Why is thanking employees as important as paying them?

The no.1 thing that makes British workers happy is not cold, hard cash - it’s appreciation, reveals the new Happy Office Survey by consultants Peldon Rose. 80% of employees say that feeling appreciated is important to their happiness at work – while only 58% cite salary. Sadly, the survey also reveals that only 45% actually feel appreciated, and only 67% of Brits are happy at work.

Perhaps surprisingly, construction and manufacturing is the happiest sector, with 78% of workers feeling ‘happy’ or ‘very happy’ at work. The media and hospitality sectors come joint second at 72%. Less surprisingly, retail workers are the least happy - only 54% of those smiles are genuine. Here’s the full league table:

1 Construction and manufacturing – 78%

2 Media and communications – 72%

2 Hospitality and leisure – 72%

4 Medical and health – 70%

5 Property – 69%

6 Finance – 68%

6 Legal – 68%

8 Education – 67%

9 IT and telecoms – 66%

10 Retail – 54%

So what’s the construction and manufacturing industry’s secret? Over half (54%) of workers feel appreciated, compared with 45% nationally, and they’re also most likely to feel that they have the right tools and technology to do their jobs - 66% vs the national average of 55%.

Retail workers feel least appreciated (34%), are least likely to have the right tools and technology to do their jobs (47%), and are most concerned about workplace bullying.

Why is having the right tools and technology so important? 79% of workers said it made them feel appreciated - only training and development scored higher (80%), while full kitchen facilities (59%) and quiet zones to concentrate (59%) came third. So before you decide to give your workers a raise, you might want to consider investing in some of these instead.