The National Employee Appreciation Day is just around the corner. And with this special day coming, it seems that still not so many organizations understand the real, tangible value of showing appreciation to their employees.
Robert Half, in collaboration with Happiness Works, found out through their research with more than 23,000 workers in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States that there are six universal factors, including feeling appreciated, that make employees happy at work.
“Fostering positive emotions through gratitude is easy and powerful.” –Dr. Christine Carter, author of The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work
So why is employee happiness important in an organization?
In general, the reason is simple: Employee happiness positively impacts the bottom line. According to Happiness Works founder Nic Marks, “It [happiness] helps us be creative, helps us seize opportunity … in the workplace, it helps us focus on our work, helps us produce more, helps us be more creative, helps us build better relationships with people… ”
Marks added that happiness at work also impacts relationships, innovation and productivity, and all these can directly impact a company’s bottom line.
If you’re thinking about taking advantage of this national celebration, here are a few ways you can show employee appreciation not on March 1, the National Employee Appreciation Day, but all year-round:
#1. Sincerely praise a job well done
Saying, “Good job!” can go a long way, especially if it’s a sincere praise. If it’s been your habit to say “good job!” every single day even if your employees seem clueless about which job they’ve done well, you might come across as insincere.
To make it sincere, make your praise as specific as possible. What was it that the employee did exactly? And why was it worth commending? Let your employee know those details. Doing so will help reinforce the what you’d like to do more of.
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