Dr. Paul White: Expressions of Appreciation Differ by Trade
Selling about 4,000 copies of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace per month to people using Dr. Paul White’s system for enhancing organizational culture through appreciation, his company has introduced recommendations on how to express appreciation in specific industries.Identifying Each Person’s Language of Appreciation
As founder of one of the most widely used systems for expressing appreciation at work, Dr. Paul White, CEO of Appreciation at Work, says the company is offering new information to help people more specifically identify the best ways to express appreciation not only based on an individual’s preferred form of recognition but also on the nature of their work.
The principles of Dr. White’s work are found in The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, co-written by Gary Chapman, author of the highly successful 5 Languages of Love. The five languages of appreciation are: Acts of Service, Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Tangible Gifts and Appropriate Physical Touch. White says that research demonstrates that individuals have their own language of appreciation; for example, some enjoy jumping on stage and getting recognized, while others prefer receiving quality time or acts of service to make their lives easier or quality time. See ESM: Dr. Paul White has Simple Prescription for Better Cultures: Appreciation at Work
Identifying Each Person’s Language of Appreciation
Each employee of Appreciation at Work’s clients takes a quick survey to determine their own language of appreciation. White’s company uses the aggregate results to gain more insights over time. With aggregate data from over 200,000 people, White says, “It has become apparent that different industries have different schedules and demands that might make one form of appreciation difficult to accept that in another industry would be gladly received. People have asked us to help identify ways that they can express a specific form of appreciation in a manner better suited to their industry.”
He provides quick examples of how the different ways to express appreciation can be affected by industry:
Acts of Service is the easiest to demonstrate the differences:
Trades: Help clean up the job site at the end of the day.
Medical: Cover my patient call lights for a while so I can get caught up on charting.
Schools: Watch my students at lunch recess, so I can email some parents.
Veterinarian: Assist me in managing a difficult to handle animal during a procedure.
Tangible Gifts are different for Government and Military employees because they have monetary limits on gifts for coworkers (sometimes $10, sometimes $20). Also, some Nonprofit Organizations (e.g. Salvation Army) have rules against giving any tangible gift. In this case, then, the gift might be coupons (“Coupon for an evening of babysitting so you can go out for dinner”) or non-monetary gifts (“Send me a list of your favorite movies that you think I would like”).
Quality Time has limits in the military, due to issues of and policies about “fraternization.” Commissioned officers have limits on how much personal time they can spend with non-commissioned officers and enlisted troops to avoid perceived favoritism.
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