Do you appreciate your employees for their hard work? I guess not enough, but we all know the warmth when someone recognizes our good work and zeal to do more. It enhances productivity and job satisfaction. We must see the importance of employee appreciation and how to show it.

As an employer, when you show appreciation, your workers feel good, making them work harder to achieve organizational goals. And this is why you must appreciate them regularly and not just ephemeral.

Employee rewards and recognition matter more than you think because it is directly related to job satisfaction, employee engagement, and increased productivity. Therefore, this article will discuss the importance of employee appreciation for organizational success and some ideas on how you can appreciate them. But first, we must know the basics.

When is Employee Appreciation Day and Why it Matters?

The first Friday of March is the official Employee Appreciation Day. So, technically it was on March 4 this year. But, if you’ve failed to celebrate the event at work this work, do not worry, because employee appreciation is not a one-day affair.

This day is a prime time to let your employees know that you value their hard work and recognize them duly for their achievements. But, employee appreciation is a year-long affair, and you cannot pick one arbitrary day and make it special for every employee. As an employer, you must make appreciation a part of your workplace culture and make it diverse and inclusive without discrimination and biases.

Also, timely, public, and honest appreciation matters because it keeps your workers agile and enhances employee motivation. It is a way of confirming their abilities and skills. They tend to find meaning in their job and the contribution they’re making towards the company's success. By merely appreciating your workers, you will play a major role in your company’s bottom-line success.

The Importance of Employee Appreciation

It helps create a strong company culture

When you express gratitude and appreciation towards workers, they tend to show positive interpersonal relationships, and mostly it positively impacts team dynamics and communication.

Employee appreciation gives birth to a company culture of kindness, empathy, and motivation. This, in turn, brings substantial benefits to you and your team as it depicts your company values are aligned with yours.

Enhances employee happiness and morale

Coping and keeping high levels of employee morale is your ultimate goal for an agile and active team. Individually, when employees receive appreciation, they feel valued and recognized for the small or significant contributions they made. As a whole, a small amount of gratitude can elevate employee morale and happiness, and you’ll not see dull faces at work.

It encourages peer-to-peer recognition

Setting an example of an appreciation culture in the workplace will impact your company culture by promoting a peer-to-peer recognition culture.

If recognition begins at the top level, it will also slide down to peer-to-peer interactions and appreciation. All you need is a common platform where peers can publicly appreciate their co-workers, which is possible with a rewards and recognition platform. It's time you create a culture of appreciation to enhance engagement levels at work.