Report

Transforming Workplaces Through Recognition

Learn how a culture of recognition can bring the human element back into work.

Human capital has never been more important, as evidenced by the resilience of the workforce amid a global crisis. But recent trends, including declining employee engagement and increased demands for workplace flexibility -- alongside the volatility of the employee market itself -- are putting new pressure on organizations to be mindful of the "human" element at work. They cannot simply offer jobs; they must create an environment where employees want to work and can be their best.

The future of work starts with showing employees that they are valued. Recognition is a simple way organizations can demonstrate their investment and commitment to their employees and inspire them to feel connected, confident and cared about -- ensuring they leverage the full force of their human power at work.

Building a culture of recognition and harnessing its power starts with understanding what it is and how it is experienced in the workplace.

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Survey Methods

Results from U.S. data are based on a survey conducted from Feb. 14-28, 2022, with 7,636 adults who are employed full-time or part-time, aged 18 and older, and living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as a part of the Gallup Panel™. For results based on these samples of national employed adults, the margin of sampling error at the 95% confidence level is +1.8 percentage points for response percentages around 50% and is +1.1 percentage points for response percentages around 10% or 90%, design effect included. For reported subgroups such as managers or senior leaders, gender or race/ethnicity, the margin of error will be larger, typically ranging from ±2.1 to ±6.1 percentage points for percentages around 50% and ±1.3 to ±3.7 for percentages around 10% or 90%.

Results from Western Europe are based on self-administered web surveys from an opt-in sample provided by Dynata of 5,551 adults, aged 18 and older, living in one of the following countries or regions: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The survey was conducted from Feb. 18-28, 2022. Results from this sample are unweighted, and respondents are not demographically representative of the countries surveyed.

Read the report press release.

The Gallup-Workhuman Unleashing the Human Element at Work: Transforming Workplaces Through Recognition report finds that more than half of employees who say the recognition they receive at work is not authentic or equitable are actively looking for a new job.

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81% of leaders say recognition is not major strategic priority for their organization.

70%+ of employees who have good recognition experiences at work rate their lives more positively overall and are more likely to be "thriving" in their everyday lives compared to those who are not being fully recognized.

$16.1 mil could be saved in annual turnover costs at a 10,000-employee organization by creating a culture of recognition.