Building a vibrant workplace requires a foundation of trust, respect, and honest communication. It also requires employee appreciation.

Over 200,000 global employees were studied by the Boston Consulting Group, and the top reason they reported enjoying their work was, “feeling appreciated”. Number 2 was having a good relationship with their supervisor, and number 4 was that they had a good relationship with their colleagues. Financial compensation didn’t appear until number 8!

Four out of five employees (81%) say they are motivated to work harder when their boss shows appreciation for their work. Unfortunately, many managers don’t respond to this need and those who do, choose employee recognition programs.

Traditional recognition programs...