Employee motivation: It’s not the thought that counts!

One of the best articles you’ll ever read on employee motivation is “The Little Things That Make Employees Feel Appreciated” by Kerry Roberts Gibson, Kate O’Learly, and Joseph R. Weintraub from The Harvard Business Review (HBR), January 23, 2020. Here’s a brief overview.

Myth of appreciation

We are all self-deluded. Each of us. Here’s one: Employees know how much we appreciate them.

We tend to overestimate how much our feelings rise to the surface. Psychologists call this the “illusion of transparency.” Managers also tend to buy into conventional wisdom about what demonstrates appreciation.

Don’t do that, do this instead

Here are Do Not’s:

Being perfunctory. Ever get a manager emailing or saying “thank you” or “well done” or a “congrats”—all without an elaboration? You want to tell the manager, “Don’t bother.” According to the authors, “There is a big difference between yelling a thank-you on your way out the door versus sitting down with someone to describe the things you value about their work and its positive effect on the team or organization.” When in doubt, go with the concrete—dump the abstract.