Power of Gratitude in the Workplace

“Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.” - These words by famous British novelist William Makepeace Thackeray show that appreciation and gratitude play key roles at any workplace.

Irrespective of whether there is an occasion for it or not, it is important to tell our colleagues how much they are valued and relevant by showing gratitude in a workplace. 

One of the causes of employee turnover is a lack of employee appreciation. Companies with employee recognition programs saw positive effects on multiple business areas. Great organizations always reevaluate how to recognize staff by ensuring that they fulfill the needs of co-workers, culture and industry standards. 

Employee recognition programs are believed to be useful in motivating, appreciating and engaging the workforce. Organizations are now putting in more efforts to invest in employee recognition programs. As many as 32% of organizations have allocated budgets in 2019 for such programs according to a study. Sharing some of the recognitions done by a few of the top most companies in the market.

Gratitude, appreciation go a long way

As human beings, we all want to feel loved and appreciated and all the more at the workplace because that is where you sow the seeds to grow professionally. Employees want to be rewarded and are inspired to perform better, but this comes at a cost and that is showing gratitude. 

1) Zappos: 

Following a unique recognition strategy, they personalize the needs according to their office location. At their Las Vegas office, getting a covered parking slot can be a challenge. Once a week, employees are allowed to nominate a colleague for a special parking slot that is designated as a reward.

 2) Apple:

For Thanksgiving, Apple surprised its employees with a paid three-day holiday, instead of a one-day off. 

 3) Flipkart:

While they offer maternity benefits like most organizations do, Flipkart has implemented a paternity policy for its employees. The company gives 10 days’ paternity leave either before the birth of the child or within six months after its birth. For the first three months, the employees availing the facility can also opt to work for four hours in office and then finish the rest of the work from home.

 4) Google:

Google provides umpteen recreation activities to its employees with an aim to keep them stress-free. They also encourage employees to pursue their hidden talents. Happy hours every Friday gives the employees a chance to socialise and unwind.

Know how connecting and engaging remote employees can increase productivity.

Look at 9 great ways to express gratitude at work

1) Say Thank you: 

Kind words go a long way. It is important to thank people for their time and efforts. It goes on to show that as an employer you value their time and efforts. A thank you note can lighten up a colleague’s mood on any given day. 

2) Praise a job well done: 

Identifying specific actions that we found admirable, mentioning the actions that you’d like to see the employee doing more often.
(Eg. Praising coworkers in front of the whole team by saying a few words of appreciation)
 

3) Flexible Scheduling: 

A Flexible work schedule is a benefit that employees desire all the time. (Eg. No fixed timings for forced mark in or mark out timings.)

4) Presenting Gifts: 

Presenting small gifts occasionally can be a great way of showing appreciation. The appreciated gifts and the gesture of providing it will definitely light up our colleague’s day. (Eg. Celebrating birthdays, anniversaries or to offer sympathy and sending small gifts when a co-worker is ill) 

5) Providing Financial Incentives: 

Bonuses like attendance bonus, end of the year bonuses and gift certificates saying “Thank You”.

6) Creating a Fun Tradition: 

Celebrating on Fridays with co-workers and making the work environment fun on every weekend can be a great way of showing appreciation to our co-workers. We match up departments or people who don’t normally work together as a unit and assign a day to provide a healthy fun environment at the workplace.
(Eg. One hour on the last working day of the week with fun activities)

7) Learn your co-workers interests: 

Try and get to know your coworkers better. Ask them about their family, hobby, weekend plans and include them in your casual discussion with other colleagues. Such genuine gestures make them feel valued and cared for.

8) Celebrating Milestones: 

Reward co-workers for their dedication to your organization by recognizing their accomplishments. Make a company-wide announcement.
   

Conclusion

Appreciation is a powerful technique that can boost employee performances significantly. I have worked with people who feel that appreciation is not needed as people are paid to do their job but it can be as simple as giving quality time to an employee and taking an interest in his/her career and personal development.
It helps in building engagement and an amazing work culture that everyone wants to be a part of.

For more recognition programs for employees and HR-related questions, get in touch with us.