The signs that your company doesn’t value your input may be obvious or they may be subtle. Don’t let the situation get to the point that you start to believe that you don’t deserve the appreciation. Here are 14 signs that you are not appreciated at work to look out for.
Feeling unrecognized and unappreciated at work is an unpleasant and demotivating experience. Not getting credit for your hard work and achievements can leave you feeling discouraged, resentful and wanting to quit. However, there are proactive steps you can take to get the appreciation you deserve without coming across as a braggart.
Why Recognition Matters beings have an inherent need to feel valued and appreciated. When this need goes unmet over a prolonged period, it leads to reduced motivation, lower engagement and overall dissatisfaction at work. Lack of recognition is often cited as a key reason why employees quit their jobs.
Recognition connects an individual’s efforts to organizational goals and reinforces positive behaviors. Employees who feel regularly recognized and appreciated are more motivated productive and loyal. Managers who provide timely and sincere recognition to deserving employees can boost engagement and retention.
Common Reasons Why Employees Feel Undervalued
There are several common reasons why employees may feel their efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated
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Lack of face-to-face interactions – With remote and hybrid work, employees have fewer opportunities for everyday appreciations and praise from managers and colleagues Out of sight often means out of mind
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Quiet achievers – Employees who do great work but don’t speak up often or promote themselves tend to get overlooked. Their talent remains invisible to managers and leaders.
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Poor leadership – Disengaged or incompetent managers fail to regularly recognize achievements and give positive feedback.
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Lack of structure – Organization has no formal feedback and recognition programs. Appreciation is ad-hoc, inconsistent and political.
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Office politics – Credit is stolen or given unfairly based on favoritism rather than facts. Hard work and results are ignored.
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Poor communication – Senior leaders and managers assume employees know their work is valued. Lack of communication breeds resentment.
Signs You Are Not Getting Enough Recognition at Work
How do you know if you are being overlooked at work and not getting the recognition you deserve? Here are some telltale signs:
- You work hard but get little positive feedback from your manager.
- Your manager focuses only on your mistakes and areas for improvement.
- Your ideas get no response in meetings but get noticed when repeated by others.
- Your manager and team take your work and help for granted.
- Your achievements and contributions are ignored.
- Others get credit and rewards for work you drive or contribute significantly to.
- Your efforts, results and initiative don’t get included in your performance appraisal.
- Your manager does not know or enquire about your career goals and interests.
Consistently experiencing a few or more of these warning signs over months indicates you are stuck in an underappreciation rut at work.
Tips to Get Recognized Without Looking Like a Braggart
If you feel undervalued and unappreciated at work, you need to take steps proactively to get the recognition you deserve without coming across as a conceited braggart.
Have a dialogue with your manager
Have an honest one-on-one conversation with your manager to highlight your need for recognition and agree on how to make it happen. Ask for and be receptive to constructive feedback on your work and behavior. Agree on milestones and the types of recognition motivates you.
Find opportunities to showcase your work
Look for forums and platforms where you can appropriately showcase your work, achievements and capabilities to leaders and stakeholders who may not know the value you bring. Offer to lead key initiatives, projects and events to increase your visibility.
Appreciate others
Go out of your way to recognize, praise and appreciate the efforts and contributions of colleagues. Recognition is most rewarding when it flows both ways. The power of praise is that people naturally want to reciprocate it.
Quantify and communicate your contributions
Maintain tangible metrics that quantify the value of your work – sales secured, costs reduced, customers served, revenue generated etc. Prepare a short monthly report summarizing your performance highlights and contributions. Share it with your boss and other key internal stakeholders.
Speak up in meetings
Prepare well for meetings and speak up to share your perspectives. Ensure your most important contributions are captured in meeting minutes and action items. Silence is perceived as lack of initiative and leadership.
Network internally
Broaden your connections with influential leaders in other departments. Inform them about your work and seek their guidance. Internal networking is a powerful way to increase visibility and recognition in an organization.
Gather feedback from colleagues
Discreetly ask trusted colleagues for observations and constructive feedback about your work, achievements and behavior. Act on suggestions to improve your interpersonal effectiveness and focus your efforts on making the most valued contributions.
Align with organizational priorities
Ensure your personal goals and work priorities align with and support the organization’s strategic priorities and themes for the year. Results become more visible when they help advance organizational goals.
Promote your wins appropriately
Learn to promote your achievements and contributions without boasting. For example, say, “I was proud of closing the Baker account last quarter by relentlessly following up,” instead of “I am the best salesperson since I closed the Baker account.”
Don’t get bitter, get better
Channel resentment over lack of appreciation into positive efforts to strengthen relationships, improve performance and gain exposure. Bitterness over not being recognized often leads to subversive political behavior that can further dampen recognition.
When to Make a Career Move
Despite your best efforts, if you continue feeling disrespected and unappreciated at work over months, or your performance appraisals remain unfair, it may be time to find a new job with a manager and organizational culture that values your contributions. Prolonged lack of recognition at work takes a toll on self-esteem and mental health. However, avoid taking hasty actions like quitting in anger. Do due diligence to find the right next move for your career.
Develop a Sense of Self-Worth Beyond External Validation
While getting fair recognition at work does matter for job satisfaction and engagement, be careful not to attach your entire sense of professional worth and identity excessively to external validation and appreciation.
The most meaningful and fulfilling sense of achievement comes from within. Keep growing your capabilities, doing work you find purposeful and making a positive difference. Focus on living your values. How others judge you does not reduce your worth. Appreciate yourself and be your own best cheerleader.
You get interrupted in meetings.
Research shows that women get interrupted, talked over, shut down or penalized for speaking out all the time — it’s pretty much a universal experience for women when they are outnumbered by men in male-dominated fields, especially. If you feel like you’re being interrupted in meetings, you very well might be.
1 You don’t get verbal praise, and criticism isn’t constructive.
Verbal praise is important for positive reinforcement. You continue to do well when you’re told what you’re doing well.
Likewise, constructive criticism is equally important. If feedback isn’t helpful and, instead, just critical, you’ll have a difficult time making the changes necessary to improve. If your boss isn’t sharing feedback with you that can be beneficial, it may be because they don’t believe in your potential or haven’t taken the time to think through ways to help you.
Don’t expect recognition: why no one cares about your thing
How do I know if I’m not being recognized at work?
Not being recognized at work is when you feel your efforts may go unnoticed by your peers or team leaders. These are some signs you may face a lack of recognition in your workplace: You wish for more words of gratitude.
What happens if you don’t receive recognition for your work?
When you don’t receive recognition for your work, it’s possible that your leaders may assign too many tasks for you to manage. This can be because they don’t realize how much you’re already completing. You don’t receive credit on shared projects.
Do you feel under-recognized at work?
You may have assessed your situation, developed healthy professional relationships, increased your visibility and offered recognition to others, but still feel under-recognized at work. When this happens, consider scheduling a meeting with your team leader to discuss the situation.
Is it normal to not appreciate your colleagues?
Your colleagues may feel that it’s normal to lack appreciation for certain colleagues, especially if they’re new. If you think it might work, you could try actively showing you appreciate your colleagues. Setting an example may require patience, but it can give a better example for others to follow.
