Employee appreciation day: A still unconventional celebration

Employee Appreciation Day, which this year falls on Friday, March 5, is still found in the calendar of unusual holidays. However, discussions about appreciation at work are becoming more common in Poland. More and more companies are opting to introduce and nurture a culture of gratitude in a strategic and systematic way. This is important because, under changed working conditions, appreciation takes on special significance.

What is a sense of appreciation?

A sense of appreciation reflects employees' beliefs about their own worth and competence as members of the team and the entire company. In other words, a sense of appreciation is related to the belief in one's ability to fulfill roles at work and to achieve personal adequacy as a member of the organization. Building this sense in employees has become particularly challenging in situations of limited contact, stripped of gestures, smiles, comments, or a simple pat on the back.

Appreciation at work serves 5 important functions:

1. Firstly, positive feedback signals to the employee that they are on the right path to achieving their goal, are heading in the right direction, and should continue their efforts.
2. Secondly, praise creates a positive mood, reduces competitive tendencies within the team, and fosters a positive atmosphere.
3. Thirdly, it serves as a buffer against the consequences of stress, helping to maintain engagement during crisis situations.
4. Fourthly, it builds a sense of value, competence, and effectiveness.
5. Fifthly, it fosters a bond between the person being appreciated and the one giving appreciation, as part of social exchange. Simple "hello," "thank you," and "please" are extremely important here.

The ability to appreciate does not come from nowhere.

First and foremost, it is crucial for a company and its managers to decide that they want to effectively build a culture of gratitude and understand its necessity and benefits. At the company level, it is also very important to develop a compensation structure that is fair and adequate. For underpaid employees, who work with such convictions, it is very difficult to effectively build a sense of appreciation using any other tools.

Development opportunities and training tailored to employees' needs are also important. Employees still place significant importance on promotion as a form of appreciation from the company, although there is a noticeable trend, especially among younger people, towards developing in an expert rather than managerial direction. The company's benefits offering is also significant, and it is worth revisiting it in changed circumstances.

The scope of the company's influence on employees' sense of appreciation is limited, especially now, when working remotely has made it very difficult to build an atmosphere and comfort within the company. In this situation, the role of direct supervisors becomes even more crucial, as they remain the main, and often only, contact between the company and the employee. This applies to everyone, including those who manage the smallest groups.

Mindset is important

Managers' beliefs about appreciation—whether it is worthwhile, for what, in what way, its consequences, etc.—play a significant role in shaping the culture of appreciation within the team and the organization as a whole. However, while managers understand that appreciation is very important, they often do not know what it really means or how to apply it effectively in their teams. They use this tool based on their intuition and communication skills, usually developed through years of managerial experience.

Today, intuition and empathy have become crucial in building relationships with people at work, recognizing their needs, and their preferred language of appreciation. Managers themselves recognize the need to develop a culture of giving and receiving feedback, both from manager to employee and employee to employee. This process is not easy, given that in Poland, there is generally a low level of social trust, and we often suspect hidden intentions behind compliments. Compliments can cause embarrassment, not only for those giving them but also for those receiving them. Not everyone knows how to accept them, often devaluing the traits or behaviors they refer to.

In companies that strategically nurture a culture of gratitude, managers make a conscious effort to learn this form of appreciation because it was not previously part of their behavioral repertoire. Those who claim to praise employees daily have had to learn this skill and develop it alongside their managerial experience.

The lack of a habit of providing feedback is particularly noticeable among "old-school" managers who follow the principle: "if I don’t criticize, it means I’m praising." It is not new that giving positive feedback can be a significant challenge. Managers find it easier to point out what went wrong and what could have been done better than to praise.

The way appreciation is used by a manager is not fixed. It can be influenced by expanding competencies in this area. Changes in the mindset of appreciation are often driven by employees themselves, who explicitly demand feedback, especially positive feedback. A positive sign is also that younger managers tend to have higher levels of empathy.

Definition based on the Organization-based Self-Esteem (OBSE) model*
**Source: State of Appreciation Study 2020, Thanks Factor Sp. z o.o. and SWPS, Nais – study partner.

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