When was the last time you felt truly recognised at work?
In this solo episode of the Happier at Work podcast, host Aoife O’Brien dives deep into the essential topic of recognition in the workplace. Aoife explores why recognition often falls to the bottom of the priority list and how transformative it can be when made a regular part of team culture. She explains why recognition doesn’t need to take extra time, effort, or money, and highlights the huge impact it has on engagement, motivation, and retention.
Aoife also emphasises how powerful recognition can be, and how it can make sure you feel seen, heard, valued and understood at work.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
- Why recognition matters: Its proven impact on engagement, retention, and individual motivation.
- Common pitfalls: Why recognition tends to be sporadic, generic, or biased, and how to do better.
- The power of specificity: How to move beyond “good job” and give meaningful, actionable praise.
- How to link recognition to the impact it will have on the workplace culture and happiness.
Related Topics Covered:
Motivation at Work, Employee Bias, Wellbeing at Work
Connect with Aoife O’Brien | Host of Happier at Work®:
Related Episodes You’ll Love:
Episode 260: How to Make Work Meaningful with Zach Mercurio
About Happier at Work®
Happier at Work® is the podcast for business leaders who want to create meaningful, human-centric workplaces. Hosted by Aoife O’Brien, the show explores leadership, career clarity, imposter syndrome, workplace culture, and employee engagement — helping you and your team thrive.
If you enjoy podcasts like WorkLife with Adam Grant, The Happiness Lab, or Squiggly Careers, you’ll love Happier at Work®.
Website: https://happieratwork.ie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappierAtWorkHQ
Mentioned in this episode:
Thriving Talent book
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!