Maastricht university links compliments to improved performance

Compliments on work well done do not only make employees happier, it also makes them work harder, according to research from the University of Maastricht. Complimenting only the best performers in the department increases the work tempo similar to a compliment to the whole department. While giving a complement to only one or two people in the department, prompts the workers who were not complimented to work harder, AD reports.

For this study, study leader Arjan Non and his fellow researchers hired some 300 students to do some part time work - basic data capturing. They were paid as normal freelancers and not told that they were part of a study on the effect recognition has on workers and colleagues. The researchers kept an eye on the students' performance and handed out compliments here and there.

"The explanation for this outcome is that people want to be part of the group, at the level of the group. If a few get a compliment, we think 'oh they want me to work harder', and we increase the pace." And when everyone gets a complement, everyone also works harder. "The boss who shows he believes in the employees, get that back."