Well-done recognition inspires and motivates employees. It cultivates an environment of belonging, connection and engagement. But when unfair, recognition destroys physiological safety, discourages ideas, and destroys inclusive cultures.
According to a new Gallup study, many workplaces inadvertently discriminate regarding recognition. Workers share less, feel isolated, and become actively disengaged.
Earlier this year, Gallup polled 7,500 employees. What they found may shock you. Only about 1 in 4 employees feel they receive the same recognition as other employees. Although the Gallup study may be a surprise, it isn’t the only study to find similar findings.
Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Pew Research, and other notable researchers have noted a discrepancy in who gets heard and recognized for their contributions at work.
Let’s look at five groups of employees who often receive less credit than those around them and what you can do about it.
Minorities Receive Less Credit For Ideas Than White Colleagues
In the workplace, minorities are less likely to be heard and credited for their ideas and contributions. Harvard Business Review reports that minorities often have to “white scrub” themselves and their resumes to get job interviews.
Black employees feel they must straighten their hair, change their name to a more “American” name, and adopt “white” hobbies like kayaking, fishing, and hunting.
In another study, HBR found that minorities and women were likelier to receive assignments that were not career-promoting. Called “housework” assignments, they are tasks that have to be done but don’t cause recognition or advancement in the workplace. Glamour work, the projects that put employees on the managerial radar and promote advancements are most likely to be assigned to white males on the team.
And, when giving ideas, minorities are less likely to receive credit for their contributions than their male team members. If employees aren’t credited, they aren’t recognized either.
Recognition comes in many forms and for many employees, being given more significant, more complex assignments is a form of praise and a sign of trust. Promotions, credit, equal assignments, and equal weight when giving opinions are all forms of recognition that devalue the employee when not applied fairly.
Women Are Less Likely to Be Heard and More Likely to be Interrupted
A study by recruiting firm Randstad UK, found that 62% of employees said that women are less likely to get their ideas endorsed in a work setting than men. Another one by the University of Delaware found that while men get credit for “good leadership” when they speak up, women who speak up get no more credit than women who didn’t. Other times, when women do speak up, their male colleagues are credited with coming up with those ideas. “Hepeating” and “Bropropriation” are two terms that refer to the instances when men either repeat women’s ideas or are credited with them even when they don’t repeat them.
When women do speak up, they are often thought of as too aggressive, pushy, and masculine. This unintentional bias harms the workplace by taking many good ideas off the table, marginalizing women and minorities, and fostering a workplace that isn’t as inclusive as managers may believe.
People Managers Receive Less Recognition Than Other Employees
Gallup also found that people managers, managers in charge of people recruitment, engagement, and employee development, receive far less praise and recognition than their peers. Overall, only 17% of people managers feel they receive recognition for their work. They report giving out recognition three times as much as they receive it from their own managers.
In recent years, manager burnout skyrocketed in 2021. And team managers are often focused on individual recognition, while higher managers may be focused on a wider view of the company and reports. As a result, Managers of Managers (MoMs) may need to remember to focus on recognizing their direct reports. They may need more skills or habits toward employing a wide variety of recognition languages and tools than the managers they manage who consistently strive to recognize those within their teams.
Those Who See Potential Issues with An Idea Seldom Receive Credit
Imagine that your team is discussing ideas on how to overcome a challenge. One solution gains popularity and is rolled out. Months later, after great expense, energy, and work, a problem arises that forces the team to start completely over again.
Except you discover that some of the employees saw that outcome from the beginning. All the headaches and wasted time could have been avoided.
Employees who voice potential issues with new ideas are seldom recognized for their input. This might be because they are seen as “naysayers” or as being “pessimistic.” But, it’s important to remember that even when employees voice hesitation for processes being debated and discussed, they are contributing and helping their teams to avoid potential obstacles.
Younger Employees Need More Recognition Than Other Generations
Recognition is more important to younger employees than it is to older employees. Generation Z and Millenials are 73% more likely to want recognition a few times a month than Baby Boomers. In fact, Baby boomers and Generation X employees are the most likely to say they don’t need recognition.
This increased need for recognition often leaves younger employees feeling that they aren’t getting enough recognition or that their contributions aren’t being recognized as much as their peers.
Younger generation workers feel a need to be recognized and mentored more often to feel fulfilled at work. Its a hard balance to strike. In order to keep younger employees happier, managers must recognize them more frequently. But, this can leave older employees feeling that they are recognized less often than the younger workforce.
The Solution to Recognition Discrimination
Ensuring that recognition is given fairly and includes all employees is more than simply giving a “Y’all did a great job!” to the team. It means making sure that all employees are heard and are given a chance to excel in assignments. Inclusive recognition also means ensuring that all employees are encouraged to contribute to team meetings and give credit for their input.
This can be done by over-crediting minorities and women with their ideas. It can be done by instituting a no-interruption policy where others aren’t allowed to interrupt the speaker. Or, it can be done by creating a blind suggestions procedure where employees can contribute anonymously, and their names aren’t attached to their suggestions until after the ideas are evaluated.
Employers can take pulse surveys to identify blind spots in their organizations. Pulse surveys allow employees to provide feedback and help managers to keep track of important issues within the organization. Ask for recognition feedback in confidential 1:1 meetings.
Train managers to know recognition best practices. Many managers are expected to recognize employees, but three-quarters of all companies don’t provide training in recognition best practices. As a result, your managers may not be aware of their own recognition preferences.
About Thanks
Thanks is a leading provider of a recognition-based platform that increases communication, builds teamwork, and makes recognition a part of company culture. Fast, easy and simple Thanks makes it easy to bring data-driven employee recognition to your entire organization. O.C. Tanner purchased the Thanks platform in 2019 to fulfill the recognition needs of smaller businesses.
Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition.