The authors are interested in how much recognition employees receive from supervisors and colleagues, which reasons for appreciation are important to them, how frequently they actually perceive appreciation for these reasons, and how such recognition affects Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB).
Article by Aline Vianne Barr
Against the backdrop of skilled labor shortages, demographic change, and high turnover rates, factors that strengthen the bond between organizations and their employees are gaining increasing importance. Appreciation represents a central resource that not only enhances individual well-being and job satisfaction, but also promotes the willingness to engage voluntarily in OCB. While earlier studies primarily emphasized the role of supervisors, the present investigation also highlights the importance of colleagues as communicators of appreciation.
The study is based on an online survey of 486 employees in Germany, conducted in December 2023. The respondents were employees of larger organizations, mostly from the private sector, the majority of whom had been with their company for at least three years.
The findings show that both supervisors and colleagues communicate a high level of appreciation, with colleagues expressing recognition somewhat more frequently. Particularly important to respondents as reasons for appreciation are their reliability, their willingness to take responsibility, and solution-oriented work. Appreciation is most often perceived for reliability, individual performance, and solution-oriented work. Thus, the reasons for which recognition is desired largely align with the occasions on which it is actually experienced. At the same time, the study points to a discrepancy: the importance of individual reasons consistently exceeds the level of perceived appreciation, indicating a widespread sense of undervaluation. The gaps are especially large for willingness to take responsibility, extraordinary engagement, and daily work performance.
Of central interest are also the effects on prosocial behavior in the workplace. Appreciation from supervisors primarily enhances OCB at the organizational level, for instance employees representing their company externally. Appreciation from colleagues, by contrast, has an effect on both levels: it fosters OCB at the organizational level as well as individual OCB, such as supporting new team members. This difference can be explained by the fact that supervisors are perceived more strongly as representatives of the organization, while colleagues shape the daily work experience directly.
Thus, the study has both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it confirms the significance of appreciation as a central resource of internal communication and extends previous research by emphasizing the role of colleagues as equally important communicators of recognition as supervisors. Practically, several courses of action emerge for internal communication management: organizations should systematically foster appreciation, both through supervisors and employees. In addition, structures of an "architecture of listening" are needed to capture and take the expectations and needs of employees seriously. Finally, communication strategies should recognize that appreciation from supervisors and colleagues has different effects and therefore must be promoted in a targeted manner depending on the overarching communication goal.
In conclusion, the study demonstrates that appreciation in everyday work is of central importance, yet there remains a gap between employees' expectations and the recognition they actually experience. By making the different roles of supervisors and colleagues in this process visible, it contributes both to the further development of communication theory and to providing practice-oriented impulses for organizations that seek to strengthen motivation, retention, and engagement of their employees through a culture of appreciation.
Study author Jens Hagelstein concludes: "Receiving appreciation and being willing to go the 'extra mile' – these things are directly related, as our study results clearly show. One finding that surprised us was that respondents primarily want appreciation for everyday efforts such as reliability and willingness to take responsibility. In practice, not only communication departments and supervisors but all employees should recognize and appreciate the achievements of their colleagues."
