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Your Team Isn't Under-Recognized. They're Over-Thanked.

Writer: Eric Jones
Eric Jones
Oct 12
2 min read

More thank-yous may be hiding a relationship problem.

Recognition is happening more often. The O.C. Tanner Institute reports that 61% of employees received recognition in the past 30 days, up from 58% the year before. In-person recognition rose from 42% to 60%.

But frequency does not guarantee meaning.

Generic praise (“Great job,” “Thanks for all you do”) can become workplace wallpaper. People hear the words without feeling seen. Resilience-based leadership asks a sharper question: does your recognition strengthen the relationship between people and their work?

Notice

Recognition is not a morale tactic. It is infrastructure.

  • Name the exact contribution, not just the outcome.

  • Explain who benefited and why the work mattered.

  • Notice effort, judgment, care and collaboration, not only visible wins.

Integrated recognition is associated with 43x higher odds of organizational trust, 25x higher odds of doing great work and 26x higher odds of planning to stay another year, according to O.C. Tanner’s 2026 study.

3D clayart Roxanne Derhodge in an orange blazer holding the ROR book in conversation with a small team

Repair

Praise cannot compensate for conditions that keep exhausting people.

  • Do not thank employees for carrying an unsustainable workload.

  • Pair appreciation with action: redistribute, clarify, resource or stop something.

  • Ask, “What would make this contribution easier to sustain?”

Gallup reports that employees who do not feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to say they will leave within a year. Replacing a leader or manager can cost roughly 200% of salary. U.S. engagement sits at 31%, while low engagement cost the global economy approximately $10 trillion in lost productivity in 2025 — about 9% of GDP.

Practice

Make recognition human enough to build belonging.

  • Use a person’s preferred channel and be present when the moment matters.

  • Invite peers to recognize one another.

  • Connect appreciation to the relationship, not merely the reward.

Employees are seven times more likely to stay when recognition builds relationships. On dispersed teams, now 65% of the workforce, connection-driven recognition is linked to six times lower turnover.

That is the heart of ROR: Return on Relationship: performance grows where people feel genuinely connected, valued and understood.

Are your words of appreciation helping people feel seen, or simply helping the organization feel grateful?

What relationship, workload or contribution needs your attention before the next “thank you”?

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© 2035 by Roxanne Dehodge.

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