Until a month and a half ago I was employed. I was a part time employee working full time hours at a bank. I enjoyed my job and loved the people I worked with. The reasons I left had nothing to do with the staff at my branch, in fact since September of 2015 I had been doing a two hour one way drive to this job because I had to move.
I left due to a cut in hours, events that effected my integrity and the drive. I still feel horrible for leaving, but I had to. So many people ask me why I stayed as long as I did, well it’s simple really. My boss was amazing and he really had my back, he would tell me when I was doing a great job and keep us motivated. He was also very understanding when things happened and treated us like human beings, not robots.
The bank overall however didn’t even consider that I was part time employee working 40 hours a week for almost a year, I didn’t get a raise, something my boss had no say over. In general I stayed because I had a good boss, and could afford the drive, but once I couldn’t I didn’t hesitate to leave, mostly because as a company this bank really did not have the recognition for hard work, just for people who helped them make the most money. At one point I was the only teller they had, I was working like crazy and dealing with many irate customers. Still only my boss recognized the work I was putting in.
I stayed because of one person, I left because when it came to the company I felt like I didn’t matter. I was just a robot to them, someone to fill in a space. That is why employee recognition is so important today, not because people want to feel special for every little thing they do, but people like me who did over and beyond their job to help the company.
All I wanted was a thank you. A simple email saying keep up the good work, we understand you are doing us a favor, thank you. That never happened from higher up. It was like I didn’t exists. They did award points for a job well done, but I hardly got those and didn’t get them for the extra hours.
Yes, I got paid, but for many of us being able to say hey I worked these extra hours, did them a favor and look what they gave me, does improve our employee moral. Gift cards for a meal or something that would make us feel that we are appreciated.
Many companies have forgotten about the little guy, you train them and wonder why they left, a big reason is that the company as a whole does not seem to care about them. They lose loyalty and go elsewhere, possibly to start the process over.
What do you think? Do you believe employee recognition has an effect on how you preform in your job?