Employee Appreciation
03/03/2023 is “Employee Appreciation Day”!
The purpose of this day is to celebrate employees and their hard work and dedication to their job. This obviously shouldn’t be restricted to one day only, but rather be practiced on a consistent basis on the go!
In this article, I want to highlight what impact genuine appreciation can have on employees, their work ethic, and job satisfaction as well as the impact when they do NOT feel appreciated and seen for the work they put in day and day out.
Let’s start with two examples I personally have experienced during almost a decade of being in the traditional corporate world.
In the first example, I have been working my a** off for a project I was kind of thrown into. To be fair to my managers, no one of us knew the actual size and impact it would have. We assumed it would be done within a couple of months, but it wasn’t, it took over a year of not only hard work but also my mental well-being. I burnt out. Now in terms of appreciation, yes I have received the occasional “thanks for your hard work” and some bonus points I could spend on something, but it never felt like true appreciation. Instead, I felt like the “black sheep”, disempowered and struggled with finding a passion for anything I did. Not only motivation was low, but also job satisfaction decreased rapidly. This experience highly contributed to me looking for ways to find joy in my work again (in hindsight I am very grateful for all of this because it allowed me to pursue my path as a coach, but that’s a different story!).
Appreciation is not just a kudos board and acknowledging the effort with monetary benefits. Yes, this is one way to do it, but doesn’t cover the full picture.
There are actually more parts to it. Appreciation also means having an understanding of a situation, valuing and respecting someone, and truly recognising what someone is doing, or even sacrificing. This comes through listening to the employee and making them feel heard and seen and not just left alone in the dark, slowly burning on its last light. (I recommend looking up the various definitions of appreciation, that alone makes the whole thing a lot clearer!)
So what could be an example of employee appreciation WELL done?
One time I got recognised and received appreciation from a colleague because I kept on putting my foot down in terms of what it takes to achieve a true mindset shift. I was frustrated that we kept focusing on process improvements whilst talking about the transformation that actually starts with the employee. I first thought my efforts were fruitless and left unheard, but my colleague actually did hear me and recognised me for the work in front of the team. This was very specific and personal, so it hits differently than a general “thanks for your efforts”. It creates encouragement to share my opinion and empowered me to speak up about what I care about.
Another example would be one of my managers taking regular time every 1-2 weeks to check in with me and how I am doing, also on a personal level. This creates not only trust, but I also felt seen and heard for who I am as a complete person, not just as an employee.
Other ways to show appreciation may be empowering employees to experiment (believing in their potential), giving extra surprise days (apple did that over thanksgiving), having different channels of employee recognition 1:1, within the team or companywide, or putting in the time and genuinely caring for them. There is no limit to the possibilities you can try as a leader or colleague!
If you work (or worked) in a corporate setting, what are your best and worst examples of employee appreciation?
If you are a leader, how do you do it? What do you find is most successful and what doesn’t work at all?
What makes you feel appreciated?
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below, or send me an email and let’s have a conversation about this fascinating topic!
NamaStay APPRECIATED
JD
