Many offices operate in a very strict, disciplined manor without much room for friendly interaction. Ryan Fehr, a professor of management at the University of Washington says; “We tend to think of organizations as transactional places where you’re supposed to be ‘professional, we may think that it’s unprofessional to bring things like forgiveness or gratitude or compassion into the workplace”.
While this method does have its strengths, modern evidence has shown that this model is outdated and hampers productivity and employee morale. Gratitude and appreciation contribute to the kind of workplace environments where employees actually want to come to work and don’t feel like cogs in a machine.
Showing gratitude and praise both improves employee morale and boosts your bottom line. Showing gratitude to employees is the easiest, fastest, most inexpensive way to boost performance. To show your gratitude costs nothing but goes a long way. There is also a clear connection between showing appreciation to your staff and employee motivation and engagement. In a recent study by the American Psychological Association, researchers found that 93% of employees “who reported feeling valued said that they are motivated to do their best at work and 88 percent reported feeling engaged.” Among that group, only 21% plan to look for a new job in the coming year. This shows how productivity and employee retention are improved by a positive workplace environment that publicly recognises talent. Fostering an environment like this is not difficult, yet, it makes such a difference.
In the workplace, we focus on professional work and accomplishments. It’s obviously important to recognize job performance, but you don’t need to stop there. Your employees are people outside of their job descriptions. A great way to express gratitude is to look for non-work-related efforts and impressive characteristics that you can highlight. Announcing and celebrating both professional and personal accomplishment is a great way to do this.
To find out how we can help in your organisation or to discuss the matter further, call us on 01935 411191 or email enquiries@rbhr.co.uk. One of our trained HR consultants will be able to answer your queries and recommend some solutions.
Comments