Forms of appreciation in internal communication

Goals

In view of the crisis-related changes in the working world (virtualization of the working environment, cutbacks, increased demands, job-related insecurity), the media and practitioners have in recent months been increasingly addressing the growing stress and pressure for employees in their everyday working lives. Previous scientific studies show that professional commitment can be stimulated by the active communication of support and appreciation on the part of the employer.

Internal communicators, together with HR, must take responsibility for finding appropriate ways to communicate appreciation. Previous studies have shown that appreciation is often not communicated appropriately. The research project therefore focuses on the perspective of employees:

1. Which forms of appreciation are conveyed to employees (by whom) in the work context?
    
2. What forms of appreciation do employees need in order to increase their professional commitment and to be protected from negative effects of workloads (stress, frustration)?
    
3. How do employees evaluate different appreciation practices of their company? 

Approach

• Literature review: What research findings exist to date on the communicability of appreciation in the work context? How is appreciation related to professional (dis)engagement, stress, and frustration in the work context in previous studies? The literature review is designed to capture the state of research on this topic.
   
• 4-5 Focus groups with employees: For this purpose, employees from private-sector companies with a size of 250 employees or more without management responsibility will be invited.