The 9x trust multiplier
Employees who give recognition are trusted 9x more than those who don't. The surprise: giving matters more than receiving.
Here's a stat that should change how you think about recognition programs:
Employees who give recognition are trusted 9x more than those who don't.
Not employees who receive recognition. Employees who give it.
The data comes from analyzing thousands of peer recognition interactions. And it gets more interesting: employees who both give and receive recognition are trusted at 52% (compared to a 2.5% baseline). That's a 20x multiplier.
Most recognition programs focus on making sure everyone gets recognized. That's fine. But the bigger lever is getting more people to recognize others.
The nudge: This week, don't ask "Who deserves recognition?" Ask "Who hasn't given any lately?" Then make it easy for them to start.
The person giving the thank-you benefits more than the person receiving it.
Source: Happily.ai analysis of peer recognition patterns across 50,000+ interactions
