The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People

by Gary Chapman

Employees overwhelmingly choose receiving Words of Affirmation as the primary way they like to be shown appreciation in the workplace. Although almost half of all employees (over 45%) prefer receiving verbal praise as their primary language of appreciation,7 this demonstrates that over half of all employees prefer appreciation communicated in ways other than words. Secondly, even though employee recognition programs heavily emphasize rewards (especially in incentive-based programs), only 6% of employees choose tangible rewards as their primary language of appreciation. As we have seen, for many employees, Tangible Gifts is their least favored way to be shown appreciation. So, by just utilizing verbal praise along with a gift, recognition programs “miss the mark” in communicating appreciation in the ways preferred by approximately half of their employees.