When it comes to work, appreciation of employees has been shown and established to improve productivity in general. According to Dr Opiyo Andala, an educator at Mount Kenya University, when one feels that their work is appreciated and recognised, they feel valued and therefore this increases their motivation to work hard. He says, prosperity is the dream of every entrepreneur and appreciating those who work for you will lead to this through their engagement at work. “When employees are engaged, they are definitely more likely to invest and dedicate all their time to what they do, which at the end of the day leads to a higher quality of work produced,” he says. Andala observes that when appreciation is highly considered at the workplace, it creates a positive environment as well as improve on how employees relate to each other as far as work is concerned. He says that many studies have revealed that appreciation is one of the proven methods to motivate employees, make them more productive and committed to their jobs. “When your effort is appreciated, as an employee, it pushes you to strive at improving and doing better than how you are doing already,” he adds. Meanwhile, Sylvain Bizirema, a science and chemistry teacher at Ecole des Sciences St Louis de Montfort in Nyanza District also believes that when you recognise someone’s efforts, it boosts their morale. He notes that such employees will as well show appreciation to their colleagues thus making the entire team feel competent which will increase their level of proficiency. In addition to improving productivity, he says that showing appreciation in the workplace also increases employee enthusiasm towards what they do. “When you are dedicated to what you are doing, it allows you to be more likely to gain success, promotions, and most importantly, the ability to work under a challenging environment. Also, this skill is beneficial to an individual because it makes them enjoy what they do, it therefore becomes easier to achieve their goals in life,” he says. How do you appreciate employees? At the workplace, appreciation can be as simple as saying “thank you” for a job well done, for completing a project quickly, or for coming to a meeting prepared and ahead of time. Jean Marie Habimana, the director of Ready for Reading, an organisation that strives at advancing literacy and learning for youth in Kayonza District, says appreciation doesn’t require a whole lot to recognise hard-working employees. He reckons that it can be as simple as saying thank you or simply giving positive feedback towards work well done. Besides, he says that appreciation shouldn’t be done on special occasions only; rather, doing it regularly is crucial. In addition to this, Habimana says trying to understand your workers or colleagues’ interests is vital too. “This would be helpful when it comes to appreciating them with small gifts which can light up their day.” On the other hand, Bizirema says that sometimes the best way to show appreciation is to give your employees freedom when they need it.
