In the 1960s, a psychologist named Robert Rosenthal performed a social experiment. Children were given an IQ test, and Rosenthal then picked several children at random and told the teachers those children were destined for greatness. Over the next few years, teachers treated the children as if they expected more and better from them -- and in turn, those children’s IQs rose. It wasn’t so much that the kids were actually special, but they were treated slightly differently in many different ways from their “average” classmates. That extra attention provided the motivation children need to bloom. While this doesn’t completely encompass the ideas of employee recognition and employee engagement, it certainly introduces the idea that employees may give you more when you give back.
Understanding Employee Engagement
If you hate your job, it’s hard to really give it your all. Positions that are monotonous, feel unimportant to the company, or are even—dare we say?—boring can be difficult to really excel at. It is not that the employee is not skilled at whatever this position might be, it is just that when you aren’t doing something that feel important or holds your attention to engage you mentally, you don’t tend to do your best. Training Industry states, “When employees feel like they are a part of something important and their contribution has made an impact on business results, they form a mental and emotional attachment that becomes mutually beneficial for both parties.”
Understanding Employee Recognition
The other side of trying and wanting to do well is knowing that your successes (even minor ones) are going to be rewarded. It may not be a thousand dollar bonus, but it helps employee morale considerably to simply have the boss say “Hey, you’re doing a great job. I never would have come up with that better way to perform this function.” In fact, the IBM Smarter Workforce Institute says that when employees are recognized for their efforts and successes, they tend to be three times as engaged in their work as employees who don’t feel appreciated.
How Recognition and Engagement Fit Together
Even jobs that aren’t completely stimulating can engage the people performing them if they feel that they are appreciated for what they’re doing. Companies can have a tendency to focus on the result rather than the employees creating the result. In fact, most employees don’t feel they receive any recognition, and thus they are less engaged with their positions.
But when leaders grant recognition, workers become more engaged in their tasks to receive that recognition. It isn’t necessary for that recognition to be monetary, but it does need to be meaningful. That means you can get better results from employees without losing profit. Additionally, companies known for providing employee recognition tend to attract top people in their fields; through recognition, you not only get better employees, but you get employees doing better work.
