'Good job': Why praising people at work actually benefits healthcare organizations financially

It seems praise at work is more than just a way to make people feel better. A new report found tangible financial benefits to improving recognition of people's work, and hospitals are at the forefront of that.

The gain in productivity for organizations per 10,000 employees is estimated at almost $92 million annually, for example, according to the Gallup/Workhuman report. For hospitals, simply reinforcing people by telling them they are doing good work on a regular basis can see that number rise to $114 million.

Such a focus on praising workers can also help significantly with reducing safety issues in the workplace, the report said. There is an average decrease of 22 percent in such incidents, with an average of $2.8 million in cost savings per 10,000 employees, that number more than doubling to $5.9 million for hospitals when such praise is institutional.

Absenteeism, which is estimated to cost $47.6 billion for mental health reasons alone in lost productivity annually, is also reduced if employee recognition is part of work culture.

The report used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find such tangible benefits. But there is a lot more work to be done, as only 2 in 10 senior leaders said that recognition is a major strategic priority for their organizations.

"This means that, although the science validates the practical value of recognition, very few leaders are taking recognition seriously enough to see the benefits," the report said. "To see these impacts, businesses need to create cultures of recognition where praise and acknowledgment pervade every level of the organization."

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