GFM|CenterTable
Culture & Leadership
Strategy

How To Create a Workplace Of Appreciation Using 5 Love Languages

Recently, the pastor at the church I attend talked about the wildly popular book by Gary Chapman called “The 5 Love Languages,” which has sold more than 12 million copies.

Essentially, the book is about how different people give and receive love, and it also delves into how you can build more meaningful relationships by learning and recognizing the love languages. The five love languages are: words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gift giving and physical touch.

The book was so successful, that the author wrote follow-up books, including “The 5 Love Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.” Admittedly, I was skeptical about how love languages fit in the workplace (picture any cringe-worthy episode of The Office), but I did some digging to find out more. What I discovered is that GroundFloor Media and CenterTable were already practicing these “love languages of appreciation” through a workplace culture that has been carefully built and nurtured over the past 18 years.

Office Appreciation Boost

If your workplace needs an appreciation boost, there are things that each and every employee can do to help change the dynamic and improve the culture. Demonstrating appreciation at the workplace must be authentic and not forced. Following are some examples:

  • Words of Affirmation – Employees want to feel appreciated and recognized for good work, so a simple “thank you for going above and beyond,” in a note of gratitude, or recognizing an employee in front of their peers can go a long way.
  • Quality Time – Spending time with an employee out of the office over coffee or taking a walk together can show that you’re invested in that person.
  • Acts of Service – Offer to help an employee with a project or task, “What can I do to help you get this project completed?”
  • Gift Giving – Learn what is most meaningful to the employee you want to recognize – a gift card for a meal, company schwag or a day off.
  • Physical Touch – This can be a little tricky in the office, but there’s nothing wrong with a high-five, fist bump or a handshake to show you appreciate a colleague.

GroundFloor Media and CenterTable have been recognized by Outside Magazine as a top 10 workplace for the past six years and earned the No. 1 ranking twice. Again, it was a deliberate process of a lot of hard work and an understanding that each employee brings different strengths, workplace life lessons and workstyles to their job.