Employers can increase staff engagement by 20%-30% by simply saying "thank you" to staff, according to O.C. Tanner.

Research from O.C. Tanner and Towers Perrin of 10,000 employees across 13 countries, shows appreciation of staff creates the right conditions, for engagement and productivity to reach maximum levels.

Chester Elton, one of the authors of The Carrot Principle, said: "We have always known appreciation positively affects employee engagement. What we wanted to determine with this study is whether of not this holds true on an international scale - and the answer is yes."

But Adrian Gostic, the other author of The Carrot Principle, added: "While employees in China and Russia value team recognition more highly than individual acclaim, the more modest British prefer recognition from their boss. It is clear every country places a high value on the power of recognition."

The study shows engagement leads employees to feelings of pride, trust, opportunity and wellbeing and reports simple appreciation of staff took the engagement levles of low-performing companies up to 63%.