Summary: Effective recognition releases dopamine and builds trust, innovation, employee wellbeing, intention to stay, lowers job stress, increases confidence and motivation, yet most employees don't feel recognised. Recognition doesn't just come from leaders - recognition from peers and recognising our own achievements is also important.
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Last year, Great Place to Work surveyed 700,000 people about what would motivate them to do more and recognition (including affirmation, feedback and reward) was #1, ahead of increased pay, a promotion or training:
"37% of respondents said that more personal recognition would encourage them to produce better work more often."
It's important to note that different people will want to be recognised in different ways - and the best way to find out is to ask. But it's safe to assume you're not recognising your team's (or your own) achievements as much as you could be - in 2022, McKinsey found only half of employees felt their managers made sure they got credit for their work.
What happens in the brain when you recognise someone's achievements?
Effective recognition releases dopamine, one of the key neurotransmitters in the brain. Often referred to as one of the "feel-good" neurotransmitters, dopamine is released both in pursuit of a goal or reward, when you reach that goal and when it is recognised. For example, when you eat good food, hear great music, exercise, reach a goal or overcome a challenge, dopamine will be released and will contribute to the "high" you're likely to feel. Dopamine is strongly linked to learning and motivation; recognising someone's achievements is a one key way to maintain motivation.
What impact does recognition have on behaviour?
Apart from making your team feel good, there are many other benefits. Survey responses from 1.7 million people between 2018 - 2020 found team members who feel recognized at work are:
twice as likely to drive innovation and bring new ideas forward
to think promotions are fair
to say "people here are willing to go above and beyond".
Multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown that recognition:
improves job performance and increases intention to stay (Abualrub, 2008)
helps to reduce job stress by lowering emotional exhaustion (Demerouti et al 2001, David Rock's 2008 SCARF model, Maslach et al 2001)
As such, recognition is one of the 6 factors that support motivation and resilience, within the JARSS-C framework and assessment.
“Recognition is one of the basic needs of an individual, and satisfying this need is a crucial issue for organizations, to protect their psychological health and increase their well-being at work and in their professional career.” Chevalier et al, 2022
Recognition is also essential to trust. It's one of 8 management behaviours that builds trust in teams (Zak, 2017). Interestingly, it has the largest impact on trust when it's a peer, not a leader - increasing the importance of building a culture of recognition across the business, not just from leaders to their team.
“The neuroscience shows that recognition has the largest effect on trust when it occurs immediately after a goal has been met, when it comes from peers, and when it’s tangible, unexpected, personal, and public." Paul J. Zak, Harvard Business Review, 2017
What about recognising your own achievements?
Recognising your own achievements may be harder - many people struggle to share, with 82% hiding an achievement from a loved one, co-worker or stranger, because of concerns about "bragging". Yet people "feel less close to and more insulted by communicators who hide rather than share their successes." (Roberts et al, 2020). The same study found that hiding your success "harms relationships both when the success is eventually discovered and when it is not." And there are multiple positive benefits to sharing, with boosts to confidence and overall wellbeing (Seligman, 2012).
This is a skill that you can build with practice. Consider starting with Google's free 90 minute "I am Remarkable" workshop.
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