“A thank you would be nice.”
“If he is going to show up 15 minutes late and then check his email during our meetings, why even bother?”
“I’ve worked here 7 years and he doesn’t even know my daughter’s name.”
64% of Americans who leave their job say they do so because they don’t feel appreciated. Something deep within the human psyche cries out for appreciation. The number one factor in job satisfaction is not the amount of pay but whether or not the employees feel appreciated and valued for the work they do.
Everyone always talks about communication — The best way to communicate, how to effectively communicate, yadda, yadda, yadda. Communication doesn’t mean a hill of beans if you aren’t communicating in the right language of appreciation.
We’re not talking about a touchy-feely concept here.
A book titled “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” does a great job of explaining how feeling appreciated provides employees with confidence and security. And employees desperately need that confidence and security. Working in a small business is an ever-changing world of constant uncertainty. Most team members are responsible for making sure things are followed up on and completed. They run around behind their business owners trying to catch things before they hit the ground and are often frustrated by the reliably inconsistent flow of information. To have confidence and security to brave the whirlwind that is working for an entrepreneur, team members must be communicated with in their language of appreciation.
This book identifies five languages of appreciation: words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, receiving gifts and physical touch. Everyone leads in a different language; the key is to know your team members’ language so you can tap into it. If you are giving a gift card to a team member to acknowledge their hard work on a project, but that person’s language is quality time, they may be appreciative, but it won’t resonate and improve their confidence and security. Instead taking 30 minutes to sit down with a cup of coffee at Starbucks and just talk to them, without checking your email on your phone, would mean so much more.
The concept of languages of appreciation is simple to implement and essentially takes no time. All of us already try to show our employees, bosses and co-workers appreciation. Understanding this concept simply means that you will use the time you already devote to showing appreciation in a more effective way.
If you want to increase your team’s confidence and security, knowing that 64% of Americans leave their jobs because they feel unappreciated, read “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” by Gary Chapman and Paul White. It’s a quick, easy-to-read book. You can also take a quick quiz to see what your language is.
Laney L. Richardson, Implementation Coach at Lawyers With Purpose and author of Don’t Be a Yes Chick: How to Stop Babysitting Your Boss, Transform Your Job and Work with a Dream Team Without Losing Your Sanity or Your Spirit in the Process.
Thanks for your kind review of our book. We are looking into developing a CLE course based on the concepts. One thing we are learning is that there is a big difference between “going through the motions” recognition that occurs in many workplaces, and authentic appreciation. Thanks for your interest and support!
Paul White, PhD, Co-author, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.