A Culture of Appreciation: Being Seen Beyond Pay

What is a culture of appreciation and how do you build one at work? See how going unseen affects staff, and fair, sincere ways for managers to show it.

The sentences an employee says when leaving a job are often not about pay: "I worked for years and not once did anyone say thank you." "Whatever I did went unnoticed." Behind these sentences lies an unmet basic human need: to be seen. A culture of appreciation is a shared set of habits in an organisation in which effort, hard work and contribution are noticed and voiced regularly, sincerely and fairly. In this article I look at why appreciation does not replace pay but does something pay cannot, the psychological effects of not being seen on employees, and how employers, HR managers and first-line supervisors can build this culture.

What Is a Culture of Appreciation?

Appreciation is often confused with an "employee of the month" plaque or a New Year's gift given once a year. Yet a culture of appreciation is less an awards ceremony than an everyday language. A shift supervisor telling an operator who reported a machine fault early, "Good thing you noticed, you've prevented a major stoppage"; an HR manager showing their team the concrete result of what they did after a busy period; a general manager mentioning not only sales figures but also the unseen work of support units: these are all parts of this culture.

Appreciation can be experienced at three different levels:

• Appreciation of results: Noticing measurable achievements such as reaching a target, finishing a project or raising quality.
• Appreciation of effort: Seeing the work put in even when the result is not at the expected level, or the patience shown in a difficult period.
• Appreciation of the person: Making the employee feel valuable as a person, not just for the work they do: asking for their opinion, addressing them by name, knowing the important moments in their life.

A healthy organisation balances these three levels. In organisations that focus only on results, those who do jobs whose results are not directly visible (maintenance teams, cleaning staff, accounting, warehouse) remain permanently invisible.

Say that in a food factory the maintenance team spent a whole weekend repairing a faulty cooling unit, and on Monday production started without any interruption. In the management meeting, while that week's production record was being discussed, there was no mention that this record was possible thanks to the maintenance team's weekend effort. For the maintenance team the message is clear: "When nothing goes wrong, we don't exist." It is not realistic to expect the same willingness the next time there is a weekend call-out. Yet two sentences said in the meeting and a thank-you given by going to the team could have changed this picture completely.

Why Is Not Being Seen So Wearing?

Human beings are social creatures and need to see that their effort is met with something in return. That return is not only financial. In an employee who goes unnoticed for a long time, this process is often observed: first they try harder, then resentment begins, then effort falls away with the thought "no one sees it anyway". In the end the person puts an emotional distance between themselves and the job.

This distance overlaps with one of the dimensions the World Health Organization lists when defining burnout. The WHO defines burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed; its dimensions include increased mental distance from one's job and reduced professional efficacy (WHO, 2019). The WHO classifies this not as an illness but as an "occupational phenomenon". A lack of appreciation does not on its own lead to burnout; but in an environment where effort goes unseen it is much harder to sustain a sense of competence. I covered this in more detail in the article on preventing employee burnout.

The situation in Turkey also needs particular attention. According to Gallup's 2026 report, only 8% of employees in Turkey are truly engaged in their work; the world average is 20% (Gallup, 2026; 2025 data). According to the same data, 36% of employees in Turkey say they experienced intense anger the previous day; the global average is 22%. In a working life where anger and resentment are so widespread, having one's effort seen is a small but important protective factor.

Appreciation is one of the lowest-cost management behaviours, but when neglected, one of the most costly.

Why Appreciation Does Not Replace Pay but Does What Pay Cannot

It is important to be clear about this distinction, because if misunderstood this approach can provoke anger in employees.

Pay is a matter of fairness. In a period when the cost of living is keenly felt, telling an employee who is struggling to make ends meet "We appreciate you greatly" while never discussing pay empties appreciation of its meaning. The employee sees this as a stalling tactic. Appreciation is therefore not an alternative to fair pay but a complement to it. I looked at the subject of pay fairness separately in the article on pay fairness.

Appreciation is a matter of meaning. Pay is the market return on effort and is tied to a contract. Appreciation is the human return on effort: "What you did mattered and I noticed it." This message gives the person a sense of belonging, lets them see that what they have learned is of use, and builds an emotional bond with the organisation. No pay rise can exactly produce the effect of a manager's sincere, concrete thank-you.

Put another way, pay gives the employee a reason not to leave; appreciation gives a reason to stay.

This distinction also has a concrete counterpart for the business. In a report Deloitte published in the UK in 2022, 28% of employees had left their job in the past year or planned to leave in the coming year; about 40% of the costs of leaving were linked to mental health problems (Deloitte, 2022). These figures are specific to the UK and are not directly about appreciation; but they show how decisive an employee's psychological wellbeing can be for turnover. The wellbeing of an employee who feels unseen and whose effort goes unreturned also suffers in the long term.

Obstacles to a Culture of Appreciation

Many managers know appreciation is important but struggle in practice. The most common obstacles are:

The thought "They're just doing their job, why should I thank them?"

Especially in traditional and hierarchical working cultures, doing the job well is seen as something "already expected". Yet steadily delivering what is expected is also effort and deserves to be noticed.

The worry that appreciation will "spoil" people

Some managers fear that praise will make employees slacken. Concrete, fact-based appreciation does not make people slack; on the contrary, it clarifies which behaviour is valuable and makes it easier for that behaviour to be repeated.

A communication pattern where only mistakes are discussed

In teams where only problems, mistakes and delays come up in meetings, employees experience every encounter with the manager in expectation of criticism. This weakens open communication. In the OSH Pulse 2022 survey carried out in Europe, 26% of employees reported poor communication or a lack of cooperation within the organisation (EU-OSHA, 2022).

The manager's own burnout

According to Gallup's data, managers' engagement has also fallen to 22% (Gallup, 2026). It is hard for a manager who is under pressure and receives no appreciation themselves to show appreciation to their team. A culture of appreciation must therefore flow from the top down.

Appreciation perceived as unfair

Appreciation always going to the same people, those close to the manager standing out, or visible work being constantly rewarded over invisible work can turn appreciation from a tool of motivation into a source of envy and cliques.

Expressing feeling being seen as "weakness"

In some work environments, especially male-dominated production floors, thanking someone or openly praising someone's effort may be seen as softness. A foreman may have adopted being "tough but fair" as a sign of authority. This attitude usually comes not from ill will but from a learned management style. Showing managers with concrete examples that appreciation is not a weakness but a part of strong leadership is the first step in changing this pattern.

What Does Good Appreciation Look Like?

Effective appreciation has some common features:

• Be concrete: Instead of "Great job", saying "Spotting the leak on the line last night and reporting it straight away saved this morning's production" shows clearly what is valuable.
• Be timely: The sooner after the event appreciation comes, the more meaningful it is. An achievement remembered months later does not have the same effect.
• Be sincere: Standard thank-yous delivered by rote or repeated at the end of every meeting soon lose their value.
• Suit the person: Some employees like being appreciated in front of everyone, while others are uncomfortable with it and find a few sentences said one to one more valuable.
• Be fair: The work of different units, shifts and types of task should be followed with equal attention. Those working the night shift show effort that management cannot see in the daytime; this effort too should be made visible.
• Be balanced with developmental feedback: Appreciation is not the absence of criticism. In a healthy environment, employees hear both what they are doing well and what they can improve. I describe how this balance can be built in the article on feedback culture.

Practical Steps for Employers and Managers

1. Make appreciation part of the manager's role. Add the criterion "noticing and voicing the team's contribution" to manager competency definitions. Having this behaviour included in evaluation shows that it is really valued.
2. Create a short weekly moment of appreciation. In shift-start meetings or weekly team meetings, set aside two or three minutes to share good examples from the previous week.
3. Make room for appreciation within the team. Appreciation does not have to come only from above. A board, an internal communication channel or a meeting ritual where employees can thank one another strengthens team bonds.
4. Make invisible work visible. Share regularly the contribution of maintenance, cleaning, security, warehouse and support units. Preventing a stoppage or an accident not happening is also a success.
5. Appreciate safety behaviour. Appreciating an employee who reports a near miss or stops a dangerous situation directly supports the workplace safety culture. Conversely, meeting a report with blame silences employees.
6. Keep appreciation linked to pay and development. If an employee who has performed highly for a long time receives only verbal thanks and sees no development or pay opportunities, appreciation loses its credibility.
7. Appreciate managers too. When the effort of middle managers and foremen is noticed by senior management, it becomes easier for them to show the same behaviour to their teams.
8. Do not forget remote and field employees. In hybrid or remote teams, among technicians working alone in the field and in branches in different cities, effort is easily overlooked. Planning regular one-to-one meetings for these employees and naming their contribution in shared meetings reduces the invisibility created by distance.
9. Do not cut appreciation in hard times. In times of crisis, downsizing or heavy order loads, appreciation is usually the first behaviour to be forgotten. Yet these are exactly the times when employees most need support. Voicing the effort shown, even when targets are not met, helps the team get through the hard period together.

How to Get Started in Your Organisation

1. Needs analysis: With an anonymous employee survey, measure how far employees feel seen, whether they think appreciation is distributed fairly, and their relationships with their managers. In exit interviews, look at how often the theme of "not being noticed" comes up.
2. Programme: With short, hands-on workshops for managers, work on concrete appreciation language, balance in feedback and the skill of talking with an employee who is struggling. Start team-based appreciation practices as a pilot in a few units.
3. Measurement: Repeat the survey after six months; monitor turnover, absenteeism, and the number of internal suggestions and near-miss reports. Alongside the figures, listen to what employees say. Focus group discussions can bring out details that surveys miss, for example which unit feels "forgotten" or which forms of appreciation are found insincere.

You can look at how this process might be planned with a psychologist's support on the corporate services page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a culture of appreciation need a large budget?

No. The most effective forms of appreciation are often just a few concrete and sincere sentences from a manager. Material rewards can be meaningful, but they do not replace everyday appreciative language. The real investment is managers' time and attention.

If everyone is appreciated, doesn't appreciation lose its value?

Appreciation loses value when it is generic and formulaic; it does not when it is concrete and deserved. What matters is not praising everyone with the same sentence but noticing each employee's real contribution. Everyone has a contribution; a well-built culture makes these contributions visible.

Can appreciation be used in place of a pay rise?

No. Appreciation does not replace fair pay; appreciation given without resolving the pay problem can make employees feel they are being stalled. The two answer different needs: pay provides fairness, while appreciation provides meaning and belonging.

What should be done with employees who are uncomfortable being appreciated?

Some employees may be embarrassed or uneasy about being singled out in front of everyone. For them, a one-to-one, brief and calm thank-you or a written note is more suitable. Asking the person how they like to be appreciated is also a step that strengthens the relationship.

• #culture of appreciation
• #employee engagement
• #feedback
• #leadership

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Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

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