Research* shows that 53% of UK HR leaders are struggling to attract and retain employees in the new world of work. That’s certainly cause for concern.

But perhaps even more insidious and potentially damaging to organisations is the recent workplace trend known as “quiet quitting”. Part of this is a healthy movement to draw workplace boundaries that can actually lead to greater creativity, productivity, and fulfilment. But another part translates into active disengagement, doing the bare minimum.

As the UK braces itself for a winter of economic hardship, the last thing organisations need is for their best talent to take flight and be left with a high percentage of actively disengaged ‘quiet quitters’.

The challenge: recognition in the hybrid workplace
There is a way to avoid this: building cultures where employees are recognised and feel a sense of belonging. These are nice, easy things to say, but more difficult to put into practice. Especially in the new world of hybrid work – which, according to the AWI research, is the setup that UK workers overwhelmingly prefer (54% vs 33% “fully remote” and 12% “full-time onsite”). So how do companies make people feel truly valued when there’s little to no day-to-day contact?

The UK stats in the AWI research reveal the extent to which UK employers appear to be struggling with these issues: only 14% of UK workers report feeling ‘meaningfully recognised at work’; only 11% say their employers take meaningful action on employee feedback; and only 18% report feeling a sense of belonging.

If you want to retain your best people, these figures mustn’t be ignored. Anthony Klotz, the associate professor at UCL School of Management who predicted the “Great Resignation” said recently in GQ Magazine: “people are good citizens when they feel their organisation has over-invested in them, but if they feel like their company has under-invested in them, they’ll do the bare minimum.”

So, what does this investment look like? The good news is that it’s not necessarily a monetary reward that people crave most. We’ve found that meaningful recognitions, aligned to company values, are what work most effectively to cultivate belonging and employee engagement. In fact, seventy-six percent of the recognitions that our customers post through our technology platform are non-monetary.

Of course, as the cost of living escalates, financial rewards become a higher priority. And certainly, colleagues expect these most in recognition for producing hard business outcomes, like conceiving a new channel strategy that led to ten percent revenue growth. Meaningful, non-monetary recognitions work best for giving plaudits to colleagues who have demonstrated your company’s values in a tangible way – like helping a colleague learn a valuable new skill.

Making recognition meaningful
There’s also a small investment in time required to stop, reflect, and make recognition meaningful. Let me explain. A meaningful recognition is specific about the contribution a colleague made. It also describes the impact of what they did. So instead of telling a colleague they did ‘an amazing job’ on a recent presentation, it sounds more like: “I really appreciate the quality of the research and data analysis you undertook, which helped persuade our business partner in Estonia to commit to an exclusive arrangement”. Even better is when you can tie to a company value. In this case, the employee’s work might have reinforced the company’s value of being data-driven.

Giving meaningful recognition is certainly more difficult and takes a little preparation. But that’s exactly why it feels so good on the receiving end. One of the ‘Five Pillars of Belonging’ I talked about at the CIPD’s “Future of Work” conference last June is feeling ‘Known’. It seems a simple thing, but when someone is recognised specifically for the work they do best and how they are contributing to the company’s success, it really amplifies their sense of belonging. It also makes them much more likely to repeat that behaviour.

But giving recognition also feels great because it’s an act of gratitude. Without going too deep into the science, expressing gratitude has been proven to boost dopamine, the brain’s pleasure chemical. This is another reason why companies that build cultures of recognition achieve such high morale.

Managers also need to recognise the signs of quiet quitting – like cancelling or not participating in meetings, not volunteering for work they used to excel at, and missing deadlines – and then act on them. This means reaching out to colleagues and giving them amnesty to express how they’re feeling and share their personal situations without judging or criticising. If colleagues are still reticent, managers may need to show vulnerability by opening up about their own experiences of feeling overwhelmed or struggling with work/life balance. Once things are out in the open, it’s then possible for managers and their reports to work on practical solutions together – whether it’s the need to set boundaries on work duties, change the scope of work, or perhaps to establish skills development plans.

Organisations with the right technology solutions outperform
The final investment should be in technology. As with other remote working challenges, new solutions are available to help support efforts to build cultures of recognition and belonging. Employees at organisations that offer tools for helping them to build internal networks outperform the average in factors such as engagement, belonging, trust, and productivity.

Here’s a brief overview of the types of tools available and their uptake:

Employee connection tools – The AWI survey revealed that 42% of respondents stated that connection tools would increase their feelings of connection and belonging, but only 27% of UK employers say their company provides access to them.

Recognition platforms – although meaningful recognition supports every belonging pillar and is crucial for making employees feel, today seen and valued, only 28% of UK employees say that their company provides one.

Wellbeing support tools – 43% of employees in the AWI survey stated they are “somewhat” or “very” burnt out. Employees whose organisations provide wellness tools are less likely to be extremely burnt out. 32% of UK employers are providing these tools to employees, slightly more than the average of 27%.

Feedback tools
Gathering and acting on feedback drives strong business outcomes with a threefold increase in engagement, belonging, trust, commitment, and more. Worryingly, just 14% of employees say that their organisation takes meaningful action on employee feedback.

There’s clearly an opportunity to apply tools to improve everything from belonging, burnout, employee engagement, and recognition. And even the most traditionally British firms are seeing the business value of using them to help transform their cultures. In fact, a UK retail banking customer of ours raised its engagement scores a full nine points after its 70,000 employees made a whopping 2.5 million recognitions through our platform.

Hopefully this has given you some insight into the possibilities for building recognition cultures with the help of new technologies designed for the hybrid workplace. Investing in recognition tools and practices will surely mitigate the detrimental impacts of ‘quiet quitting’. Most importantly, your organisation will be a more resilient and happier ship, prepared to thrive in whatever wild seas it may encounter.

*Research by Achievers Workplace institute (AWI),