Showing Appreciation At The Office? No, Thanks
Don't expect a big thank-you at work this week. While people may express gratitude when they gather at Thanksgiving, showing appreciation is far from traditional at the office.即便是在感恩节时，也不要指望有同事热情洋溢地对你说谢谢。人们也许会在感恩节聚会时互表谢意，但在职场，表达感谢之情根本不是一项大众遵循的传统。
Research suggests that employees who feel appreciated are more productive and loyal. But that message hasn't reached many of those in charge. Some bosses are afraid employees will take advantage of them if they heap on the gratitude. Other managers believe in thank-yous but are nervous about appearing awkward or insincere岸or embarrassing the employee they wish to praise.
研究显示，得到赞赏的员工更有产能，忠诚度也更高；但这一信息并没有传递到很多管理者那里。有些老板担心，如果自己不断表达谢意，员工会恃骄而宠。还有一些管理者相信感恩的力量，却害怕这么做会让自己显得懦弱或虚伪──或者让他们想要赞赏的员工感到尴尬。
A common attitude from the corner office is 'We thank people around here: It's called a paycheck, ' says Bob Nelson, an employee-motivation consultant in San Diego.
加州圣迭哥(San Diego)的员工激励顾问鲍勃•尼尔森(Bob Nelson)说，管理层持有的一种普遍态度是，“我们也表示感谢了，这份感谢名叫工资单”。尼尔森博士也是一名作家、演说家，是Nelson Motivation公司的总裁。
The workplace ranks dead last among the places people express gratitude, from homes and neighborhoods to places of worship. Only 10% of adults say thanks to a colleague every day, and just 7% express gratitude daily to a boss, according to a survey this year of 2, 007 people for the John Templeton Foundation of West Conshohocken, Pa., a nonprofit organization that sponsors research on creativity, gratitude, freedom and other topics.
人们在各种场合表达谢意，如家中、社区和宗教场所等等，而职场是排名最末的一个。宾夕法尼亚州西康舍霍肯市(West Conshohocken)专门资助创意、感恩、自由等课题研究的非盈利组织“约翰邓普顿基金会”(John Templeton Foundation)今年发起过一项对2,007人的调查，发现只有10%的成年人每天都对同事说谢谢，只有7%的人每天都对老板说谢谢。
Spouses, partners, children, parents, friends and mere acquaintances are up to four times more likely to get a thank-you, participants said. Even a salesperson or mail carrier usually rates better, says Janice Kaplan of New York, an author and editor who oversaw the survey.
负责编审该调查报告的纽约作家、编辑詹尼斯•卡普兰(Janice Kaplan)表示，据受访者自己说，他们感谢配偶、伴侣、孩子、父母、朋友和点头之交的次数要比感谢同事的次数最高多出三倍，同事得到的待遇甚至都比不上推销员或邮差。
More than half of human-resources managers say showing appreciation for workers cuts turnover, and 49% believe it increases profit, according to a study of 815 managers released last week by the Society for Human Resource Management.
2012年11月中旬，美国人力资源管理协会(the Society for Human Resource Management)公布了一项对815名人力资源经理所做的调查。半数以上的受访者认为，对员工表达谢意有助于降低离职率，49%的受访者相信，这么做可以提升企业盈利水平。
Even the crustiest managers acknowledge that acknowledgment matters. Jack Welch, the former General Electric chief executive who is famed for his business philosophy of ceaseless, rigorous review and improvement, says he thanked employees on every plant tour and facility visit. 'If you don't do it, you don't have a culture. You are just a bunch of bricks and mortar, ' he says.
连最苛刻的管理者都承认，对员工的认可很重要。通用电器公司(General Electric)前首席执行长杰克•韦尔奇(Jack Welch)以其注重持续严格的评估及改进措施的管理思想而著称，但他表示，他每次去工厂和基层巡视，都会感谢那里的工作人员。韦尔奇说：“如果老板不起表率作用，就不会形成感恩文化，整个公司就只是一堆冷冰冰的砖头和水泥。”
Patricia Ellsworth worked hard to earn recognition from her boss on a former job years ago as a manager for a printing company: She set in motion improvements in training, performance reviews and goal setting, all of which supported his business goals. Still, she never received a thank-you, says Ms. Ellsworth, of Prescott, Ariz.
亚利桑那州普雷斯科特市(Prescott)的帕特丽夏•艾尔斯沃斯(Patricia Ellsworth)几年前曾在一家印刷公司担任经理，她努力工作，得到了老板的认可。她提高培训效果，实施绩效评估，设定行动目标，所有这些都对老板的工作起到了支持作用。然而，艾尔斯沃斯说，老板从没对她表达过一次谢意。
'I would be close to tears once a week, ' she says.
艾斯沃斯说：“我每个星期都会有一天委屈得想哭。”
Ms. Ellsworth's boss was typical: Gratitude isn't high on most managers' to-do list. According to the SHRM study, more than half of the human resource managers surveyed say their front-line bosses don't say 'thank you' enough.
她老板的做法很普遍：在大多数管理者的工作清单上，对员工表达谢意的优先次序并不是很高。在美国人力资源管理协会的调查中，超过一半的人力资源经理表示，他们的直接上司说“谢谢”的次数不够多。
'Business schools definitely do not focus on such things, ' says Dr. Nelson, an author, speaker and president of Nelson Motivation. He says many supervisors feel, 'No one thanks me. Why should I have to coddle others?'
尼尔森博士说：“商学院的教育绝对不会重视这些事。”他说很多主管会有这种想法，“都没人感谢我，我为什么要去感谢别人”。
Others fear thanking employees fosters 'a big head and an increased likelihood that they'll want a raise, ' Dr. Nelson says. Indeed, 35% of participants in the Templeton survey worry colleagues will take advantage of them if they express gratitude. For many supervisors, Dr. Nelson says, 'it's much easier to be the person who's always finding fault. It feels more like being in charge.'
尼尔森博士说，还有一些管理者担心，表达谢意会让“员工忘乎所以，开始想要加薪”。事实上，在约翰邓普顿基金会的调查中，35%的受访者担忧的是，如果他们感谢同事，同事就会反过来利用他们。尼尔森博士说，对许多主管而言，“做个随时随地挑刺的人要容易得多，也更有当老板的架势”。
Still others simply aren't grateful to their colleagues, an attitude that can turn an entire company into a no-gratitude zone. 'The boss is the single most powerful factor' in employee attitudes, says Susan Heathfield, a Williamston, Mich., management consultant. If the boss never says thanks, 'a culture is likely to develop that emphasizes the negative, where people sit around and complain.'
此外，还有一些人根本对同事没有感激之情，而这种态度会让整个公司变成一片冷漠地带。密歇根州威廉斯顿市(Williamston)的管理咨询师苏珊•海斯菲尔德(Susan Heathfield)说：“老板对员工的态度是影响员工之间氛围的一个最关键因素。如果老板从来不说谢谢，就可能产生一种消极文化，人们只会彼此抱怨，而不是彼此感激。”
Employers have begun to place less importance on recognition programs. Although 77% of companies still have them, according to the SHRM study, several surveys in the past six years show a gradual decline in total offerings and employer cutbacks in existing programs.
雇主对于员工表彰活动的重视程度已经开始降低。虽然在美国人力资源协会的调查中，仍有77%的公司还在举办员工表彰活动，但近六年来的几次调查发现，员工表彰活动的总量在不断减少，而且公司还在削减现有的一些项目。
Whatever programs are in place, individual managers' efforts can have a big impact. Greg Peel, a regional sales manager for Paychex, Rochester, N.Y., a provider of payroll and human-resource services, says tailoring thank-you cards or awards ceremonies to suit employees' personal goals and preferences has helped his team win sales awards.
不管企业有什么样的员工表彰活动，管理者的个人努力会产生很大影响。纽约州罗彻斯特市(Rochester)工资及人力资源服务外包商Paychex的地区销售经理格莱格•皮尔(Greg Peel)表示，根据员工不同的目标和喜好定制感谢卡或举行颁奖典礼帮助他所带领的团队赢得了公司的销售大奖。
Jason Ford, a district sales manager whose wife and children received a thank-you card from Mr. Peel praising his work, says the recognition increased his 'long-term commitment to the company. It makes it all worth it, when you know your efforts are appreciated.'
詹森•福特(Jason Ford)是Paychex公司的社区销售经理，他妻子和孩子们收到了皮尔寄来的一张感谢卡，对福特的工作表示赞许。福特说，这种认可“提升了他对公司的长期认同感，当自己的努力得到别人赞赏时，什么辛苦都是值得的”。
Of course, it can take finesse to say thank-you at work in the right way, without embarrassing or annoying people. When Sandy Hackenwerth wanted to thank a project director on her team in front of her own supervisor, the employee protested, saying she would be embarrassed. Asked what she wanted instead, she requested use of Ms. Hackenwerth's executive parking spot for a day. Ms. Hackenwerth, a vice president for a St. Louis consulting firm, complied.
当然，在工作场所表达谢意也需要一定的策略，以免让别人感到尴尬或恼火。桑迪•海肯沃斯(Sandy Hackenwerth)是圣路易斯(St. Louis)一家咨询公司的副总裁，她想当着自己老板的面感谢团队中的一个项目主管，但对方提出了反对意见，说这样很尴尬。于是海肯沃斯问她有什么要求，对方表示，用一天海肯沃斯的高管停车位就行了。
Another employee scheduled for a public thank-you was so shy that he didn't show up for work that day, Ms. Hackenwerth says. She attunes her thank-yous to employees' preferences by having new workers fill out a questionnaire about how they like to get feedback.
海肯沃斯说，有一次她安排好要公开感谢一名员工，但那人太害羞了，以至于当天都没来上班。为了根据员工的喜好来表达谢意，海肯沃斯专门让新员工填写一张问卷表，了解他们具体喜欢哪一种方式。
Employees are skeptical of lesser efforts. A manager who is clumsy about saying thanks 'can look insincere, shallow, superficial, manipulative, condescending or trite, ' Dr. Nelson says.
如果一位经理平时很少说谢谢，一旦表达谢意，员工很容易会产生怀疑。尼尔森博士说，员工会认为这人“虚伪、肤浅、做表面文章、耍手腕、屈尊俯就或例行公事”。
But other bosses just need a push. Miserable over her previous boss's seeming lack of gratitude, Ms. Ellsworth decided to ask him directly what she wanted.
不过，有些老板也需要员工来帮忙推一把。艾尔斯沃斯对老板的冷漠态度感到愤懑不平，于是决定直接跟他摊牌，说出自己的需求。
She stopped by his office and told him she needed him to recognize her contribution, adding that she would stop by every Friday thereafter to recount her accomplishments, says Ms. Ellsworth, now a recruitment and retention manager for Home Instead Senior Care, Prescott, Ariz.
她来到老板的办公室，希望他能认可自己在工作中取得的成绩，并说以后她每周五都会过来，陈述自己一周的工作成果。艾尔斯沃斯现在是亚利桑那州普雷斯科特市Home Instead Senior Care公司的员工招聘及忠诚度管理经理。
Her former boss, Bill Taylor, now an executive at a Mendocino, Calif., technology company, says that as a former Air Force pilot, he hadn't needed much praise and 'didn't have a natural aptitude' for handing it out to others. Ms. Ellsworth's plea enabled him to 'figure out, 'I'm not the same as everybody else, ' and treat them the way they want to be treated, ' thanking not only her but others, he says.
她以前的老板比尔•泰勒(Bill Taylor)现在是加州门多西诺市(Mendocino)一家IT公司的高管。他说自己是个退役的空军飞行员，平时不需要别人的赞美，也没有赞美别人的“天赋”。泰勒说，艾尔斯沃斯的做法让他明白一个道理，“每个人都不一样，应该以对方希望的方式来彼此相处”，我不但要感谢她，也要感谢其他的员工。
Ms. Ellsworth says Mr. Taylor became a great supervisor who 'inspired intense loyalty.' The result, both agree, was a great workplace relationship.
艾尔斯沃斯说，那之后泰勒变成了一个更好的老板，“大大增强了员工的归属感”。两人一致认为，这种做法能让同事之间的关系更和谐。
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