Getting Recognition @ Work

July 29, 2024 By Tessa West

In this article the author explains why Despite working hard and meeting our goals,
sometimes it’s not clear why we cannot taste success @ work. The absence of strong feedback could
make us feel underappreciated or undervalued. The author opines that while managers can help boost
employee morale by bridging communication gaps around performance, it can be time consuming and lead
to frustrations. In this article the author is going to provide us means of empowering yourself in these
situations. and course correct to move in the right direction.
But what we need to realize is that you are not alone in this situation. The author states that in a
recent survey of over 1000 full-time employees in the United States, more than a half of respondents
reported feeling only somewhat valued (46.4%) or not valued at all (10.7%) by their organization.
The author opines that feeling underappreciated can come in many forms, but largely, it manifests
from lapses in communication between managers and their team members. Some of the tips given by the
author as below:

1. Suggestion#1 – The author states that there is a difference between high-visibility roles and status-
granting roles — and you need both visibility and status to move your career forward. Highly visible
work gives you a chance to network with people in positions of power, but it may not be brought up
during promotion decisions. The only way to know if a project or role is worth your time is to
explicitly and respectfully ask around if that role contribute to your status and improving your skills or
will it be discussed when promotion decisions are being made?”
2. Suggestion#2 – Stop being too much of a team player. The author quotes another study where
people who failed to land a promotion, 7% took on extra work that no one was doing to pick up the
slack, and 13% took it on because there was “no one else to do it.” The author states that this kind
of work might get noticed by your boss, but it’s unlikely that it will contribute to promotion @ work.
Strong teams must support one another’s career goals and it is better to remind your peers that
taking too much of volunteer work can make it tough for you to move up. Also get feedback from
your boss during a one-on-one, or a meeting focused specifically on discussing your goals and
growth.

The author concludes that when feedback around why we are or aren’t appreciated at work
is rare, the burden (unfortunately) falls on us to do the digging. But small steps — like finding out
what will and won’t count towards your growth — can be empowering. In the end it lies with our
individual self to check what best works for us whether that means changing our approach or
moving on to better opportunities.