Uncover a workplace of kindness, gratitude, and connection

You want your team to feel appreciated and recognized for their hard work. But top-down programs or occasional compliments aren’t enough.

Employees will spend 33% of their lives working to grow a business. That’s over 90,000 hours in a lifetime. The amount of time a single employee spends building your business can be rewarded in a genuine and authentically thankful way.

You already know that the dangling carrot of an annual bonus carries little in the way of motivation. Humans are truly motivated by a culture of giving and kindness. Let’s learn what the benefits of kindness in the workplace are, starting with how to introduce it.

Peer recognition for kindness in the workplace

Peer recognition is the best way to start making workplace kindness a natural, everyday feature of the environment. If employees aren’t used to daily kindness from leaders, they’ll find appreciation more believable from their coworkers.

It also works faster at fostering team connections. Instead of waiting for a leader to notice their performance efforts, everyone gets small acknowledgments from people who see everything they do. That helps build more positive working relationships.

How does HeyTaco encourage kindness in the workplace?

As a peer recognition tool, HeyTaco makes it easy for coworkers to recognize one another. The most important word in that sentence is “easy.” When kindnesses are small, low-pressure, and even a little silly, everyone feels comfortable enough to participate.

At first glance, HeyTaco purposely feels like a game. You can give tacos for little things like a birthday. Or big things like winning a million-dollar contract. There's talk about who's at the top of the 🌮 leaderboard or how someone leveled up to Taco Magistrate. Maybe there's even a rogue teammate who has plotted to seize all the tacos 🌮🌮🥷🌮🌮 in your taco economy.

But when you look deeper, beyond the fun, you'll discover the greater purpose of daily peer recognition and why HeyTaco works for companies worldwide.

What does research say about kindness in the workplace?

Loads of scientific research support the importance of employee recognition. So do our findings from years of running HeyTaco. Here are the top four research-based reasons to pursue kindness and gratitude at work.

1. Happier people pay it forward.

Acts of kindness have profound effects in the workplace. Even small acts of kindness increase satisfaction, happiness, and pro-social behaviors. This leads to more empathy, compassion, and stronger relationships. A Great Place to Work survey showed that 37% of people prefer to be personally recognized as the number one motivator to produce better work. Only 7% said a pay raise would motivate them to produce great work.

For those of you who just fell asleep, one in three people have said they would rather be recognized than receive a pay raise. That's worth paying attention to in your office. That's worth paying attention to in your office.

The best part is that once people start doing nice things for others, they don't stop. Studies show kindness can be contagious. When someone receives an act of kindness, they'll pay it forward, which creates a cycle of generosity. Forbes Council Member Matthew Rolnick agrees, stating, "Personal recognition helps employees feel more valued, motivated, and productive. To be successful, make sure recognition is specific, timely, and aligned with company values."

2. Kindness improves our mental state.

According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, witnessing acts of kindness produces oxytocin, which aids in lowering blood pressure and improving heart health. Kind people have 23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age more slowly than the average population.

The Kindness Foundation also suggests that acts of kindness can increase energy levels while reducing anxiety. So, integrate a way to spread kindness in your workplace.

3. It creates more connections at work.

Building connections at work is vital to job satisfaction and overall life enjoyment. Tracy Brower, a Ph.D. sociologist, says, "There is a serious crisis of connection today, and it's having an effect on everything from employee happiness and wellbeing to organizational attraction and retention." Working on a remote team has definite benefits, but it also requires more effort to build moments of connection between team members. It's rightly a major concern.

A study by BetterUp also details a deep crisis over the lack of connections. It can be complex and wholly detrimental to ignore the need for friends, connections with coworkers, kindness, and positive feedback in the workplace.

"With dispersed teams, employees feel more disconnected and siloed than before. And they're looking to their leaders for help." -BetterUp

The study notes that people with good connections at work report 91% more personal growth and 101% more professional growth. We all want to create that type of workplace environment!

And leadership is often tasked with creating opportunities for these connections to happen. But it can be challenging without being *eyeroll* cheesy and awkward. HeyTaco can be a simple place to start.

4. It’s the best investment in your people.

Deloitte found that high employee recognition companies had 31% less turnover compared to low recognition companies. This can equal huge cost savings for your business.

Involuntary turnover is a business killer in more ways than money. The last reason you want someone to leave your company is because they feel under-appreciated. That's a surefire way to hurt a valued employee and your brand.

When you foster a culture of 🌮 kindness, you greatly decrease the chances you lose people or cause them to feel under-appreciated. The HeyTaco tool can help you solve this age-old turnover problem in an easy and fun way.

And if you haven't calculated your cost of turnover, now is the time to start. It can change your perspective in a big way. You'll be motivated to find ways to decrease your employee turnover this year.

What are you waiting for? There's no line for tacos.

The level of engagement in HeyTaco is what people in leadership dream of. It's designed to be used organically and spread through natural use. People don't feel forced to use HeyTaco as a program. Instead, people give because they want to—it feels good. And it's fun! This makes giving tacos authentic and leads to continued usage weeks, months, and even years after people give their first taco.

If all this talk about purpose, giving, and employee recognition has motivated you to become a part of the taco universe, welcome. We're glad you're here. You can start your free 30-day trial today. And start giving valuable tacos to your own team. HeyTaco creates healthier teams by inspiring acts of kindness, and we want you to join us.

PS—tell us how many taco emojis you saw on this page, and we'll send you a special HeyTaco 🌮 sticker!