Employee Recognition and Morale

Is employee morale low? Is it in the gutter? Did you know that you can decrease workplace stress and increase productivity just by recognizing your employee's contributions?

Appreciation is a fundamental human need. Employees want to be respected and valued for their contribution. Everyone wants a "pat on the back" to make them feel good. Just a simple "nice job" can turn an employee's day around. If you take steps to recognize your employees' work, you have won half the battle of employee retention. Where there is no recognition, employees may become disinterested in the organization, their job, and the level of attrition may increase.

Jim Harter from the Gallup Organization says it well, “Employee recognition is more important during difficult times than periods of prosperity. Recognition helps people be resilient. Right now, businesses are trying to survive, and to survive you’ve got to have psychological resilience. We need employees who are positive despite the negative situations around them.”

Don't assume your employees should be thankful that s/he has a job. Thankful does not equal a happy or productive employee. There is, unfortunately, a growing trend that employees should just be quiet, do their job, and be thankful they have a job. With unemployment at all time highs and employers leaving vacant positions open for longer periods, employers are asking employees to perform at higher levels, to do more and more.

Recognition is going to create a happy employee. A happy employee = an employee that will think long term, an employee that will become an advocate of the company, an employee that will create happy customers.

Recognizing people for their good work sends an extremely powerful message to the recipient, their work team and other employees. Give it a shot!