Understanding the tangible gifts language of appreciation

Published date14 October 2019
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-03-2019-0023
Pages222-226
Date14 October 2019
AuthorPaul White,Natalie Hamrick
Subject MatterHr & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour
Understanding the tangible gifts
language of appreciation
Paul White and Natalie Hamrick
Abstract
Purpose Businesses are spendingbillions of dollars on recognition rewards with the intentof boosting
employee engagement, job satisfaction, and ultimately, their bottom line. However, employee
engagement is at an all-time low. The purpose of this study was designed to take a step back to
understand if thereare demographic differences that influence personalpreferences for tangible gifts as
their preferred languageof appreciation and of those who prefer to receive gifts, whattypes of gifts are
most valued.
Design/methodology/approach This study compared the demographics of those who selected
tangible gifts as their primary (N = 8,811), secondary (N= 14,827) or least valued (N = 108,586)
language of appreciation (motivating by appreciation inventory,White, 2011). From those with tangible
gifts as their primary language of appreciation, 500 were randomly selected to code their open-ended
suggestionsfor a preferred gift.
Findings There are no important factorsacross the demographics of gender, age or work settingthat
influencewhether individuals are more or less likely tochoose tangible gifts as their primary, secondaryor
least valued language of appreciation. Respondents identified gift cards, additional paid time off and
gifts relatedto desired personal experiences as their top gift choices.
Originality/value When giving gifts to colleagues, discovering individuals’ personal preferences
(favorite store,restaurant, ticketed event, food, drinkand lunch option) is more likely to resultin a gift that
‘‘hits themark’’ in showing appreciation to therecipient.
Keywords Gifts, Appreciation, Rewards, Recognition, Employee engagement
Paper type Research paper
Employee recognition and communicating appreciation to team members have been
shown as important factors relevant to employee engagement and job satisfaction
(Chapman and White, 2019). Estimations have been made that over $90bn are
spent annually on employee recognition rewards in the USA (Intellective Group, 2016).
Recognition programs have proliferated in the past several years, to the level that it is
estimated that 85-90 per cent of all organizations have some form of employee recognition
process. However, at the same time, employee engagement has sunken to its lowest level
in decades 87 per cent of employees havebeen found to be either marginally engaged or
totally disengaged (Harter, 2018).
Historically, tangible rewardshave been one of the primary ways employers recognize high
performing employees. These tangible rewards may include cash gifts, gift cards or
expensive vacations, but they often may be as simple as a plaque or a crystalline award
(Stewart, 2017).
Not everyone likes to be shown appreciation in the same way (Chapman and White, 2019).
When appreciation is not communicated in the ways thatare meaningful to the recipient not
only are time and effort wasted but also the goal of encouraging one’s colleague is not
attained and (by both parties) can result in frustration as well. Our research with over
Paul White and
Natalie Hamrick are based
at Appreciation at Work,
Wichita, USA.
PAGE 222 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jVOL. 18 NO. 5 2019, pp. 222-226, ©EmeraldPublishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/SHR-03-2019-0023

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