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Nov 24, 2022
Brenda R. Smyth, Supervisor of Content Creation
Across almost all generations, most of us were taught to say “please” and “thank you” about the same time we were learning to walk. Showing gratitude is polite. It’s a powerful expression with benefits for both the person expressing the thanks and the person receiving them. However, despite the benefits and all this early practice, surveys show that people are least likely to thank someone they work with.
Why is that?
If you’re the boss and you hired someone to work the night shift, should you thank them for simply doing their job? Let’s say you’ve been working closely with your team who just finished a project on time, on budget, and as planned; they know you’re aware of their work, so is a thank-you necessary? Maybe one of your employees spent time over the weekend working with a difficult client, but that’s what they were hired to do, right? Their paycheck or bonus is showing you value them, isn’t it?
If you’re the employee, are you grateful for your job? If you thanked your boss at the end of each day, would you be looked at by fellow coworkers as kissing up? If you complete some mandatory training to give you improved skills, do you thank the trainer and your boss for budgeting for it, or is that just part of what’s owed to you as an employee? If you acknowledge receipt of a complimentary email, do you thank the sender, or do you worry about being labeled as the employee who clutters the inboxes?
Why don’t we say “thank you” at work? Perhaps it’s because we don’t like to thank people for something we feel is just an ordinary part of each day — a part of what’s expected? Or we don’t want to cross that line of kissing up or showing favoritism? And everyone knows thank-you emails are taboo.
“It’s up to the people with power to clearly, consistently, and authentically say thank you in both public and private settings,” says Jeremy Adam Smith for greatergood.berkeley.edu.
Gratitude is powerful. And the benefits go far beyond just letting someone know you appreciate their efforts. A simple thank-you can trigger more good work and positive feelings for everyone involved.
Brenda R. Smyth
Supervisor of Content Creation
Brenda Smyth is supervisor of content creation at SkillPath. Drawing from 20-plus years of business and management experience, her writings have appeared on Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com and Training Industry Magazine.
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