Poor mental health twice as likely to affect underappreciated workers

Unappreciated employees are  ‘twice as likely’ to experience poor mental health, a study into workplace recognition claims.  The Employee Recognition Survey conducted by Wildgoose, surveyed employees from 133 different UK companies. It asked them whether they receive enough praise and appreciation, how they would react to a lack of recognition and how companies could better meet their ‘recognition needs’.

As well as affecting employee mental wellbeing, failing to recognise and value employees can also have negative impacts on the company as a whole, the report claims. A quarter of employees who aren’t receiving sufficient recognition are currently looking for a new job, which is a 32 percent increase compared to those ‘satisfied’ with the amount of recognition they receive.

But it’s already too late for some. Staff who don’t receive recognition from their company or manager are nearly twice as likely to have found work elsewhere within the last year. The data highlights the importance of regular meetings and one-to-one time for younger career starters: Gen Z employees (aged 18 to 24) are the demographic who crave in-person recognition the most. 58 percent of Gen Z employees would like to receive recognition through regular, in-person meetings with their managers.