work in the last week, there is a 10-20% difference in revenue and productivity.
- Employees who are not adequately recognized at work are three times as likely to say they plan to quit in the next year.
Additional research shows that praising employees:
- Provides a boost to morale and motivation.
- Rewards effort and reinforces positive behaviors.
- Encourages engagement, productivity and job satisfaction.
- Increases dopamine which creates a feeling of pride and pleasure.
- Increases oxytocin which can positively impact job performance.
Building a culture that includes frequent and personalized praise can include:
- Encouraging leaders to give positive and specific feedback quickly. Personalized attention is crucial to create a bond between an employee, leader and company. That bond is related to higher productivity, fewer mistakes and accidents and lower turnover rates. Don’t praise someone for being “employee of the month.” Praise them for delivering outstanding customer service when a specific issue occurred.
- Encouraging praise for project milestones. Genuine recognition rewards efforts along with accomplishments. It reinforces positive behaviors, builds self-esteem and confidence, and boosts motivation and enthusiasm.
- Encouraging employees to praise teammates. Ask employees to get in the habit of telling each other “good job.” Peers know what they’re doing day-to-day, so their praise is impactful and even more meaningful than a leader’s. This also helps to reach the “quiet but critical high-performers” a leader may miss.
- Sharing successes with upper leadership. For tasks that are extremely well-done, pass that praise along to upper leadership. It’s a way to provide recognition beyond the walls of a department, spotlight a rising star, or promote behaviors and results.
- Passing on comments or praise to your employees when it comes from outside your department. When compliments are received from people outside of your department, pass them on. This lets your team know others see them as valuable and contributing to the company. We can never hear too often that we’re doing a good job.
Learn more about praising employees and building a culture that builds people up in this Blue Cross® Virtual Well-Being webinar. You can also sign up for future employer-focused and general interest webinars here, where you’ll find past sessions and resources. Related:
- Encourage Employees to Practice Prevention
- Implementing a Digital Detox at Work
- Leading Employees Through Change
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