If I want my ego stroked, I’ll ask my wife, not an engineer.

Loved the post and for what it is worth you are a great example of letting people know what you are thankful for, appreciate and showing that their ideas are worth while.

Call it validation, appreciation, or just gratitude – I personally am not a machine and I want to be appreciated and I want my ideas to be validated.

I know what it means when people tell me I am doing a good job at something and that they appreciate my efforts.

There is I think a difference when you are in a volunteer role. People need to feel like their time has meant something and in areas where people don’t receive monies for their efforts then positive reinforcement goes a long way. When people are giving up time they could be spending with family and friends they don’t get that time back. People need to feel like it was worth it especially if while working on a particular project there are tensions or stressful situations. How do you show them they are valued if you can’t pay them? How do you show them they are a valued member of the team? Validation, Appreciation, and Gratitude are just a few of the ways..

Thanks again Jono..

Nevertheless I agree with you that most generally we need to know that we are appreciated. There is a LOT of talk lately about how not to burn out. Study after study after study for decades across the spectrum, from psychological publications, to real world business, to employee polls and on and on have shown that one of the major factors (if not the single most important one) contributing to burnout is simply not hearing “Thank you” from one’s employer or manager. This leads to more job turnover and dissatisfaction than almost any other factor.

So while I can understand how it isn’t a huge factor in Jerome’s case, the knowledge ahead of time that he won’t hear it, I realize that in most cases it’s just best to show appreciation. So I advocate it whenever I can. And overall I am glad for the positive response to showing appreciation I’m seeing in these posts.

Ahh. I solve my burn out problems using beer and recreational drugs. To each his own, I guess.

SPage’s Law: Everyone feels underappreciated, so lavish appreciation on others even though you won’t get anything in return since you too are suffering under SPage’s law.

Fernando: You look marrrvelous!

Jerome Haltom – It’s nice that you have a job that works with different rewards. But humans don’t tend to work like that, the people I know tend to have socialising wired directly into their emotive behaviour. Without validation they’ll end up on the Burnout path section 1. not getting recognition and thus seeking it more and more.

Jono, a very clear presentation of ideas. Thank you.