Feature: Thank your lucky stars

It was allegedly Oprah Winfrey who started it all in the US, suggesting that the third Monday in September should be National Thank You Day, when everyone should go out of their way to express their gratitude to people who had helped them over the past 12 months. It was formalised this year by American etiquette expert Peggy Post, the great-granddaughter-in-law of Emily Post, author of the landmark 1922 book, Etiquette. Saying thank you, according to Peggy, “can bring happiness, change attitudes and influence people”.

In Britain, where we are traditionally famed throughout the world for our politeness, one day is not enough, and the annual National Thank You Day has been extended to National Thank You Week this year, running from November 19 to 23. It is sponsored by performance improvement company Maritz, which is focused on the business case for thanking people through rewards and recognition.

To tie in with this diary date, it commissioned independent research that revealed that 30 per cent of UK workers claimed they had never been thanked for their personal contribution at work, which is 50 per cent more than two years ago. At the other end of the scale, one in five people said they were thanked more than once a week.

The survey also showed that being thanked had a positive or very positive effect on morale for nine out of 10 of those surveyed. Two in five said being thanked had a very positive effect on their productivity and a similar number on their willingness to remain with the company.

Elizabeth Houldsworth, associate professor at Henley Management College, says: “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 and rewards, and recognition.”

When asked about the reasons for leaving their last job, 28 per cent of respondents said that not feeling valued or appreciated contributed a great deal to their decision to move. Almost the same number left due to the desire for a better work-life balance, with 18 per cent saying their work-life balance was poor. One in four said that a poor relationship with their manager or team was the greatest contributor to their job move.

“Indeed, studies have suggested that, by focusing on increasing employee satisfaction by five per cent will lead to 0.5 per cent increase in revenue growth,” adds Professor Houldsworth. “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. Over 30 per cent said that pay and benefits were not a factor in their decision to move jobs and 41 per cent said that poor training and career development opportunities had no bearing on their decision.

Respondents were asked what they would find most and least motivational when asked to “go the extra mile” at work. The results indicated that managers should think carefully how they “sell” an extra task to employees as the majority said that putting in extra time and effort because it was important to the business was least motivational to them. But engagement was 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 per cent were male and 35 per cent female. Of those who found the opportunity to learn or develop their skills most motivational, 47 per cent were male and 53 per cent female. Overall, these two motivators came out top, with half of all respondents choosing one or the other.

Nick Bender, managing director of Maritz, said: “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.”