Managers often believe they show appreciation, but many employees don't feel recognized.

Recognition fails when it is expressed but not experienced by employees in meaningful ways.

Feeling valued at work is linked to lower burnout and higher motivation and well-being.

Personalized, specific gratitude is more effective than general or generic praise.

Most managers believe they show appreciation at work.

Most employees disagree.

I learned this firsthand on my 10-year work anniversary.

At my workplace, they start celebrating employment milestones at 10 years, and every five years thereafter. They have an appreciation lunch and you get to pick a gift from a catalog of corporate swag (e.g., a hat or a reusable lunch bag). Even though I knew these gifts were nothing special, I looked forward with eager anticipation to my 10-year mark when I would be invited to my first appreciation luncheon.

The only problem is my workplace went through significant financial hardship during my 9th year of employment. They cut jobs, denied raises, and cut out all extras, including the appreciation lunch and milestone gifts.

As my 10-year work anniversary date approached, I knew there would be no lunch or gift. But even so…. I kept thinking I’d at least receive an email. Something small. A quick acknowledgement.

That said, my department has an annual retreat and at the first retreat after my 10-year work anniversary, one of our department administrators had gift bags put together for all the employment milestones. It was simple enough — a........

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