In any line of work, employees bring lots of value to their employers, for which they deserve to get fair compensation and appreciation when they go the extra mile. However, many workers go without the recognition they are worthy of, which can have a negative effect on employee satisfaction and productivity.
One of them was this woman, who had to work with an underappreciative and berating manager for more than 6 years. But just before she left for maternity leave, she was able to serve a little petty revenge moment, which got the boss demoted.
When workers go the extra mile, they often expect compensation or at least appreciation
Image credits: Olimpia Davies (not the actual photo)
However, this woman got neither, which motivated her to pull a petty revenge moment before going into maternity leave
Image credits: Wesley Tingey (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)
Later, the woman came back to clear some things up
Image credits: Joanna Stołowicz (not the actual photo)
With her third update she even shared some of the cakes she decorated
Image source: ChaosRisingBook
Image source: ChaosRisingBook
Studies show that employees rarely receive praise for their good work
Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)
Unfortunately, many workers end up in a similar situation to this woman. Meaning, they excel quietly and make everything run smoothly behind the scenes without the recognition they truly deserve. In fact, 67% of Americans feel appreciation at work is in short supply, with a Gallup study proving that employees rarely receive praise for their good work.
This costs organizations $350 billion per year in lost productivity and a large number of employees who quit due to feeling undervalued.
The reasons why employees’ efforts go unrecognized vary greatly. Sometimes, these employees prefer to work quietly and avoid the spotlight or don’t have the self-promotional skills that would help them get noticed. Because of this, it’s easy, especially for inexperienced managers, to overlook their achievements and needs.
Companies can also undervalue employees when they’re overly focused on meeting immediate targets or financial goals. As a result, the organization develops tunnel vision, which can lead to undervaluing members of their team.
Organizations that lack systems to accurately assess their employees can have trouble fairly evaluating their employees as well.
Taking everything into consideration, every company needs to do better when it comes to undervalued employees, as this issue is responsible for making the entire workforce very much dissatisfied with their working conditions. It was found that more than half of employees feel disengaged or lack enthusiasm for their work, which leads to lower productivity and morale that are tightly connected with the success of companies.
Feelings of unappreciation shouldn't even be an issue in the workplace
Image credits: Vitaly Gariev (not the actual photo)
When an employee feels undervalued and underappreciated, ideally, they should voice their concerns to their manager. Having a meeting to discuss the performance and contribution of the worker might be the best way to go.
That said, feeling undervalued shouldn’t be an issue in the workplace in the first place. To avoid such a problem from arising, every competent manager should practice the five recognition languages: words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gifts, and physical touch.
You might be confused about the last one, but it’s nothing inappropriate. It’s just a way of showing appreciation through a handshake, high five, tap on the shoulder, or fist bump. According to the creators of these five recognition languages, physical gestures like these can go a long way in expressing gratitude.
That said, this shouldn’t be the primary way to express appreciation. What’s more, anyone who doesn’t want to be touched shouldn’t be touched—no exceptions.
In a nutshell, the rest of the appreciation languages ensure that employees receive tangible rewards and praise for their efforts, get help when their workload is too much, and have open communication channels with their colleagues and managers. In hindsight, this seems simple, so if every manager applied such logic with their employees, more people would feel valued and satisfied at work.
The woman also responded to some of the reactions people had
