The Power of Thank You at Work – 4 Reasons Why It Matters

October 22, 2012

 

We’ve all had the experience of a sincere thanks for a hard day’s work, and perhaps more memorably, we’ve also had the experience of not being thanked when it was appropriate. Anyone who has experienced this can tell you how de-motivational it is. So, in this month that we celebrate giving thanks, let’s talk about five reasons why it is so vitally important in the workplace.

It Shows You Are Watching – Implicit in thanking someone is an understanding that you are attuned to how they are spending their time. This conveys interest, concern and also an appropriate sense of supervision and support.

It Conveys Mastery – Dan Pink talks about the motivational power of autonomy, mastery and purpose, and saying “Thank You” signals to your co-worker that they have masterfully completed what was asked of them. There is great satisfaction in knowing that you did a job well.

It’s Uncommon – Perhaps one of the most damaging ideas to come out of the Great Recession was that people could be treated like cattle because they had no other options. The idea that, “you’re just lucky to have a job” gave poor managers everywhere permission to overwork and underthank their employees. Not only is this a jerk move, it will become increasingly untenable as a way to retain people as economic conditions improve.

It is Great Modeling – You know the commercial where one person does something nice (e.g., hold the door) and it sets of a chain reaction of well doing? Similarly, saying thanks is a leadership behavior that models to others how they should be interacting with their people. Organizations seldom remain static, they are perpetually in a state of improvement or disintegration and both operate cyclically. Make sure that you are perpetuating a virtuous cycle by leading with thanks.

Thanks for reading – har har.

 

 

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