Employee Appreciation Isn’t Just for Millennials

When was the last time you felt appreciated at work? When was the last time you gave appreciation to a coworker or a direct report?

Is it hard to pinpoint? For many of us, working at our nine-to-five jobs can feel a lot like running on autopilot, and sometimes we don’t take time to appreciate each other’s contributions to the team or a project. And if you ever thought that the need to feel appreciated at work is just something participation trophy-loving millennials care about, research is here to prove you wrong.

Think employee appreciation is just something millennials want? This research proves you wrong.

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Employee Appreciation Matters to Workers

In a brand-new study, PayScale surveyed 501,796 workers to learn more about how employees feel about their employers. Our results showed that appreciation matters the most to workers: “An employee feeling appreciated or unappreciated moves the needle on satisfaction more than any other variable.”

Being recognized and feeling gratitude from your team or coworkers has a huge impact on how as workers feel about the company they work for. It matters more than open communication and pay transparency and it even matters more than having a good relationship with your manager.

Major Lessons

The big takeaway from this study is pretty simple. If you want happy, productive employees, you need to show them that you appreciate them.

If you’re a manager, consider creating some kind of kudos system for your team. Whether you communicate on Slack or in email, giving regular shoutouts to team members who go above and beyond will make a huge difference in their day as well as the boosting the level of work that they contribute to your team.

You can also encourage other coworkers to share more appreciation and recognition. Opening up that door of communication can create a more productive and happier company culture for everyone.

Do you need tips on how to make your reports and teammates feel more appreciated? Check out PayScale’s latest whitepaper, The Formula for a Winning Company Culture.

Tell Us What You Think

How important is appreciation to you? We want to hear from you! Comment below or join the discussion on Twitter!