As part of National Thank-You Week, research revealed that British businesses were split between "thankers" and "thank-nots." The thankers were those workplace leaders who recognize the importance of appreciating and motivating their employees, and the thank-nots were leaders who neglect to do so. When asked whether they thought bosses were better or worse at saying thank-you now than ten years before, 22 percent of those surveyed thought they had improved but 37 percent felt they had grown worse. Although half (51 percent) of the working population receive a thank-you once a month or more, only slightly fewer—44 percent—receive a thank-you just once every few months or less frequently.

Moira Clark, a professor of strategic marketing, comments,

My own research [reveals] that in high-performing companies, that is, those with high customer retention levels, staff are frequently … thanked. However, in low-performing companies, employees are punished, e.g., ignored or reprimanded, more frequently than they are [thanked].