In many offices and organizations, expressions of appreciation or gratitude are often viewed as unnecessary by co-workers or supervisors. I think it is critical to show and articulate thanks to anyone who gives assistance or support in any aspect of life, to include places of employment. Studies have shown that happy and content employees are those who work in environments where they feel appreciated and satisfied with their job.
ScienceDaily reported: “Thomas Wright, Jon Wefald Leadership Chair in Business Administration and professor of management at K-State, has found that when employees have high levels of psychological well-being and job satisfaction, they perform better and are less likely to leave their job — making happiness a valuable tool for maximizing organizational outcomes.”
Wright said: “Happiness is a broad and subjective word, but a person’s well-being includes the presence of positive emotions, like joy and interest, and the absence of negative emotions, like apathy and sadness.” Wright continued, “ An excessive negative focus in the workplace could be harmful, such as in performance evaluations where negatives like what an employee failed to do are the focus of concentration’, he said. When properly implemented in the workplace environment, positive emotions can enhance employee perceptions of finding meaning in their work.”
Ingratitude surely is one of the most destructive and harmful of all emotions or attitudes in the workplace. Working and having professional dealings with a person who seldom or never shows gratitude is discouraging and demoralizing. Frustration and anger are typical emotions that can arise when a co-worker routinely fails to show appreciation or gratitude for assistance on a project or effort, or even worse, when a supervisor fails to acknowledge the work of his or her subordinates.
The best way to deal with an ungrateful co-worker is to accept that their actions are usually “not personal”. Most chronically ungrateful people are equal-opportunity ingrates. They are simply unaware or unconscious of the feeling of gratitude.
Repeatedly giving of one’s time, talent and energy can feel pointless if those efforts are never acknowledge or reciprocated. While the point of a job is compensation, there’s also something to be said for working in an arena that provides personal satisfaction and validation, as well. That’s difficult to do in an environment where your actions are never acknowledged or recognized. For those in the public sector, who may be taking a pay cut in order to serve, acknowledgement and appreciation in the workplace become even more important. Without a monetary incentive, there’s a clear preference for workplace environments that reward employee initiative and quality work.
Most of the time, it isn’t possible to choose co-workers or supervisors in the workplace. Expressing proper thanks and appreciation in a professional manner can make the difference between a happy and functional workplace and a hostile and less productive one, however, and may pave the way for a more positive office environment.
Diana M. Rodriguez is a native Washingtonian who currently works as a professional writer, blogger, social media expert, commentator, editor and public affairs practitioner. Diana previously worked as an editor and senior communications analyst for the Department of Defense.
