PRESS RELEASES

Unappreciated workers vote with their feet - one in four quit

National Thank You Week 19th-23rd November

7th November, 2007 - Independent research commissioned by Maritz, a performance improvement company, reveals that almost a third (30%) of UK workers claim never to be thanked for their personal contribution at work; a significant 50% increase from two years ago. At the other end of the scale, one in five (21%) say they are thanked more than once a week. The survey results show that being thanked has a positive or very positive effect on morale for nine out of ten of those surveyed. Two in five (38%) said being thanked had a very positive effect on their productivity and a similar number (36%) on their willingness to remain with the company.

Elizabeth Houldsworth, Associate Professor, Henley Management College comments: ‘We all know that saying please and thank you is an act of common courtesy, however the importance of ‘thank you‘ in the workplace is often overlooked, but it is a means of achieving the goals of staff retention AND also high performance. Established academic research tells us that along with achieving a work-life balance, the most important variables for employee commitment are: communication & rewards and recognition”.

When asked about the reasons for leaving their last job, over a quarter of respondents (28%) said that not feeling valued or appreciated contributed a great deal to their decision to move. Almost the same number (29%) left due to the desire for a better work/life balance, with almost one in five (18%) of UK workers saying they do not have a good work-life balance. In addition, one in four said that a poor relationship with their manager or team was the greatest contributor to their job move.

Professor Houldsworth continues: ‘Indeed, studies have suggested that by focusing on increasing employee satisfaction by 5% will lead to 0.5% increase in revenue growth. So saying a ‘thank you’ to those who have gone the extra mile, not only helps to increase their level of employee satisfaction, but also contributes to organisational performance".

It appears that ‘push’ factors influence a decision to change jobs rather than ‘pull’ factors relating to money and status. Nearly one in three (31%) said that pay and benefits were not a factor in their decision to move jobs and 41% said that poor training and career development opportunities had no bearing on their decision.

"The workplace is changing and people want more than just a pay cheque. British workers want to be appreciated for their efforts, to feel they are making a difference and to have an adequate work/life balance. Managers and bosses need to take note of this now and put time, effort and money into making their staff feel wanted. Our experience shows that their business will quickly reap the benefits through increased productivity and decreased recruitment costs," states Nick Bender, Managing Director of Maritz.

Respondents were asked what they would find most and least motivational when asked to ‘go the extra mile’ at work. The results indicate that managers should think carefully how they 'sell' an extra task to employees as the majority, 28%, said that putting in extra time and effort because it was important to the business was least motivational to them. Engagement is key - a quarter said they would be most motivated if they were likely to enjoy the task.

The gender split was negligible except in two areas: of those who said a tangible reward was most motivational, 65% were male and 35% female. Of those who found the opportunity to learn or develop their skills most motivational, 47% were male and 53% female. Overall, these two motivators came out top, with half of all respondents choosing one or the other.