Appreciation makes employees more confident, says survey

If an employee is appreciated, it not only benefits the receiver but also the giver as they feel more confident and driven, as told by a recent survey.

According to a research by OC Tanner, employees who frequently give recognition feel more confident, driven and dedicated to the success of their organisation especially the millennial (those born after 1980).

OC Tanner conducted a survey of more than 3,400 working professionals from countries around the world, including in India, the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Germany and the United Kingdom. The survey was carried out in companies with more than 500 employees.

Creating opportunities for giving, receiving and observing recognition, and devising a programme that focuses on all three, will help organisations increase employee engagement, wellbeing, innovation, work results and revenue, the survey added.

All levels of employees should feel like they can and should provide regular recognition to their coworkers giving recognition is a universal action unrestricted to just top managers, it said.

The survey revealed that those who give recognition at work have more organisational pride.

About 94 per cent of employees who noted that they ‘always’ give recognition to other coworkers are proud to tell others they work for their organisation and the percentage goes down as frequency of giving goes down, it said.

It also noted that those who give recognition at work are more confident about their work.

About 90 per cent of employees who ‘always’ give recognition to other colleagues feel that their work in the past 12 months has represented significant innovations when compared to the norm.

However, this percentage declines as the frequency of giving goes down, it added.

According to the survey, 4 out of 5 employees said that recognising someone else’s achievements makes them want to work harder.

The survey also found that 8 per cent of employees said they gave recognition to their coworker in the form of handwritten notes.