Did Your Employer Thank You Today?

It's 5:00 pm, my work is done and I just realized that my Supervisor didn't take time out today to say, "Thank you Beverly.  We really appreciate the work you do for the Company.  We are grateful to have someone with your dedication and commitment and, yes, your maturity."

No, not one of the managers I work for bothered to acknowledge that today is EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY.  Instead they sent out emails telling us we should have "no excuses" for not giving the customer the best customer experience EVER!

Yes, the first Friday of the month of March has been declared Employee Appreciation Day with a purpose of strengthening the bond between employee and employer by having employers recognize and thank their workers. Not acknowledging it is truly a sad commentary on the state of the work environment I'm in and perhaps in many companies around the country today.  Employers are so caught up in the bottom line of "profit" that they forget those who help them achieve their financial goals.

Why is Employee Recognition important?  According to a article by Justin Reynolds on the TinyPulseBlog:   "Employee recognition is strongly correlated with productivity. According to a recent study, 69% of employees say they’d work harder if they felt as though their contributions were valued. Even so, our 2017 Employee Engagement Report found that only 26% of workers feel strongly valued at their jobs. That’s a problem. Planning a special event should help your workers feel like they are appreciated at least a little more."

Because I work from home, I feel more isolated than others who go into the office daily.  That's why it's even more important that Managers do what they can to make everyone feel like they belong--rather than to make us feel like we're on a plantation for the "Massah."

I'm a baby boomer on my way to retirement so I probably have a thicker skin than my younger peers.  Imagine how Millennials must feel knowing their work goes unnoticed day in and day out---especially since statistics show they do crave recognition for what they do.  

Employers must find ways to do a better job in keeping their employees happy and appreciated.  Sometimes all it takes is a personal email, phone call or "stop by my desk" visit to show you care.