Research
What the research says about recognition at work, what turnover really costs, and what happens in the brain when someone says something true and kind. Every number has its source next to it, so you can look it up.
The short version
Most people go weeks without hearing they did something well. The ones who do hear it stay longer. And a sincere compliment lands better than the giver expects.
At work
of U.S. workers strongly agree they received recognition or praise for good work in the last seven days.
Gallup, May 2026Employees who don’t feel recognized are twice as likely to say they will quit in the next year.
Gallup, “Employee Recognition: Low Cost, High Impact”less likely to have left two years later, for employees who received high-quality recognition (about 3,500 people tracked from 2022 to 2024).
Gallup and Workhuman, 2024of employees say they get the right amount of recognition. Only 11% have ever been asked how they like to be recognized.
Gallup and Workhuman, 2024of workers say their organization gives no best-practice recognition training.
Gallup and Workhuman, 2022 (7,636 U.S. workers)of U.S. workers who quit a job in 2021 said feeling disrespected at work was a reason.
Pew Research Center, 2022Modelled by Gallup and Workhuman, 2023
The model shows about 9% higher productivity, 22% fewer safety incidents and 22% less absenteeism. For a 10,000-person company, they put it at $91.9 million in productivity, $3.8 million from fewer absences and $2.8 million from fewer injuries. These are modelled figures, not measured results, and they can’t be added together.
“From Praise to Profits,” Gallup and Workhuman, 2023Gallup’s meta-analysis, 2024
Across 3.3 million employees, the most engaged teams showed 23% higher profitability, 78% less absenteeism and 63% fewer safety incidents than the least engaged. Recognition is one part of engagement, not the whole of it.
Gallup Q12 Meta-Analysis, 11th edition, 2024of U.S. employees are engaged at work, and 17% are actively disengaged.
Gallup, 2026Worldwide, only about 20% of employees are engaged. Gallup puts the lost productivity at about $10 trillion, or 9% of global GDP.
Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026What turnover costs
Gallup estimates that replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their yearly salary, and that turnover costs U.S. businesses about a trillion dollars a year.
Gallup, “This Fixable Problem Costs U.S. Businesses $1 Trillion,” and “Employee Retention Depends on Getting Recognition Right,” 2024.
A worked example
Twenty people paid $40,000. Six leave in a year. At 40% each, that is $96,000 walking out the door.
The science of compliments
It lights up the brain
In brain scans, learning that others thought well of you activated the striatum, the same reward area that lights up when people receive money.
What it means: to the brain, a real compliment is a real reward.
Izuma, Saito and Sadato, 2008, NeuronIt helps people learn
People who were praised after learning a new finger-tapping skill performed it better the next day than people who weren’t.
What it means: say it while someone is learning, like a new hire in their first weeks.
Sugawara and others, 2012, PLoS ONEWe hold back too much
Givers expected the other person to feel less happy, and more awkward, than they really did. Because we guess wrong, most of us say fewer compliments than we should, and the giver ends up in a better mood too.
What it means: the compliment you are thinking about will land better than you fear. Say it.
Boothby and Bohns, 2021, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin; Zhao and Epley, 2021, Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyAt work
At a university fundraising call center, callers who got a short thank-you from the director made more than 50% more calls the next week. In another study, people who were thanked were twice as likely to help again.
What it means: gratitude from the person in charge changes effort.
Grant and Gino, 2010, Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyFor kids
Children praised for their effort chose harder puzzles and kept trying longer than children praised for being smart.
What it means: “You kept going on that hard problem” beats “You’re so smart.”
Mueller and Dweck, 1998, Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyIt spreads
When people were treated generously in a group game, they gave more to others later, and the effect spread to people up to three steps away.
What it means: your compliment can reach people you will never meet.
Fowler and Christakis, 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesWhat we don’t claim
You will sometimes see a claim online that a weekly compliment raises productivity by 30 to 35%. That figure is not supported by the recognition research, and we don’t use it. The numbers above are strong enough. Don’t let anybody quote you a bigger one.
Most workplace figures are correlations and models across very large groups. They are not a promise about your specific team. Recognition on its own won’t fix low pay, a broken schedule or a bad supervisor. What it will do is stop you losing people you could have kept, and it costs nothing to try for thirty days.
See how we measure your teamSources
Think of one person who did something good this week. Tell them what you noticed, and why it mattered.
