What Workers Want From Their Bosses ... Besides Money

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U.S. workers are looking for a little pat on the back, according to a new study.

The latest Globoforce Workforce Mood Tracker revealed that more than half of employees would leave their current job to go work for a company that recognized their efforts.

The research shows a direct correlation between recognition and retention. Just 23 percent of employees who have been acknowledged for their work plan to search for a new job, compared with 51 percent who haven't been recognized.

In addition, just 37 percent of employees whose work isn't acknowledged by management love their jobs, compared with the 66 percent who rarely recognized for their efforts.

"Companies know what they need to do to impact the bottom line – keep top employees and keep them engaged and focused on common goals," said Eric Mosley, CEO of Globoforce. "Yet, as this survey shows, many fail to connect the one thing that all employees seek: frequent, peer-to-peer recognition tied to performance."

In comparison to last year's results, the latest survey findings do show a growing focus on recognition in the workplace. Half of all employees were recognized in the past three months, up from 44 percent in 2011. The study also shows 54 percent of workers are satisfied with the level of recognition they receive for doing a good job, up from 48 percent.

"Taking the bottom-up approach to recognition is changing the way employees are managed," Mosley said. "Not only will business leaders know who the flight risks are, they will be able to prevent many from ever becoming flight risks."

The Globoforce Workforce Mood Tracker is a semiannual survey that provides insight regarding the current mood and perspectives of U.S. workers. This year, more than 650 employees from companies with at least 500 employees in the United States were surveyed.

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow Chad Brooks on Twitter @cbrooks76 or BusinessNewsDaily @BNDarticles. We're also on Facebook & Google+.