The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

It's not always easy to show appreciation in the workplace - even (especially?) in education. It feels like the stakes are always high. You're always trying to change your best. My perspective this year is a little unique because my school is our state's Priority school. We're the school they are trying to raise up. It means a lot of things to a lot of people. There's lots of paperwork, professional development, and questioning. 

I work with a cast of amazing professional educators. I would put them up against the best in the world. But...do they know that?

So I grabbed this book to find out how I can show my colleagues appreciation for their amazingness.

It's not about money. It's just that no matter what I do - how long I work or what I accomplish - I never hear anything positive. If I make a mistake, I hear about it immediately, but if I do my job well, the silence is overwhelming.

I don't know Dave, the man who said the text above, but I feel him. I know my colleagues feel him as well. 

My knowledge of the five love languages is pretty normal. I read the original book for marriages plus the one for teens. I think the main challenge in the workplace one is isolation. It takes a lot to figure out your co-workers' love languages unless your whole workplace does the inventory and shares the results (which, honestly, my personality prefers BIG TIME). The authors do give you signs to start working out the love language of those around you, but I don't know. I prefer it directly from them. 

While I found some nuggets that were worth the read, I didn't really LEARN all that much from this book. I loved the initial chapters where all of the data was. (Surprise!) Once speculation began, I didn't feel it was as valuable. I liked a few of the examples - even highlighted 2 of them to share with a specific co-worker. Framing compliments as "One of the things I admire about you is...", "I wish I were more... (like them)", and being detailed and specific were all great pieces of advice. 

I would recommend this to any supervisor of any kind in any field. Appreciation only means so much coming from a coworker. It tends to mean more the higher up the ladder that it comes from. However, if you're like me and searching for ways to show your colleagues that you appreciate them, it's worth a flip through - even if you have to resist the urge to make all of them take the inventory so you just know their language.