For decades, survey after survey has shown that recognition, respect, etc., are far more important to employees than compensation. A new survey from Globoforce’s WorkHuman Research Institute confirms that the trend continues. One of the best things about this, in my opinion, is that every manager can impact things like recognition in the workplace in a positive way. In short, there are small things managers can do every day to improve their workplaces, employee morale and engagement.

On the union avoidance front this is key. In many cases, the catalyst for unionization of a workforce is mistreatment of employees by management (including lack of recognition on the job). This latest survey confirms the importance of maintaining positive employee relations. Accordingly, companies should consider ensuring union-free plans contain a strong component of positive employee relations training/planning.