Nearly half (48%) of those aged 55-plus were not rewarded by their employer for hard work last year, according to incentive and reward expert Red Letter Days.
The Rewards Report found that 42% of those aged 18 to 24 did not receive a reward, while 36% of the 45 to 54 age group also missed out. The most commonly rewarded age groups were 25- to 34-year-olds (where only 23% were not rewarded), and 35- to 44-year-olds, where only a third (31%) were not rewarded.
Most (82%) of the employees who said they felt motivated in 2015 did receive some form of reward. Of those who did not feel motivated in 2015, 69% did not receive any type of recognition. When rewarded employees were asked how the recognition made them feel 38% said ‘valued’ and 26% said ‘motivated’. However, 16% said they felt ‘nothing’.
Bill Alexander, CEO at Red Letter Days For Business, said: “[This] shows us that dangling carrots in front of disengaged staff is not going to instantly make them engaged,” he said. “Rewards should be used to maintain engagement, not engage people in the first place.”
In a separate survey conducted by Reward Gateway 48% of 1,104 respondents said they would like their company to recognise them by giving them cash. When asked about their preferred reward a third (33%) selected an experience, 15% chose a shopping voucher, and 4% wanted a Kindle.
Speaking at an Engagement Excellence Live event in London, Debra Corey, author and group reward director at Reward Gateway, said the findings demonstrate that a “one-size-fits-all approach to recognition” will not work.
“Employees want to be recognised in a way where they feel valued by their company, so there is not one option that will work for everyone,” she said. “Businesses need to sit up and take notice of this by using not one, but a variety of tools and methods to recognise their staff.”
