My title above is a phrase some coworker friends of mine and I used with some regularity years ago (except our language was usually in “full color,” profanity and all – I’ve grown up some since then). We were all of a mind that nobody should expect a pat on the back for doing the basics – showing up on time, getting the work done, satisfying our customers and delivering the bottom line. So it was a joke we’d toss out to each other every so often when someone would praise a person on the team for doing what we saw as just the regular job.
We were wrong.
We absolutely should praise people, thank people, give people a pat on the back, and the like, just for doing their basic jobs.
But that’s why we pay them, my past self and my friends from back then would have said. And that’s true – our coworkers spend their time away from their families and friends and favorite pursuits to do their jobs (what Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises called “submit[ting] to the disutility of labor”), and they get money for it. It’s a basic business contract. But how does that contract on their part absolve us of common decency – of demonstrating courtesy and gratitude – on our part? It’s all too common for people to expect others to deliver top performance, work long hours, sacrifice personal time and commitments, all to do a job, yet they never bother to say thanks. There’s something deeply wrong with that.
What’s more, I’ve never once worked in a place where nothing was said when things went wrong. Reactions to errors and dropped balls and missed opportunities have varied widely in my experience, from extreme verbal abuse, angry tirades and severe discipline in some places to mild disapproval and efforts to “error-proof” things in others. But never, ever, ever has there been a place where mistakes or accidents were just part of the job and went without some mention or acknowledgement. Isn’t there also something deeply wrong with always having some form of imposed discomfort when things don’t go well, yet never having the opposite number when folks do good work – even if that good work is simply just them “doing their job?”
Finally, wouldn’t the world be a much better place if we all showed gratitude for all our many blessings? Today there’s a constant cacophony of complaints from all sides. You and I can help turn that tide. You’ve heard the old saw about eating an elephant; this is the same work – it takes one thank-you at a time. Today’s a good day to start.
So please take note: I say this with all sincerity to everyone whose work impacts my job and my life: thank you for doing your effing job. Seriously.
Susan L.
April 19th, 2018
Nice one, Jim!
I once worked at a place (ESL teacher) where we’d get observed and reviewed on a regular basis. While the observations could be nerve racking for both the teachers and the students, I really didn’t mind them too much. I prepared well and had enough confidence in my teaching that I was comfortable even under observation.
The reviews however, were another thing altogether. No matter how well you did with the class you were always, and I mean always, subjected to “something you could’ve done better ….”.
The thinking was that no one ever taught a perfect lesson and so something could’ve been better. It was supposed to motivate you to perfection. It didn’t. It was simply disheartening and demotivating. I mean, why try harder when you know that no matter how well you do, it’ll never be good enough?
Improvement is important as is trying to look at your work with an objective eye. That said, every now and then, it would just be nice to hear some honest appreciation for a job well done.
jim
April 20th, 2018
Susan, great hearing from you!
I loathe performance reviews. You’re exactly right – you could turn in superhuman performance, but there’s always going to be something you get smacked for. My favorite was one of my last at General Mills, when I was a member of the teams for every single major initiative in Yoplait, and I won a record five division awards at our annual soiree. My review? 0.05 points above average, with the caution that I needed to demonstrate more leadership. Yeah, I was motivated – right out of the company…
“That said, every now and then, it would just be nice to hear some honest appreciation for a job well done.” Exactly!! I now feel the best performance review is to tell every single person, “Here’s something you are really, really good at. Thank you for bringing it to the table, and keep doing more of it!” And unless it’s someone who’s going to get fired otherwise, no talk of negatives and no suggestions for “fixing themselves.”
Bob Long
April 21st, 2018
Jim:
Agree with your assessment of the importance of positive feedback and reinforcement. Companies need to learn to see people as assets and treat them as important to success, instead of always focusing on short term shareholders returns. Recent articles pointed out how IBM is pushing out older workers. So their reward for driving results for the company was not enough to protect them from the bean counters looking for another quick “savings” to the bottom line. As long as employees are a disposable cog in the gears of the company, people will keep their resume current and their options open, with just as little loyalty as companies show them. A thank you, a solid raise and sharing of the rewards instead of hoarding it for senior management, and a sense of value for the employee would create a much stronger company and open up more ideas, passion, and loyalty within that company. Unfortunately valuing people is not readily measurable on a metric scorecard, but short term cost savings are trackable so there is where value is placed.
jim
April 22nd, 2018
Bob, thanks for your input! I saw the article you mentioned about IBM, and wondered just where the hell HR was while all that was happening. Then I realized they were right in the thick of planning and executing it! Maybe it’s time we changed the name back to “Personnel,” to re-focus them on people as people and not commodities.