I have been in my job for seven years and throughout this long journey, I have faced problems and listened to others’ problems, all of which have been connected to the same topic: recognition and appreciation. One day I found one of my colleagues very angry, and when I asked her about the reason she answered, “I have been working on a certain task for a long time and I exerted a huge effort in it, and after all that hard work, I didn’t even get one ‘thank you’!”

The problem is that most employees don’t just need to be thanked, but they expect to be thanked for things they have done well and they expect it to be immediately or soon after their good performance.

Of course it’s the manager’s role to motivate and support employees. For most people, if you have a good manager then you have a good job.

There are four types of praise managers can use to motivate employees:

  1. Face to face or personal praise
  2. Written praise in the form of formal letters
  3. Emails
  4. Public praise that happens in front of the team

Researches and studies reveal that recognition motivates staff, increases morale, productivity and decreases stress and absenteeism.

I was in China last September and I saw something that really touched me. All shopping malls and stores close at 8 pm maximum but employees didn’t leave the shops right away. They waited for their supervisor or the shop owner to pick the best employee of the day and they all applauded him/her. Some shops list the employee’s name on a board and they do it monthly.

I wonder how some managers neglect the great effect of simple and sincere words in improving performance and increasing productivity. I know money is a top motivator for all of us but simple words and actions can also have the same impact.

By: Ola Youssry

Photography: Sarah ElSadek

EDITOR: Sarah Shalaby