Bad Equation: No Recognition = Lost Productivity & Lowered Performance

In a guest post on the Great Leadership Blog, Dr. Paul White (coauthor of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace), offered these statistics (I wish I could say these were startling):

65 percent of workers say they have received no recognition or appreciation in the past 12 months.
While 80 percent of large corporations have employee recognition programs, only 31 percent of their employees say they feel valued for doing good quality work.
The #1 reason for recognition in most workplaces is longevity (how motivating is that?).
Only 8 percent of employees feel their top management cares about them personally.
Some 70 percent of employees are either disengaged or under engaged in their work.
Yet only 21 percent of these workers are looking for work elsewhere, meaning approximately 50 percent of the workforce are just passively enduring work they don’t enjoy.

Numbers show employees don’t feel appreciated

Compare these to results from the September 2011 Workforce Mood Tracker Report from Globoforce, which found in part:

39 percent of workers don’t feel appreciated at work.
52 percent are dissatisfied with the level of recognition they receive.
78 percent of U.S. workers said being recognized motivates them in their job.
69 percent said they would work harder if they felt their efforts were better recognized

The bottom line: employees don’t feel appreciated for what they do, but they would be much more motivated and work considerably harder if their efforts were noticed and someone simply said, “Thank you” for more than not quitting.

Noticing the efforts and achievements of those around you, then pausing to express your appreciation costs no more than time. What’s your excuse?

You can find more from Derek Irvine on his Recognize This! blog.