According to the definition from Merriam-Webster: Appreciation is ” a feeling or expression of admiration, approval, or gratitude.”
Appreciation is an often expressed desire of most people. It is very much a two way street also. Without reciprocation the whole essence of it seems to lose it’s meaning.
Appreciation is usually a buisness and human resources buzz word. To truely feel it and express it though, it needs to be sincere and have a reciprocal effect to be truely felt and have the most power.
How is appreciation minimized and loses its power?
Unfortunately this happens so frequently and easily that it degrades the essence of true appreciation. It can be seen very frequently in the corporate world. There have been many instances of companies showing mandatory “appreciation”. These instances are extremely easy to spot.
Especially during the years of isolation during COVID, it was the buzz word to show appreciation. However, frequently no thought or individuality was given to these gifts of appreciation. They were often nice at first until it became obvious it was just checking a box.
How to truely demonstrate appreciation from the corporate level.
This is the most challenging part of corporate life, especially when a company gets larger. It is most imperative that each individual management level truely gets to know their employees. There needs to be good communication up the management chain levels to know what truely matters to each group.
This takes honest effort and continual communication to stay on top of changing tastes and employees at the lowest rung of the corporate ladder. There needs to be a full bye in from each level of management to truely demonstrate appreciation. Often times it can be the simplest forms of demonstration of appreciation that make the most impact. It can truely show that everyone is an important part of the organization and is a valuable asset.
How else is appreciation shown?
Appreciation can easily be shown in daily interactions between employees as well as between employees and clients of your buisness.
This can be very apparent in the skilled nursing facility. The interactions between residents, family members and staff members can easily demonstrate the true essence of appreciation. All it takes is a moment in time to make an enormous difference and impact on someone.
In my own experience, I try to acknowledge and thank each resident after our sessions are over for their hard work. I try to tell them how proud I am of them working through and completing each session. This is true not only for the good sessions that make huge strides towards their goals, but also on the bad days. It seems very important to me to thank them for giving whatever effort they can on the bad days. It can be a big motivating factor when you can encourage on the bad days. I often tell them that the bad days are the days that make the difference. It’s always easier on the good days, but pushing through the bad is the game changer.
It still amazes me and warms my heart when the reciprocal aspect of appreciation is given. All it takes is the simple thank you from my residents for working with them that day. It helps me to stay motivated to continue to motivate them. It helps to build a positive relationship and even can help you through a bad day.
This is also true for the therapists that work under me. I try to make sure to express gratitude for not only anything that I have to ask them to do out of the normal, but also try to remember to routinely say thank you for the everyday work. A true sincere thank you for the everyday ins and outs truely shows appreciation. I could not be successful at my job without their hard work and dedication. So please remember to not only say thank you, but mean it. The reward it can give you can be truely unmeasurable.
