The Productive Effects of Appreciation in the Workplace

There is a lot to be said about appreciation. As we near the holidays and (hopefully) start feeling our hearts open a little more and welcome that warm and fuzzy feeling, I believe it’s an appropriate time to breach the subject.

Have you ever worked with or for someone who genuinely appreciates you? I hope so! When that co-worker or boss shows that they are happy with you completing a task or project, doesn’t it make you want to do an excellent job on your next assignment? Doesn’t it motivate you to work harder, faster, and with more attention to detail than you would have before? It does for me.

When someone acknowledges your hard work, it builds your self-esteem, giving you confidence. This confidence is contagious! Your coworkers might catch your smile and even have a spring in their step, and pass that onto their coworkers. And on and on it goes…

I’ll use our Sales Team as an example. We have over 25 highly trained, hard-working sales staff, some of whom have been here for over 5 years, and a handful of whom have been here for more than a decade. True Maniacs! To show our Sales folks some appreciation, our CEO, Joy Gendusa, bought each of them a small gift in honor of National Salesperson Day. The results were raised spirits and the highest selling day of the week, 13% increase over the previous four days.

Showing appreciation for others’ work results in a happier, healthier workplace overall. As an executive, junior manager, or associate, praising a job well done (no matter how small) could start a ripple effect and result in a higher level of production.

Try it today. You have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain!

Happy Holidays,

Julia Jacquillard

Julia is the Assistant to the President, Jennifer Custer, at PostcardMania. She has over 10 years experience in Human Resources, Business Establishment and Executive Assisting. She’s worked with dozens of executives who have all shown how important it is to communicate their appreciation to their staff.  She has experienced work environments where low morale was not uncommon and strives to ensure each and every employee is appreciated for their hard work.