A majority of HR leaders acknowledge that desk-based employees receive more recognition and rewards than their frontline counterparts, according to new research from employee engagement agency Boostworks. The findings point to a growing disconnect between organisational perceptions of recognition and the experiences of deskless workers.
The report found that 62% of HR decision-makers said their organisations recognise and reward desk-based employees more frequently than deskless or frontline staff. At the same time, 79% believed frontline and deskless employees have equal access to recognition opportunities.
Perception and reality remain far apart
According to the Boostworks report, the disparity does not appear to stem from deliberate exclusion. Instead, the agency said many recognition programmes and workplace systems were originally designed around office-based work environments, making frontline achievements less visible.
The findings suggest visibility remains a key factor in how recognition is distributed across organisations, particularly where employees work away from traditional office settings.
Several gaps emerged across recognition and reward practices:
- 62% of HR decision-makers said desk-based employees are recognised and rewarded more frequently.
- 79% believed deskless employees have equal access to recognition opportunities.
- Nearly 30% of deskless employees said recognition matters more than rewards, compared with 19.5% of office-based workers.
- Deskless employees were recognised for achievement at approximately two-thirds the rate of office-based employees.
- Recognition for innovation among deskless workers occurred at roughly half the rate seen among office-based staff.
Reward programmes show uneven impact
The study found recognition and reward programmes had a stronger motivational effect on office-based employees than on deskless workers.
Among office-based employees, 41% said recognition motivated them to perform better, compared with 33% of deskless employees. The gap widened further when rewards were considered. Forty-seven per cent of office workers said rewards improved performance, while only 30% of deskless employees reported the same effect.
More than 28% of deskless employees said they received no specific rewards at all, a figure roughly ten percentage points higher than among other employee groups surveyed.
Manager relationships emerge as another challenge
The report also identified significant differences in how employees experience managerial support.
Deskless employees were found to be nearly four times more likely than hybrid workers and almost three times more likely than office-based employees to report having no meaningful relationship with their line manager.
Additional findings included:
- 39% of office-based employees described their manager relationship as a balanced combination of support and performance management.
- Only 28% of deskless employees shared the same view.
- 12.7% of deskless employees said managers never checked in regarding wellbeing or workplace experience.
- Only 31% of deskless employees rated wellbeing conversations as "very supportive", compared with 51% of office-based employees.
- 40% of deskless managers said they had spent personal time supporting employee wellbeing, compared with 32% of office-based managers.
Confidence in recognition capabilities varies
Decision-makers also expressed differing levels of confidence in managers' ability to recognise and reward employees effectively.
According to the report:
- 59% of decision-makers overseeing office-based teams were very confident in managers' recognition capabilities.
- Confidence dropped to 47% among leaders managing deskless teams.
- Among those responsible for hybrid teams, the figure stood at 46%.
Boostworks said the findings indicate that recognition and management systems often default to office-centric structures, creating challenges for organisations seeking to engage increasingly diverse workforces.