Do you remember to praise and recognize your employees?

When asking employees about their well-being at work, it often comes down to being praised and recognized for the work they’ve done, and feeling seen and heard by management.

When work is in full swing and the workday is flying by, it’s important for managers to take the time to praise and recognize their employees. Praise and recognition from managers and colleagues foster a sense of well-being and reduce absenteeism and stress in the workplace.

Professor and researcher Norbert Semmer’s theory of stress describes how stress results from excessive job demands combined with a lack of influence and recognition. He explains that recognition is not necessarily limited to a pay raise, but rather a combination of several factors. Among other things, it can be a pat on the back when an employee is recognized for the social skills they bring to the team. It can also mean being recognized by being given meaningful and challenging tasks that foster personal growth. Recognition is also felt when a manager provides constructive feedback and praise for the work done. We’ll come back to this later.

Why do we experience stress at work?

It is not always easy to pinpoint the exact cause of workplace stress, and therefore there are no simple solutions to implement in the workplace. However, it is said that working conditions, as well as demands and influence/co-determination, are key areas that must be balanced. In this context, it may be worthwhile to take a closer look at the work environment in a given company. A good work environment with appropriate conditions for individual employees can increase job satisfaction and improve the quality of work. An example of this could be that employees in a company are clear about their roles, expectations, and the tasks they are expected to perform. It is also about ensuring that there is sufficient time and space allocated to carry out a specific task, where the focus can be on constructive feedback and recognition of each other’s work and efforts. This is also mentioned earlier in relation to Norbert Semmer’s stress theory. Especially when it comes to challenging or new work tasks, involving the employee, as well as offering recognition and praise, can lead to high well-being and, consequently, lower absenteeism.

In this context, the focus may be on how a positive psychological work environment can contribute to well-being in workplaces characterized by good leadership, employee involvement, and a supportive collegial atmosphere. Experiencing a positive psychological work environment, where colleagues praise and support one another, has been shown to foster a sense of security among employees, which can also enable employees to think critically and speak openly about concerns without fear of repercussions.

It is therefore essential for your well-being and that of your colleagues to praise, acknowledge, and treat one another with respect. This is a key area to focus on when it comes to preventing stress in the workplace.