What The Heck Is A Love Language? Is This Office-Appropriate?
It might sound strange to suggest using love languages to improve your professional relationships. Sorry to disappoint, but you won’t find any hot tips on how to woo your work crush, and generally, most tend to discourage romance in the office. But if you want to discover new ways to communicate, appreciate and understand your colleagues—you’re in the right place!
So, what does love have to do with the workplace?
Well, think of it like this…
Your work is comparable to a marriage, whether you like it or not. Your colleagues and customers get to see you at your best (and worst) and you've made a vow to spend nearly everyday with them—at least for a few years. And just like marriages, business relationships need work to keep them alive and thriving.
The 5 Love Languages, is a concept that was first introduced in 1992, by Philosophy Ph.D Gary Chapman and it’s rapidly gained popularity in recent times. The theory focuses on identifying specific communication preferences to improve connections with romantic partners and provides advice on maintaining mutually rewarding relationships with others around you based on the five language categories.
Not everyone expresses or experiences love in the same way, and likewise, people are diverse in the ways they prefer to receive affection. The Five Love Languages are distinct ways to communicate and receive affection:
- words of affirmation
- quality time
- receiving gifts
- acts of service
- physical touch
The idea is that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to expressing care and compassion to others. This thoughtful approach is also astonishingly useful as you attempt to acquire new consumers, build client connections, or keep your associates happy.
Everyone's motivation is unique and fueled by a unique set of beliefs and preferences. Whether it's a pat on the back, a cash reward for going above and beyond, or some one-on-one time with someone who recognizes your effort, we each have distinct feelings about what makes us feel most valued.
When we give and receive the right kind of praise, encouragement, and award for efforts, stronger connections between colleagues are built, fortifying an organization's overall strength.
How Can Knowing Your Love Languages Improve Professional Relationships?
5 Love Languages For Work
For the sake of clarity when we refer to “Love Languages” for the office, what we are really referring to is how to communicate appreciation and gratitude to those in your workplace.
For leadership especially, it's critical to note that not all forms of "love" and appreciation are accepted by all employees. Employees seek affirmation in a variety of ways and knowing their preferred languages of praise can help your organization keep staff engaged by delivering the right sort of motivation as well as the incentives they'll value most.
Words Of Affirmation: Choose Kind Words Wisely
Some people value verbal praise for their efforts. Employees whose primary language of appreciation is through words of affirmation will appreciate a simple "good job" from a coworker or public acclaim (perhaps during a meeting).
Isn't it wonderful to be congratulated for doing a good job? When someone tells you that you're fantastic, how can you not feel better, happier, or more productive? Writing a quick email to a coworker after they have completed an awesome project says a lot about how much you value their efforts.
The goal is to boost confidence in people by verbally praising them. "Thanks a lot for your insight" and "great job delivering at our meeting yesterday" are two examples. You can express your gratitude in various ways, including one-on-one conversations, in team meetings, via email or note, and through public social media channels.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Acts Of Service
Another way appreciation can be shown to coworkers or supervisors is through acts of service. Even if you genuinely mean well when complimenting someone or giving them a gift, all a coworker may need to feel appreciated is assistance with finishing or participating in a project/task. To summarize, some individuals feel more loved and acknowledged if another person volunteers to help them or offers to "lend a hand.”
For some, there's nothing better than when a partner goes out of their way to help around the house, wash the car or make dinner even after a hard day. Similarly, small gestures show your professional pals whose primary language are acts of service they are valued. A few service-based acts can go a long way, like assisting with demanding assignments, troubleshooting technical issues, picking up the afternoon coffee—basically any tiny favor to help make their day more enjoyable.
Quality Time: Show Your Support In-Person
The best way to show you are a team player is to show up! Organizations that emphasize collaboration and being visible to one another realize how face-to-face time indicates appreciation and membership at work.
If you want to show your colleagues that you care about them and the organization you're working for, it never hurts to think of creative approaches to or spend time with them at work or (professionally) outside of work. This could mean collaborating on a project, organizing the summer golf tournament, or even a company sports team. You may also express your gratitude to someone by taking someone out for a meal, dropping by their workspace to see how they're doing, or going for a walk during lunch break.
Some workers feel valued by being offered one-on-one meetings and check-ins. Bottom line, when appreciation is delivered to an employee whose primary language is quality time, it needs to be personal. A simple pat on the back or good job email may not resonate or hold the same weight.
For some people, nothing beats good old-fashioned professional facetime. Notably, this is generally the case with new members who want to establish trust in a connection before acting in collaboration.
Material Matters: Receiving Gifts
Some employees value material items as a symbol of reward for outstanding job performance. Employees who want to exchange their efforts for things or experiences will love a company that offers an engagement program with rewards.
A gift is like a suitor sending an unexpected bouquet to someone he wants to impress. There are times when you may need to charm your clients or coworkers with a gift. Many people enjoy receiving gifts, and unsurprisingly the most common offerings in the workplace tend to come in the form of food or alcohol.
Gifts in the workplace can also be a form of information, such as providing your manager or coworker with a relevant article, promotional items, or a personalized present on their birthday. For people whose primary language is receiving gifts, these gestures are often more meaningful than office drop-ins and lip service.
The objective is to provide something that demonstrates that you're considering the person and that you're interested in continuing the connection.
Physical Touch: It’s Not For Everyone, But!
Lastly, there are those who feel most appreciated by way of physical touch. These members may respond favorably to physical affirmations such as high-fives, handshakes, fist bumps, and pats on the back. You may also offer a quick hug (particularly in emotional situations), but always ensure that it's okay with the other person—personal boundaries, people!
What relevance does appropriate physical contact at work have to business? A lot, in fact! Consider the death-grip handshake or the dead-fish handshake: both make your colleague or customer feel uneasy and put an unpleasant start to a commercial encounter.
This is also a concern when conducting business internationally; some cultures greet with a bow, a kiss, or a handshake. You might inadvertently offend a client or coworker if you don't think about the ramifications of your physical contact. Missing an element of physical formality may suggest you're unenthusiastic to do business or even rude. If your colleague or client values these interactions, no amount of quality time or presents will compensate for your faux pas.
Discovering Languages Of Appreciation For Happier Employees And Teams
The 5 Languages of Love emphasize that no two individuals are alike and that each has their own distinct needs and requirements. While it may appear to be a difficult task at times, it is the duty of a leader to figure out which languages are most relevant to their employees.
One of the simplest methods to figure out how others want to be recognized and acknowledged is to conduct research and observation. Take your staff out for a one-on-one lunch once a month, for example. Examine the results of your gesture—did they react positively? Did they appear to be happier? Was there any change in their work? Has the act of appreciation been extended from you to another person by doing something nice for a coworker? All of this is an indication of how successful your appreciation approach was.
While the ultimate objective of any plan or program to increase staff engagement is to improve your organization's health and productivity, challenging yourself to establish an atmosphere where workers are valued and respected may have far-reaching advantages.
Expressing Your Love Language At Work, Advice For The Employee
A one-on-one meeting with your manager about how they might better sync up with your love languages at work may not be on their radar, but that doesn't mean you can't start implementing little practices to improve your well-being and address what you want.
To begin, set a good example. Take a moment to make sure that you're making your coworkers feel valued as you want to be when interacting with them. If you have a coworker who responds well to time spent working on projects together or discussing goals, try to include it in as much of your daily interactions as possible.
Suppose you're able to talk about personal development with your superiors. Take the opportunity to signpost what activities you think inspire you and your team, as well as which of their behaviors you're already grateful for.
Employee engagement is not built in a day; it’s built in your daily habits.
Key Takeaways
To effectively create a healthy workplace environment, praise and appreciation must be conveyed regularly, genuinely, and based on the language that the receiver responds to favorably. It's not enough to express gratitude just before performance evaluation week, and it doesn't work if there's a condition attached to each time you compliment someone's efforts.
Some people may struggle to understand that when you choose a profession, it often possesses similarities to a relationship with another person. This is also invaluable advice for anyone seeking to acquire new clients, enhance a customer relationship, or keep their employees happy.
Understanding what motivates, stimulates, and makes other people feel appreciated to live and succeed in a positive company culture is critical. And all of this may begin if you recognize the diverse needs of those around you.
We’re In Business To Improve Work Lives
At Culture Booster we realize how important sharing praise and appreciation are to the success of an organization. So, we’ve created a feature for just that.
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