This week I got some devastating news: my boss over our operation in my city has been asked by the company to move to a different city to help turn that office around. He has been in our office for 9 years, which in my company is simply unheard of. Usually you run an office for 2 to 4 years and move on to bigger and better things, but he put down roots and fell in love with the area.
The first day he told me, I was okay. Shocked and stunned because he talked of never wanting to move and how much he and his family loved the area. The following day he told the whole team, got emotional, and I just about lost it during the meeting.
If I have one great weakness is if I see men I respect getting emotional and upset, it just wrecks me and I get emotional and upset.
How to Show Appreciation at Work
Just like anyone you appreciate — friend, family member, co-worker, boss — it is important to share your appreciation with them. Here are a few ways to do that.
Spend Time with Them
It is so important to make time for the people that are important in your life. That shouldn’t change because you are at work. Grab lunch, grab coffee, go to a sporting event. Do something that gets you out of the office and in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Write a Letter
The most touching things I have received in my career are hand written notes or letters from people within my company expressing their appreciation of me. Sure, the finance guy appreciates bonuses and gift cards and all that, but a hand written note is just different to me. It takes time to sit down and put your thoughts on paper.
Keep in Touch
In this day and age there is no excuse for not keeping in touch. Cell phone calls (yes, some people still do that), e-mail, Facebook… you name it, there is a way to keep in touch with people in your life that are moving away.
Just because your favorite boss moves away doesn’t mean the relationship stops there. Keep in touch regularly and you will both be better for it. This is especially true on the boss front because you can share your experiences about what is going on around you to get a different set of eyes on the problem. It can help to be removed from the situation in order to see things more clearly.
Keep Politics Out of It
With all of the above you have to come at this from a genuine standpoint. Showing your boss or a peer appreciation should have absolutely nothing to do with office or company politics. You aren’t keeping in touch hoping to one day get promoted or to have that person put in a good word for you. People will see right through that. (The great thing is if you are genuine it can help you in the future, but that isn’t the goal.)
What Does Appreciation Have to Do with Money?
This is a personal finance blog, so why am I writing about appreciating good bosses? How is that going to help you get out of debt?
Directly… it won’t.
Indirectly, it can. Having someone you trust and building a relationship with them is never going to hurt your financial situation.
However, that isn’t the point today. Personal finance is primarily focused on money, but there are other things that can drastically change your happiness at work. Having a great boss is one of those things. When you are happy at work I believe you do better work and you look forward to going to the office. The opposite is even more true. A terrible boss can make the greatest job in the world feel like a prison cell.
And no amount of money can make that right.
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