Categories for Managing By Appreciation
While Words of Affirmation is the easiest language for most people to understand and use, they aren’t always deployed effectively. Supervisors and managers often use words to encourage their team members. Compliments, a simple thank you, praise in front of others – are all common examples of using words to send positive messages in the workplace. We have found that following a few simple tips can make the use of words more effective in showing appreciation and encouragement to colleagues and help you avoid some common errors, as well. To be most effective words of praise should: 1. Be personal... Continue reading...
Since its initial release in 1992, Gary Chapman’s The 5 Love Languages has become a cultural phenomenon. In addition to having sold over 20 million copies and being translated into 50 languages, the 5 love languages are frequently referred to in casual conversations – especially those related to romantic, marital, and family relationships. Yet many people are still intrigued by the concept of applying the 5 languages to relationships at work. True, the concept of love at work can seem a bit weird (especially if your definition of love is based on the romantic notion of being in love). But... Continue reading...
We all naturally tend to speak our own language of appreciation. If Quality Time makes me feel appreciated, then I may go out of my way to stop by a teammate’s office and check in to see how they are doing. If Acts of Service make me feel appreciated, then I tend to pitch in and help my colleagues. If Words of Affirmation make me feel appreciated, then you can expect that I will give verbal praise to those with whom I work. But if I only do what comes naturally, the language of appreciation that is least valued by... Continue reading...
This Friday, March 6th, is Employee Appreciation Day. And while the team at Appreciation at Work welcomes the focus this brings to workplace appreciation, we want to encourage our readers to consider that authentic appreciation is something that can and should be practiced every day of the year, not just on a single, designated day. At the core of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace is the knowledge that team members will feel valued when appreciation is communicated: regularly, through the language and actions important to the recipient, in a way that is personal and individualized, and in... Continue reading...
Culture doesn’t happen by accident.It happens by intention. That’s why we’re excited – honestly, thrilled – to celebrate the first two organizations to earn the Appreciation at Work Certified Workplace designation: ClinicGrowerOttawa Street Dental These companies didn’t just stumble into a healthy workplace culture. They chose to build one on purpose. We rolled out the Certified Workplace in November to answer the question, “Now what?” Many people and teams who read the book and took the MBAI assessment were asking that question. How do we take the next step in making this part of our culture? How do we continue... Continue reading...
February 17, 2026 9:05 am
Communicating appreciation to coworkers impulsively, and with little forethought, can be more damaging than not doing anything at all. How many of us have been the recipient of a “Good job” comment from a leader who really has no idea what we do? Or been given a “reward” that has virtually no meaning to us or is given to everyone as a company-wide end of year bonus that felt more like, “Well, we need to do something.” As a consultant and trainer who has worked with hundreds of companies, let me give you some practical tips to avoid “putting a... Continue reading...
January 20, 2026 10:23 am
While the primary focus of our work with the 5 languages of appreciation has been to help individuals learn how to communicate authentic appreciation in the ways meaningful to one another, we’ve learned that the flip side is also important. That is, how do you avoid inadvertently using actions to show appreciation that your coworker clearly doesn’t want? The goal is to communicate positively with one’s colleagues, so making them uncomfortable or even offending them is not what anyone really wants. Because we are committed to learning, growing, and improving, we began to explore the issue of avoiding unwanted acts... Continue reading...
December 29, 2025 9:00 am
Changes in the foundations of how we work and where we work are constantly evolving and lead to uncertainty, anxiety, resistance, low morale and more, all of which can take their toll on employees. The good news is, managing reactions to change can be made easier if the change occurs within a culture of appreciation. When employees feel truly appreciated for what they do and who they are, disruption and resistance to change can be significantly reduced. Laying a foundation of appreciation with your colleagues can go a long way in helping them approach organizational changes with a more open mind.... Continue reading...
Leaders and HR professionals are facing some major challenges in today’s workplace: Keeping top talent from walking out the door, attracting the right people in a competitive market, and engaging remote teams for peak performance – as well as: So, what is the solution? A highly effective, low-cost suite of resources that provides the tools to help you succeed. Using evidence-based resources to address the wide range of issues affecting employees, and online train-the-trainer courses that focus on the core issues underlying the challenges of retention, recruitment, and remote employees. Introducing the Appreciation at Work Certified Workplace The Appreciation at... Continue reading...
November 17, 2025 12:25 pm
Fifteen years ago, I pursued a new opportunity with Dr. Gary Chapman — focusing on improving workplace relationships and creating healthy workplace cultures with the 5 languages of appreciation. But I had two career paths before then. I’m a psychologist by training and also ran a successful company advising family-owned businesses. I wanted to share some of the lessons I learned from transitioning to this very different type of work with Dr. Chapman. From researching and writing a series of books, to creating an online assessment that has been taken by more than 450,000 individuals, developing an online train-the-trainer course, writing articles, and speaking to leaders of... Continue reading...
A Guest Blog By Denise Boudreau Years ago, I was leading a long-term care organization in New Jersey when a massive snowstorm shut everything down. Roads were buried, buses were delayed, and yet my team still showed up. Some spent hours commuting just to be there for the residents and patients we served. I was so grateful that I decided to thank them in a meaningful way: by gifting everyone sweatshirts with our organization’s name. The sweatshirts arrived, and at first, I handed them out personally from my office, thanking each person face-to-face. But after a long day... Continue reading...
Many workplaces launch employee appreciation programs with enthusiasm and good intent. But after a few months, questions begin to surface: Is it working? Are people actually feeling valued? Is this making a difference in retention or engagement? When done right, appreciation is a powerful driver of workplace health and performance. However, like any strategy, it needs evaluation. If you’re going to invest time and resources into showing appreciation, it only makes sense to measure team appreciation with intention. Let’s explore how to track impact, define success, and avoid common mistakes when evaluating your recognition efforts. Define What Success Looks Like... Continue reading...
September 29, 2025 9:31 am
We are EXCITED to announce an upgraded revision to one of our core tools – the Expanded Motivating By Appreciation Inventory! At Appreciation at Work, we are dedicated to providing top quality, practical resources that are relevant to the ever-changing workplace. We are also committed to keeping those resources updated with the latest research and that has led to a updated and enhanced version of our Expanded Motivating By Appreciation Inventory. Updated for the Modern Workplace Originally developed in 2011, the Motivating By Appreciation Inventory (MBAI) has been taken by over 450,000 individuals around the world, and we’ve published over 10... Continue reading...
September 22, 2025 9:41 am
Have you ever wondered how you developed the routines that get you through the day? Brushing your teeth, taking a shower, eating breakfast—these are all habits. If you’re a parent, you know the effort it takes to help children develop healthy, beneficial habits. We do it because we know that once an action becomes a habit, it becomes an automatic and effortless part of their lives. Habits are mental shortcuts. They allow us to perform repetitive tasks without draining the mental and emotional energy needed for conscious thought. As we grow, we build more complex habits to manage our lives... Continue reading...
September 15, 2025 9:47 am
A Special Guest Blog by Evan Wilson Organizational leaders probably never stop thinking about what additions or changes need to be implemented to enhance their strategic plan. When leaders enter a season of strategic planning, one important pillar should include creating, building or sustaining a strong organizational culture. This often drives focus to core values, mission and purpose statements. This has been a common cadence of boards and leadership teams for decades. Over the past 17 years while leading an organization of 350 employees, I came to believe organizational culture defines long-term success. While I certainly endorse organizations... Continue reading...
One of the core tenets of the Appreciation at Work system is that not everyone feels appreciated in the same way. The more we align our appreciation with the specific preferences of our team members, the more likely we are to encourage them effectively and help them feel genuinely valued. This is the essence of understanding appreciation language in the workplace—and it plays a direct role in how we build trust and rapport with our colleagues. But here’s something we’ve learned from training thousands of professionals in authentic appreciation: A person’s primary language of appreciation is often the language in... Continue reading...
Have you ever tried to find a place—looked it up on Google Maps, driven there, and still couldn’t locate it, even though you were staring right at it? That happened to me recently while searching for a barbeque restaurant tucked into a converted shipping container next to a bank drive-through. I felt a little foolish once I finally saw it – it had been there all along. That’s how I feel about the rising levels of workplace loneliness and disconnectedness. The signs are clear. The underlying causes have been present for some time. And yet, many leaders still ask, “Where... Continue reading...
As a psychologist, I think about things differently – especially human interactions and relationships. And I sometimes ask weird questions, like: I am not personally an introvert, but having studied introversion and extroversion as part of my doctoral dissertation influences how I approach these questions. Definitions & Misunderstandings First, we need to define our terms – partly because that’s a good way to start and partially because many people misunderstand introversion and extroversion. Introversion is a personality style for those people who feel more comfortable focusing on their inner thoughts and ideas rather than what’s happening externally. Introverts typically enjoy... Continue reading...
Teaching new information and skills to groups of people isn’t as easy as it looks. Why? Because each person brings a unique set of experiences, skills, and knowledge to the learning situation. And, importantly, workplace learning styles vary widely. You may have heard of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. But beyond those categories, there are deeper factors that influence how people absorb new information and implement it in the workplace. A Psychologist’s Perspective on How Adults Learn Best As a psychologist with over 30 years of experience in identifying learning differences across all ages, I’ve seen firsthand how people grasp... Continue reading...
Have you ever worked in a really unhealthy environment? A workplace filled with negativity, deception, sarcasm, and cynicism—where trust between departments is fractured, and employees only stay because they feel they have to? Now, think about this question: what would it take to turn that culture around? After a moment of reflection, many of us might say, “It would take a miracle,” or “There’s no way—it’s a toxic pit.” But here’s the truth: the difference between a toxic work culture, a mediocre one, and a thriving, positive environment usually comes down to a series of small but intentional steps—not magic,... Continue reading...
Summer is the perfect season to enjoy a light, engaging read. But many of us are also navigating tough workplace realities—dispersed teams, supply chain issues, and staff shortages. That’s where Sync or Swim comes in. This short, story-driven book provides a fresh, entertaining way to understand the root causes of communication breakdowns and disengaged teams. It’s not just a fable—it’s a guide for workplace culture improvement through story. Why Stories Like Sync or Swim Work Humans are hardwired for stories. Fables cut through complexity and deliver insights that stick. In Sync or Swim, readers watch a fictional team face the... Continue reading...
Even if you don’t work in education, it’s hard to miss the alarming trend: schools are struggling to retain teachers, educational assistants, administrators, and support staff. A recent report from the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup revealed that nearly one in five teachers either plan to leave the profession (5%) or are unsure if they’ll return next year (13%). What’s causing this widespread disengagement and turnover? The answers aren’t complex, but they are deeply rooted in the realities of today’s educational environment. The Harsh Realities Driving Educators Out Low Prestige and Cultural Devaluation Once admired figures in the community, educators... Continue reading...
To build a sustainable and thriving business, you need more than a great product or service—you need a team of individuals who bring diverse strengths, personalities, and experiences to the table. However, to attract and retain top talent, especially those who think and operate differently than you, you must become a leader who values inclusion in the workplace, not just in principle, but in daily practice. That’s the starting point for any leader learning how to build team culture that lasts. Many leadership books touch on crucial skills like vision-casting, strategic decision-making, or goal-setting. But here’s a truth that deserves... Continue reading...
The COVID-19 pandemic, the dramatic increase in remote and hybrid employees, and the ongoing generational transition have reshaped the modern workforce—where employees work, how they work, and what they expect from their careers. The impact of these cultural shifts is significant on many levels compared to what we knew about employees before COVID-19. Some differences are obvious: today, a much greater number of employees work remotely full-time, and many more express a clear desire to continue doing so. The hybrid model—where employees work remotely at least part-time—has grown dramatically as well. The Ripple Effect of Remote and Hybrid Work Several... Continue reading...
Employees and supervisors in the trades need to know that their work is seen, respected, and valued. Learn more about the practical tools we've developed specifically people working in the trades.
Even with amazing technological advances the reality remains that we are human. And a core component of being human is that we are social beings. How can leaders and business owners ensure their employees stay connected in today's tech-driven world?
Employee recognition programs have been in existence for at least three decades -- but they aren’t as effective as they used to be. What's needed now is recognition AND appreciation.
Younger employees approach work—and life—differently than many of their colleagues. What they value personally, their expectations for their career paths, and even how they want to be treated on a daily basis reflect a new generational perspective.
The goal of appreciation isn't to create more work for anyone. In fact, showing authentic appreciation in the ways that team members want will actually make you less busy.
Conflict in the workplace happens, but not all conflicts look the same. Learn more about the causes of these workplace clashes in this week's blog.
