Categories for 5 Languages of Appreciation
Communicating genuine appreciation has been on my mind lately. And, it’s a good thing since I appreciate any opportunity to focus on the good and the good things that come from connecting with other people. In networking with others, it is about forming friendships and alliances. It is about seeing who is a good fit with your values, your business and your business goals. Realistically we know that good networking takes work. When someone’s taken the time to meet with you, converse with you or carry a conversation further than a mixer, how do you communicate appreciation in a way... Continue reading...
Gallup reported on January 13 that only 32% of U.S. employees are actively engaged in their work from a mental, emotional and volitional (a choice of the will) point of view. Conversely, 50.8% of employees were found to be “not engaged” and 17.2% are “actively disengaged”. This latter group is a dangerous one — they are actually actively working at cross-purposes with their employer, doing things to make things worse in their workplace. Much of the blame for this sad state in our work environments is being placed fully and solely on the shoulders of supervisors, managers and employers, a position... Continue reading...
Now that we are fully into the New Year and facing those long, dark winter days with cold weather and few days off from work, leaders need to take a hard look at how to support and encourage team members. This is the time of year (especially for those who like sunlight) that people often drag themselves through the day. As a psychologist who trains leaders and colleagues on how to effectively communicate appreciation in the workplace, let me offer some suggestions. Understand the nature of discouragement and burnout Discouragement and burnout, over the long haul, come from a combination... Continue reading...
By Dr. Paul White Most employee recognition programs place a lot, if not all, of the responsibility for recognizing good work of their team members squarely on the shoulders of managers or supervisions. This is unfortunate and, actually, creates unwanted negative effects. Clearly, calling attention to work done well by employees is a good habit to practice. When staff feel valued for the contributions they make, a sense of loyalty and emotional engagement to the mission of the organization develops. But focusing solely on managers and supervisors to support and communicate appreciation to their staff often is an unrealistic goal that creates... Continue reading...
Recently, I had the privilege to provide training in communicating authentic appreciation to the management and supervisors of an elite international organization. Functioning within the tourism and hospitality industries, the staff (in one location) come from over 40 countries and six continents. As I approached the training, I was interested to see and hear if the staff desired to be appreciated for their work. Additionally, I wanted to find out whether communicating appreciation in the workplace was relevant across many cultures. Finally, I was curious to learn various ways employees felt comfortable receiving appreciation and what the challenges might be... Continue reading...
There’s an old song I always find cheering. It’s called “Scatter Sunshine” and gives terrific advice about how you can make the world a better place every day. The first verse reads: In a world where sorrow ever will be known Where are found the needy and the sad and lone, How much joy and comfort you can all bestow, If you scatter sunshine everywhere you go. Scatter sunshine all along your way. Cheer and bless and brighten Every passing day. In a world full of people complaining about everything going wrong in their lives and where the... Continue reading...
Do you ever wish you could do something meaningful? That you could make the world a better place? Well, you can! One of the easiest ways to make a difference in the world is by taking a small action to help other people feel appreciated, accepted and valued. Here are five ways you can make the world a better place by brightening someone’s world today: #1 Visit Someone. So much of our communication is digital these days. It can make someone’s day to have a real, live, caring person show up just to say hello (without asking for something, like... Continue reading...
Doug Conant, former turn-around CEO of the Campbell Soup Company, and Keven Kruse, a serial entrepreneur and popular keynote speaker, have something in common. Both believe that two-way communication is essential to employee engagement. Since employee engagement drives job satisfaction, high productivity, and low turnover, it is worth taking a minute or two to consider their perspective. What is employee engagement? It is the emotional connection that an employee has to the organization and its goals. A 2011 Gallup poll found that only 29% of the workforce is engaged at work. That means that more than two-thirds of people are... Continue reading...
Every Spring a national “event” captures the attention of millions of employees: the NCAA “March Madness” basketball tournaments (both men’s and women’s). Individuals who are die-hard basketball fans, those who may follow their local college team when they are doing well, and people who just like to pick teams according to their mascots – all become intrigued and involved in following the games. Understanding “March Madness” While “March Madness” is typically referred to as a singular event, those familiar with the tournaments know that they actually are a series of games and regional tournaments over a three week period. The... Continue reading...
Coming up with workplace policies workers find beneficial, help boost morale, and that lead to low employee turnover are things you hope all businesses do for their employees. Maintaining employees makes good sense for a business, as employee turnover comes with its own headaches and growing costs. No business wants to lose its employees, but when it does, it has to replace them, which is often a costly and time-consuming endeavor. Productivity is affected when an employee leaves the business, and often the firm has to scramble to find a replacement who will definitely take time before adapting to the... Continue reading...
One of the lessons that aspiring leaders and those who want to continue to develop their leadership abilities must learn is: to be an effective leader, you have to learn how to lead individuals who are different than you. If you don’t, you will only be able to gather and lead those who are similar to you in personality, perspective or ability; and this, in turn, limits what you can accomplish. Although at first the idea seems intriguing, you actually don’t want to lead a group of “Junior You’s”. You may be talented but you can’t do everything, and to... Continue reading...
When people are upset prior to going into work or a meeting, they often try to take a couple of minutes to calm down and quell the surface signs of their distress; sometimes by putting a smile on their face before entering. Their hope is that they are leaving their problems at the door and communicating a positive image to their colleagues. However, the disappointing reality is that bad moods are just as contagious as the flu bug. Once present, negative thoughts and feelings can’t be contained easily. Dr. Richard Boyatzis, a neurologist and organizational development professor at Case Western... Continue reading...
October 17, 2014 10:36 am
What Makes a Workplace Toxic? Susan, a competent young professional, looked worn and defeated. In talking about her workplace, she told us that bickering, criticism, and lack of support had spread through her organization – a workplace she used to love. Now, she said, “The tension here is so thick I hate going to work. Actually, right now, I hate my life.” In our book, Rising Above a Toxic Workplace, we surveyed hundreds of employees (and leaders) from a wide range of industries and sectors. We then individually interviewed dozens whose stories intrigued us. From our research we discovered the... Continue reading...
One of the most frequent questions I am asked when I’m conducting a training for a business is: Should you show appreciation for someone who isn’t performing well? A tension exists in the world of recognition, employee engagement, and appreciation. There are differences of opinion on the relationship between an employee’s performance and recognizing them. Should you recognize an employee if they aren’t doing well in all areas of performance? Is appreciation independent of performance? To address the issue, I think we need to keep two foundational principles in mind: The purpose of work is to provide goods or services to... Continue reading...
Two common mantras in our culture today are: “I hate my job” and “My boss is a jerk.” While both statements may be true, hating your job because your boss is a jerk isn’t going to lead anywhere good. According to Gallup, more than half of the U.S. workforce (or about 70 million employees) either are just enduring their job or actively hate where they work. With that level of dissatisfaction, it’s no surprise that we hear so many negative comments – either in personal conversations, through social media or the mainstream media. In other words, If you don’t like your job, welcome to... Continue reading...
If you are one of the fortunate students who has landed an internship for the summer, congratulations. You have an opportunity to learn some practical skills in your field of study, add a valuable piece to your resume, and possibly make a little money (if it is a paid internship.) There is a good chance you have never been an intern before, so you are not exactly sure what to expect. So let us fill you in – with both the good and bad news. Understanding the Full Time Employees’ Perspective For most FTEs (full-time employees), interns are viewed either... Continue reading...
One of the most frequently asked questions I receive when I’m training groups is: “Are there generational differences related to the 5 languages of appreciation?” The simple answer is: Yes, there are. Just as there are individual preference differences in how employees want appreciation communicated, so we are finding some diversity across the generations of workers, as well. (As is true for any group comparison, these trends seem to be generally true but there are clearly individual differences within the generations.) Let me cite a few examples. Words of Affirmation. We have found that younger employees may or may not... Continue reading...
Like any workplace, schools need to ensure that employees feel appreciated for their good work… Educational Leadership Article – By Dr. Paul White
So you want to work at Google? Or Apple? Or one of the “cool” places where they have free food, flexible work hours, and an informal work environment? But the challenge is – you don’t live near Silicon Valley or have the skill set they require. (The second issue is the real limitation, isn’t it?) So what can you do where you work currently? Even though you may not be the owner of your company, or even a high level executive, you can help make your workplace become “the” place to work. Really. It is all about influence. We all... Continue reading...
In a prior post on the challenges employers are having in finding qualified applicants for the positions they need to fill, I shared that there are three strategies that, over time, can help employers and managers address this problem. The first solution is to keep your valued employees by making sure they feel appreciated. The second way to fill empty slots in your organization is to train and mentor current employees who have potential but who need to grow. We often have employees who are “okay” but who have an area of deficiency or a character quality they need to... Continue reading...
The news is repetitive and blaring: employers are complaining about the inability to find qualified applicants for positions that need to be filled. I have seen three articles in business magazines this week about the issue. Part of the discussion is about the irony — having 10+ million workers who can’t find work, while employers reporting they can’t find potential employees who meet the needs they have. (In fairness, there are employers interviewed in the articles saying they aren’t having this problem.) The issue is both national and local, and across multiple industries and workforces. Key term to understand: qualified... Continue reading...
March Madness (the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments) is upon us. For some, this may be the only time they watch a basketball game all year. For millions of others, March Madness provides the opportunity to cheer their favorite team, and to place some friendly wagers in the office pool for the tournament bracket. This year’s tournament, interestingly, may be impacted by the concept of appreciation. One men’s team that is being watched closely by many (for different reasons) is Wichita State University. The WSU Shockers (which is short for “wheat shockers”, the people that used to cut wheat... Continue reading...
“Fun”, “playing” and “work” or “job” are rarely talked about together — with the exception of those few, rare companies (typically on the West Coast) where they try to make the workplace more fun and creative. But recently, I had an experience that led me to begin to think about the importance of playing and having fun, and how they impact our daily lives at work. A little over a week ago, we had a fairly large snowstorm roll through, leaving about 7 inches of snow on the ground (which is a fair amount for us.) After a number of... Continue reading...
February 19, 2014 5:58 pm
Posted on the 03 October 2011 by Candacemoody Gary Chapman and Paul White are the authors of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. Their book discusses why appreciation is one of the most important elements of employee motivation and satisfaction. The Five Languages of Appreciation are based on the Five Languages of Love, which is why they include Physical Touch, although physical touch is a tricky proposition in any workplace. As it turns out, very few workers (almost none) identified physical touch as even part of how they seek or show appreciation in the workplace. As more and more human... Continue reading...
February 15, 2014 1:53 pm
Valentine’s day is quickly approaching. It is a great opportunity to communicate your love to those close to you. Unfortunately, it seems many in the world of employee recognition try to link recognition and appreciation to any holiday (I can’t wait to see what they try to do with St. Patrick’s Day!) So let me state firmly upfront — there isn’t (or shouldn’t be) much connection between Valentine’s Day and communicating appreciation in the workplace. Why? Because Valentine’s Day is about personal relationships – spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends (and maybe other family and friends, to a lesser degree.) Let’s keep our boundaries... Continue reading...
Friends, I am aware that the links to the two video clips did not work (they somehow got changed in the posting process). I have corrected the links and you should be able to view the videos now. Sorry for the inconvenience! * * * * * * About a week ago, a frustrated young professional posted a video announcing and celebrating her quitting her job (ironically, at a company who creates videos to be watched on the Internet). If you haven’t seen the video yet, please click here and take two minutes to watch it. Why? Well, first, it... Continue reading...
This may seem to be a bit of an “about face” for me – given my previous writing on how cynicism is a result of “bad recognition” or when employees question the authenticity of appreciation communicated. But it occurred to me that, really, cynicism can be a positive influence in our workplaces. How? When people are cynical, they are giving us honest feedback about how they really feel. When was the last time that you heard a cynical remark from a colleague and you accused them of not being honest regarding how they really feel? (Aside from the sarcastic remark:... Continue reading...
Now is the time when many of us are starting to think: “I’d like to get my boss a gift for Christmas — just a little something — but what? I don’t want it to look like I’m trying to gain her favor. But I don’t want just to give her some token ‘something’ that will look schmaltzy. (And I don’t want to spend a lot on it.) What could I get her?” I think I have a good option for you. But, first, let me frame the scenario: Most of us don’t need another “thing” (or the “things” we... Continue reading...
I have just returned from a week in Beijing, China, where I was invited to attend a conference sponsored by the publisher who is translating and publishing Dr. Chapman’s and my book, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, in Chinese. The conference attendees were various Western business and organizational leaders and we were addressed by a variety of Chinese experts and leaders on “The Next Ten Years” in China. They shared what is happening now and the trends to come in demographics (moving from 75%+ rural to approximately 50% urban currently), the family unit (the impact of 33... Continue reading...
Thanksgiving is the holiday where we are encouraged to be thankful for the good things in our lives – health, safety, adequate food, clothing, and shelter, as well as the many material blessings we have. For most people, Thanksgiving is usually more of a personally-focused celebration, including sharing meals and time with family and friends.But the Thanksgiving holiday season can also be an opportunity to focus on, and be reminded of, the positive aspects of our work lives. This is especially true in these more difficult economic times, where many who desire employment are unable to find work or have... Continue reading...
November 17, 2011 12:43 pm
