One in five employees feel they receive less recognition working from home

It is claimed that businesses need to stop equating ‘face time’ with productivity and move away from the culture where hours worked is linked to performance and commitment.

A fifth of UK workers feel they get less recognition within their career as a direct result of working remotely despite working harder, research has found.

The poll of 1,085 employees, conducted by Ezra, found 20 per cent felt they received less recognition from their workplace since they started working remotely, while 72 per cent said they received about the same. Just 8 per cent reported they received more recognition.

This is despite 55 per cent saying they were more likely to work additional hours since working remotely. It should be taken as a reminder to businesses of the importance of the informal interactions that often happen in a physical workplace. 

Socialising at breaks and on the office floor gives an opportunity for personal thanks and praise and encouragement. Even when management does remember to thank their staff, this could feel impersonal to someone receiving this thanks on a video call with hundreds of colleagues.

Businesses need to remember the importance of recognition for employee engagement and motivation, now more than ever.

Working remotely does not mean that people cannot be recognised effectively, whether that’s peer-to-peer recognition or from the wider organisation through more formal schemes.  Businesses should consider sharing stories of their staff’s efforts as a way of acknowledging significant contributions.