Searching for something else, I found this reference to a Gallup Organization study of four hundred organizations and a cross section of eighty thousand great and average managers.*  

Exceptional managers create workplaces in which employees emphatically answer “yes” when asked the following questions:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Given that’s it’s February in my part of the world, and work can feel like a slog until the weather warms up for good, I’m happy to be reminded to check in, in very precise ways, with the people on my teams. Is work working for them?

*Source: Marcus Buckingham, First Break All the Rules