How Embracing Workplace Recognition and Praise Boosts Your Career Success
Do you find it as hard as many of us do to just say, “thanks” when someone tells you what a great job you did on something at work?
Or - maybe you notice your team members have a hard time doing so when YOU pay them a compliment?
It’s start time to start equating accepting workplace recognition and praise as a means of climbing the proverbial ladder.
It’s not just about getting praise…it’s also about accepting it.
70% of people report feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable when receiving praise.
Why our fear of Workplace recognition and praise COuld Be ruining our career success
I know, it’s hard to sometimes stand in the spotlight of our own success. Many of us want to crawl out of our own skin when someone highlights our performance or praises us publicly. I used to be one of those people (and I still DO hide from the spotlight much of the time), but I’ve learned how to get over my shyness in accepting praise because - quite frankly - I want to win. I want to keep achieving the career success I’ve worked so hard to earn…and much of it starts with recognition.
In my 14 years of coaching, one thing that that has consistently surprised me are the three P’s that people fear most:
Public speaking
Press interviews
…and praise!
Yup, praise. But why? Let’s talk about it.
Pushing away Workplace recognition and praise
70% of people report feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable when receiving praise. And, it’s worse for women. One study found that women only accept compliments 40% of the time, and only 22% of the time when the compliment came from another woman.
We push praise away.
We step on it, deny it.
We RUN from it.
The irony is: it’s the thing so many of us most want!
We’re more likely to stay at our job when we feel recognized. A Gallup poll says that employees are 45% less likely to leave their job if they receive recognition.
Work becomes a happier place! 85% of people say that reward & recognition programs positively affect organizational culture.
We get more done. Business productivity increases by 31% when employees are happy.
Workplace recognition and praise: Why are you running away from it?
So, if praise is so great - and critical to our career success - why are we–you–running away from it?
Maybe you’re trying to avoid being emotional. Do you get sand in your eyes, too, when people tell you how awesome you are?
Maybe you were taught not to brag.
Maybe you just don’t want to make eye contact with Gary in HR because it’s. just. too. personal!!
My money is on the fact that we just don’t know how to handle praise or recognition without being vulnerable.
Reciprocity - the idea that if given something, the recipient will return the favor - is a major human trigger. We have a hard time receiving something for nothing. It makes us question why the person is doing something nice for us…what is it that THEY want or expect in return from us? We can’t just receive. We feel as though we owe something in return. Combine this with social programming that says we should be modest about our talent, and it creates a perfect internal storm that compels us to say, “Oh, it was nothing” and literally swat away our recognition.
Just say "thank you". No need to repay the compliment. Avoid dismissing gratitude, or risk not receiving it at all.
we lose when we can’t accept Workplace recognition and praise
But - when we do this, we lose. Game over.
People stop praising us because they dislike the rejection they feel when they pay us a compliment. They see and hear that we don’t like it and we don’t want it, so they stop.
The fact remains, though, that recognition and praise at work are major parts of the “who’s winning at work” dialogue that floats about every room and critical conversation when it comes time for promotions, raises, opportunities and more.
If you want more of those, learn to just say “thank you” when someone recognizes your performance.
That’s it. Just, “thanks”. Genuinely and warmly.
And, pay it forward. Put someone else in the spotlight later on. Like you, they may want to deflect it…but if everyone at work is appreciating each other, I believe the collective value of the team increases. And-that-is a major win.
