GiftCard Partners Blog

According to a new poll of 617 full-time workers by
Flex+Strategy Group and Work+Life Fit, about half of all U.S. workers take part in some kind of wellness initiative, while about a third of all workers participate in some kind of employer-sponsored initiative. So if half of employees are doing some kind of exercise, and a third are doing it with work, what’s everyone else up to?

Whether we know it or not we are living in a professional environment where there is an effective employee recognition gap. That means employees don’t feel recognized and it's an employers responsibility to work on closing that gap. According to a survey commissioned by
recognition company OGO, 82% of employed Americans feel that their superiors are not recognizing them for their contributions. That lack of recognition can take a toll, not only on morale and productivity, but ultimately the overall productivity of the employee, their team, and the organization.

Technology has made working from home a more common occurrence than ever before. Gallup’s 2015 annual Work and Education poll showed that 37 percent of U.S. workers indicated they have worked from home, up almost 30 percent since 1995. So how are you going to engage so many remote employees this year? With an increased number of companies providing flexible schedules and the ability for many employees to work remotely at least part of the time, it is important to have a plan to motivate, inform engage remote employees to ensure success.

When typing the word “motivation” into Amazon’s bookstore you’ll discover there are over 100,000 books related to motivation: The Motivation Manifesto, 77 Ways to Get Motivated, Drive: The Surprise Truth About What Motivates Us; the list goes on and on.

But all that helpful advice must be taken with a grain of salt now that managers are motivating a multi-generational workforce. Three generations now make up today’s workforce.

Look around the office and you’ll see Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and who could forget all those Millennials. According to Pew Research Center’s 2015 study, U.S. Labor Force by Generation, Baby Boomers make up 44.6 million, Generation Xers make up 52.7 million, and Millennials make up 53.5 million of the U.S. labor force.

So why is this so important? Because each generation is motivated by different values, work styles, communication tactics, job responsibilities, and rewards.

A lack of recognition at work can severely impact employee satisfaction and retention. Luckily, an effective company recognition program can promote loyalty, boost motivation, and increase productivity.