Tag Archives: appreciation

The Results Are In: How Do You Wish Your Company Showed Appreciation to Employees

what_workers_want_poll_webThe holiday season is quickly approaching, and many companies are deciding how to show appreciation to their employees. In a recent poll, we asked Movin’ On Up readers how they wish their employers, or future employers, showed appreciation to employees this time of year.

According to the results, 27% of respondents would most appreciate a cash bonus for the holidays, while 13% reported pay raises as their biggest incentive. While monetary gifts are always a go-to choice for companies when budget allows, 9% chose “days off or shortened holiday hours” as their top choice for holiday bonuses.

Only 1% of respondents chose “gift items other than money,” while less than 1% selected “a holiday party.”

What Workers Really Want
In addition to the traditional gift options, readers were also allowed to choose “Other” and take the time to respond with their own answer. Readers who selected “Other” left responses that ranged from “a few hours off for Christmas shopping, and we can bring evidence of the shopping back to work” to “keep their corporate mantra to employees, not just customers.”

Of those “Other” responses, the overwhelming majority responded with answers that offer insight to an often overlooked form of holiday gifting – appreciation.

Personal responses included:

  • Words of praise from managers
  • Telling employees they did a good job
  • A simple thank you goes a very long way
  • A thank you note will suffice
  • A thank you every now and then
  • Tell us thanks and good job

The poll’s personal responses speak much louder than the pre-written choices readers could choose from. Instead of clicking and moving on, readers who selected “Other” had to take time to share their thoughts, which were highly concentrated on wanting sincere appreciation from their employees in lieu of money, gifts, or time off.

What Workers Will Get
In a corresponding poll with Refresh Leadership, Express Employment Professionals blog for business leaders, the results reveal a lack of parallelism with what workers want. In fact, 21% of respondents revealed they will not be giving holiday bonuses this year. While 9% of our poll’s respondents want time off during the holidays, only 3% of business leaders plan to provide it. Only 5% of readers want gift cards, but 12% of employers plan to give them away.

Of respondents to the Refresh Leadership poll, 7% selected “Other,” with 27% of those readers reporting answers like “our company never gives employees anything for the holidays” and “no holiday bonuses ever.” Other responses include, “a turkey,” “a ham,” and “a holiday dinner.”

One response that never appeared was “appreciation.”

The Power of Appreciation
If employers knew their employees were providing answers like “a simple thank you” or “words of praise,” would they take a different stance on the idea of never providing holiday bonuses? Would the respondent to the Refresh Leadership poll who chose to answer “coal” take a more sincere approach to the holidays?

While today’s workers appreciate monetary gifts and time at home, as can be seen by the results of the poll, their answers also reflect an understanding that it’s not always feasible for businesses to give extravagant gifts. Times can be hard, and not all businesses are profitable. Employees know that. But while they may not expect gifts from their employers, they do crave appreciation.

Forbes recently studied the 18 best companies to work for in the Fortune 500 and found that employee appreciation was a key factor to their success. According to Forbes, half of the companies on the list did things to show appreciation to employees. Google provided free massages, the vice chair at NetApp called 10-20 employees a day to praise them, and Qualcomm provided personalized notes and special lunches. Devon Energy allowed employees open access to senior executives while Whole Foods let their employees vote on new hires.

The results of the Movin’ On Poll reveal that some of the most powerful gifts are the easiest to give. From a few hours to go shopping to a thank you note, sincerity is the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season.

Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

What Workers Want: Poll

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As we approach the holiday season, many companies are deciding how to show appreciation to their employees this year. From cash bonuses to holiday parties, the ways employers compensate, or don’t compensate, their employees’ hard work varies. We want to know how you wish your employer, or future employer, showed appreciation to employees this time of year.

Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

 

Administrative Professionals’ Day

admins day_April2014Today is Administrative Professionals’ Day, a day set aside to let administrative workers know how much they are appreciated for everything they do in their workplaces.

It takes a special person to fill the role of administrative professional. The job title doesn’t do justice to the huge contribution those people provide their companies with daily.  Administrative professionals do a lot of behind the scenes work that many people don’t realize and they deserve to be celebrated.

Ways to Show Your Appreciation
How can you acknowledge the hard work of the administrative professionals at your company? Depending on where you work and how well you know the administrative assistants, you may offer to take them out for lunch, buy them their favorite chocolate or coffee, or write them a note to let them know how grateful you are for their hard work. Taking the time to show your appreciation will brighten their day.

I don’t know about you, but the administrative professionals at my workplace are some of the greatest people I know. They’re incredibly hard working and choosing one day out of the year to let them know they are appreciated is a good start. So, remember to acknowledge your administrative professionals and let them know you appreciate them for all they do.

How do you recognize the administrative professionals at your workplace and celebrate their hard work? Let us know in the comments section below!

Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

Express Your Appreciation for Co-workers

Show AppreciationIf you’ve ever worked in a department with other employees or as part of a team on a project, chances are, someone has helped you out somewhere along the way. From showing you how to complete a task to lending you advice on a project, co-workers often provide guidance and support as you work together to get the job done. Building good workplace habits, such as expressing gratitude, is a great way to build rapport. A little appreciation goes a long way, so make sure to show your gratitude for the help you receive from your co-workers. This doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are three simple ways you can express your thanks any time of year.

Say Thanks
The easiest way to express your gratitude is to simply say thank you. Whether you express your appreciation verbally, through an e-mail, or in a handwritten note, saying thank you to your helpful co-worker shows that you value their help and recognize that you might not have been able to complete your assignment without their assistance.

Share Recognition
If your department or team hosts weekly or monthly meetings, recognize your co-worker for their assistance by formally thanking them in front of your supervisor and other co-workers. A small gesture like this can be very meaningful.

Return the Favor
One of the best ways to show your appreciation for someone’s help is to return the favor. If they need help on a project or advice on a task you’ve completed before, offer to guide them through it. When you have skills or experience to offer, take the opportunity to share your knowledge. This demonstrates not only that you’re thankful for the help, but that you’re the type of person who is willing to lend a hand.

Expressing your appreciation for your co-workers helps build your team. So, make sure to recognize your co-workers the next time they offer to step in to help you out. Your acknowledgement can inspire your co-workers to give more and help others more often.

Feel Appreciated at Work

Appreciation at WorkDid you know that the first Friday in March was National Employee Appreciation Day? There may be several people with employers who took the special holiday to focus on employee appreciation. But, there are probably just as many, if not more, who never even knew the day existed.

The workplace can feel like a thankless place at times with shortening deadlines and increasing stress levels. So, what do you do the other 364 days of the year when it’s not Employee Appreciation Day? Here are some things you can do to feel a little more gratitude from co-workers and managers at a hectic workplace.

Appreciate Others
Many times, our interactions with other people can be boiled down to the famous line from the Beatles song “The End” that says, “And in the end, the love you take
is equal to the love you make.”

Basically, if you want to feel appreciated, try showing gratitude and giving out compliments to others. It might feel weird and out of place, but if you can influence your work culture with positive words, the appreciation will come back to you. Besides, doesn’t it feel good to make others feel good, too?

Take a Compliment
While complimenting and encouraging others is a great start to creating an environment of appreciation, you’re going to need to leave a little bit of modesty at the door. That means, you’ll need to be able to accept the compliments as much as you give them.

If you shrug off or deflect honest gratitude toward yourself, you could be discouraging others from showing their appreciation. If you just reply with “Just doing my job” or “It was nothing” you’re not giving co-workers or managers a reason to repeat the same gestures.

Toot Your Own Horn
If you want to talk to your manager about their lack of appreciation for your work, you might not get the results you are looking for with a negative attitude of, “I don’t feel appreciated for what I do.” Instead, create a positive environment by finding ways of making your boss aware of your accomplishments. Find clever ways of promoting yourself that aren’t blatantly directed toward yourself.

Focus on your accomplishments that have directly benefited your employer. What did you do to bring in more customers or clients? Did you do something that positively affected the company’s bottom line?

Respect the Routine
Sometimes you feel like there aren’t opportunities to demonstrate your good works when doing your job is business as usual. There might not be a negative standard to compare your greatness to. You don’t have to reinvent your place or role in the grand scheme of work, but little things like maintaining a positive attitude can quickly gain the attention of your co-workers and managers. They will know when you gave your workday 100% and will begin to wonder what your secret is.

Just because your employer may have skipped out on Employee Appreciation Day doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reward yourself. If you follow these guidelines, you can take pride in knowing that a job done well doesn’t go unnoticed.