UK workers who show an appreciation of their colleagues, known as ‘giving recognition’, are more holistically well, according to a study released by The O.C. Tanner Institute. The study also shows that workers who frequently ‘recognise’ their colleagues are far more motivated, innovative and deliver better results than those workers who ‘never/rarely’ give recognition.
The survey spoke with 3,400 working professionals from countries around the world to better understand the culture of appreciation in the workplace and in particular, to explore how ‘giving recognition’ impacts the giver rather than the receiver. The sample included 406 professionals from the U.K.
The study reveals that nearly 1 in 4 employees who ‘always’ give recognition have excellent well-being. This decreases to under 1 in 10 when the employee ‘never/rarely’ gives recognition.
Holistic well-being represents how employees rate their current lives at work and at home and how optimistic they are about the future. Interestingly, as employees give recognition more often, their well-being increases:
86 per cent of UK employees who noted that they ‘always’ give recognition are highly motivated to contribute to the success of their organisations. This contrasts starkly with the 46 per cent of UK employees who ‘never/rarely’ give recognition being highly motivated to contribute to the success of their organisations.
48 per cent more innovative than those UK employees who ‘never/rarely’ give recognition.
Better workers, delivering 22 per cent better work results than employees who ‘never/rarely’ give recognition.
Robert Ordever, European People and Operations Director from O.C. Tanner UK, comments,
“This study is a game-changer regarding our understanding of recognition. Up until now, research has focused on the impacts of ‘receiving’ recognition. We now have proof that there are also profound benefits to be gained from the givers’ perspective, highlighting the vital role organisations need to play in nurturing a culture of appreciation that champions giving recognition as much as receiving it.”
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
