An organization usually grows when its people commit to the work culture and the growth of the organization. This devotion is certainly a reciprocation of the environment and the motivation that the employer provides to the employees. In other words, the output of the employees at work is directly proportional to the inspiration and morale boost they get for doing the work.
Moreover, the cultural values and employee recognition commands the level of engagement employees showcase towards work. In fact, according to a Gallup study, organizations with the highest levels of employee engagement were 22% more profitable and 21% more productive than those with low levels of engagement. This emphasizes the fact that organizations need to adopt practices to enhance employee engagement. For this, human resource teams should devise a variety of engagement strategies. Out of the most reliable ones, employee recognition is often regarded as one of the most effective.
This article explores the possible reasons that result in giving employee recognition much importance when planning to incur employee engagement.
5 Reasons why recognition is crucial for employee engagement
1. Recognition is the fundamental need of a human
First of all, recognition is a fundamental human need. It forms the fourth level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. According to it, every human being aspires to receive appreciation and recognition from others. It fuels one’s self-esteem and makes him feel good. Even a little child prepares his class test well with the intention to receive good remarks from his teacher. Similarly, an employee is also a student who aspires to receive recognition from his boss and managers. When this basic need gets fulfilled, he feels content, exhibits high productivity, and naturally gets drawn towards work ensuring high employee engagement.
2. Recognition is a motivation booster
When a person receives recognition for his good performance, he feels motivated to perform even better. This is because recognition encourages one’s self-esteem and the more it gets boosted, the more a person desires for it to get fueled even more. As a result, he gets motivated to perform even better and earn more recognition. This way, recognition acts as a motivation booster. Further, motivated employees are generally more engaged at work. This is quite natural as motivated employees take initiatives, stay enthusiastic, and perform better.
3. Recognition reduces employee stress
According to a scientific study, there is a negative relationship between work stress and employee engagement. The higher the amount of work stress experienced by the employees, the lower is their engagement at work. This is natural, as stressed employees cannot give 100% at work. Work stress drains their energy and exposes them to health troubles, which together result in a loss of productivity and engagement. So, to engage employees, business organizations need to reduce their work stress levels and recognition plays an important role in it. In a study conducted by NCBI, 5% of the participants who experienced a reduction in stress levels, attributed it to increased recognition in the workplace. The increase in recognition makes the employees feel good and as they feel happy, their stress level decreases. Thus, recognition reduces work stress which is a major hindrance to employee engagement.
4. Recognition gives a boost to employee morale
Employee morale is defined as the overall attitude employees possess towards their organization. It includes elements such as their dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment towards their organization. Further, employees having high morale usually also possess better engagement at work. So, for improved employee engagement, business organizations have to increase employee morale. Moreover, out of the number of ways to increase employee morale, recognition is often termed as the best. This is because just some words of recognition from an employer have the power to uplift employees’ enthusiasm, motivation, and commitment towards the organization. This way, recognition gives a boost to employee morale, which in turn leads to enhanced employee engagement.
5. Recognition cultivates good employer-employee and employee-employee relationships
When employers recognize their employees, they feel valued. As a result, positive relationships begin to bloom between employers and employees. Further, if peer to peer recognition is encouraged and employees recognize each other’s efforts, positive relationships begin to bloom between them too. This way, positive employer-employee, and employee-employee development at the workplace. Also, according to a study, this relationship plays a vital role in enhancing employee engagement. So, this is another reason which highlights that ‘recognition’ is crucial for employee engagement.
Employee engagement is the need of every business organization. Although there are several ways to enhance employee engagement, recognition sustains a special position. This is because it offers a wide range of benefits that together prove instrumental in enhancing employee engagement. So, for every business organization seeking to enhance employee engagement, recognizing the employees is a must.
Jessica Robinson is a research writer in Melbourne, Australia, who is solely dedicated to conceptualizing, analyzing and drafting write-ups on various issues. She has a professional management degree from Melbourne University and can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-robinson10/.
