by Peter F. Ravenson

Created on: August 20, 2009

If you were to ask one hundred random people whether they would appreciate money or recognition more at their job, hands down the majority would probably say the "M" word. Although money seems to always be on are mind and society will not allow us to think otherwise at times, studies have shown that people would rather get recognition for a job well done than to bring in a hefty pay check. That's right, even though we seem to worship the all mighty dollar it can never tell us what we want to hear. There are many jobs out there that bring home a lot of bacon, but a good majority of those jobs come with many, many, many strings that make us think twice before applying for them.

On the other hand though, if an employer recognizes that his employee is doing a great job and genuinely; notice the word "genuinely"; shows gratitude for it, than we that have been in the work force for any length of time know how rare of a commodity this has become.

Now don't get me wrong, we need money to live, but if our financial needs are being met we would probably prefer some praise for the hard work that we give everyday. When I say our financial needs being met I mean our bills and some left over. I would think that if the bills are getting paid and we can save a little on the side, that it would be a lot more motivating to work for that person if they recognized us for the great employee we are. On the other hand if we have a boss that could care less about us ,as long as the job gets done in the same situation, finding a job that makes more money sounds a lot more enticing. When we get to the stage where we think we should get more money at a job, I think a lot of the time that its not so much the extra income that makes us long for another job, but what that extra money means to people. Money isn't just something you need or spend on a wide screen lcd t.v. At a job it is a type of recognition that satisfies more than one want.

First off, it helps financially, but more importantly it gives us the recognition that we have been looking for. Yes, that's right folks, money, is a type of recognition. Sometimes its the only recognition that some of us get on the job. If some employers could get it through their thick skulls that an employee wants to be wanted and show that they appreciate a job well done; "genuinely"; they might find that they wouldn't have to fight so much on the issue of wages. In order for this to happen though, we as employees need to show that recognition is a vital part of the worker/boss relationship, instead of just letting things stay the way they are. Money is only one way of showing gratitude on the job, and actually it can become a hindrance because some employers think that just adding an other dollar an hour to your pay every so often is enough to keep you satisfied with working there. The only problem with this theory is that if money is the only recognition received by an employee, chances are you are going to have to use it way more than your willing to, in order to get a positive response. People are people, and they want to be wanted. If they don't get constant reminders of why they are somewhere, than they question whether they should be there in the first place. Money isn't and shouldn't be the only way that employees get recognition for the great job they do everyday. There are so many more ways to show appreciation for someone that doesn't end up costing the whole farm.

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