Exploring remote and onsite employees’ preferred appreciation languages prior to COVID-19 and during COVID-19

White, Paul

PurposeCommunicating appreciation to employees has been shown to be an important factor in contributing to employee engagement and making workplaces more effective. Research has shown that employees differ in how they desire to be shown appreciation. The purpose of this paper is to examine how working remotely (vs onsite), the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and employees’ age group impacted the ways employees want to be shown appreciation at work.Design/methodology/approachUsing the five Languages of Appreciation as a framework (Chapman and White, 2019), over 200,000 individuals’ results from the Motivating By Appreciation Inventory were compared across various groups. The dependent variable: (Primary Language of Appreciation) was examined in light of three independent variables: work setting (onsite vs remote), timeframe (pre-COVID-19 vs during COVID-19) and age range of the employee.FindingsPreferences for how to be shown appreciation were quite stable across work setting, timeframe and age range, suggesting that one’s preferred ways of being shown appreciation is largely an internal characteristic that is only mildly influenced by external factors. Minor trends were found when comparing various age groups and remote vs onsite employees.Originality/valueUnderstanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employees’ desires for appreciation is critical for organizational leaders. With vast numbers of new remote employees in the workforce, understanding how they are similar to and vary from onsite employees is paramount for addressing the needs of all team members. This study provides valuable information on both topics, as well as differences across age groups.