Sooner or later, it had to happen. Someone would put a monetary value on the phrase "thank you." Monster.com can lay claim to the deed.
Monster surveyed workers in the UK, asking them a series of questions about recognition from their employer. The quick answer: a regular "thank you" is worth slightly more than $3,400 a year to employees.
Not only that, but 63% of those surveyed said they'd take a verbal thank-you in place of a bonus when they'd "gone the extra mile" on the job.
(Monster didn't survey U.S. workers but it's a safe bet Americans feel the same about these questions as do their British cousins.)
Looking at the survey results, it appears that lots of British parents forgot to drill their budding managers/children on the importance of "please" and "thank you."
How many British workers feel sad because they don't hear "thank you" often enough? A Monster survey says 58% responded in the affirmative.
Does a lack of hearing that simple phrase, "thank you," demotivate you? Yes, said 41% of employees surveyed. The same percentage of bosses acknowledged that the hallowed phrase isn't used nearly enough at their workplace.
The number ($3,406) was arrived at by asking the employees what the lost "thank yous" were worth to them.
"On average, employees would want to be paid an extra $284 a month for never being thanked at work to compensate for the lack of appreciation," the report said.
However, the numbers also suggested most bosses are at least OK in the courtesy department. Nearly 90% of employees thought their bosses were at least somewhat grateful for their efforts, and only 8% cited their bosses "as lacking manners or even being downright rude (3%)."
In addition, 63% of employees feel a simple verbal thank you is more important than a pay rise when attempting to thank an employee who has gone the extra mile.
"Saying thank you is the type of small change that can have a big impact in the workplace," said Andrew Sumner, managing director, Monster.co.uk in the UK and Ireland.
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