Recognizing and Engaging Employees For Dummies

Chapter 4

The Importance of Employee Recognition Today

In This Chapter

Uncovering the link between performance and recognition

Overcoming change and uncertainty with recognition

Recognizing remote workers around the globe

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. The state of morale in the workplace is somewhat grim today. Some 40 percent of employees report that their jobs are very or extremely stressful, and 56 percent say they are somewhat or completely dissatisfied with their jobs. An overwhelming number of employees — 85 percent — report being overworked and underappreciated.

At the same time, today’s employees have much to be excited about. Forty percent work remotely, an arrangement that allows them new levels of freedom and autonomy in their lives and greatly reduces the time and expense spent commuting. They’re able to more freely apply themselves at work, and they can be creative in how they approach problems and where they obtain help and answers — a sharp contrast to previous eras when employees had little freedom or autonomy and were more subject to the whims of their managers.

Today’s employees thus have different recognition needs than the employees of even ...