Nothing feels better than your boss turning to you and saying, "Good job, by the way." Those that are employees, that report to a higher authority, be it a CEO or Supervisor, understand exactly what I mean. Those who report to themselves, running their own business, know how it feels when a client says, "Thank you" or refers a potential client. It is a great feeling to know you are appreciated or that your work matters. We spend so much of our day trying to complete projects or merely getting a response that it sometimes feels like our wheels just spin, throwing mud everywhere, but gaining no traction.

When I was seventeen, I worked for a home-based business. I loved my job, I loved accomplishing tasks that I was assigned and I loved seeing the finished work pile up. My boss was a busy woman that started her own business and never stopped working, ever. To this day, she still works. She enjoys it, she likes to feel like she contributes and she just turned seventy-four. I don't foresee anytime in her near future that she would stop working; it is just important to her. I spent some time with her back in Indiana this last spring and it seems that she could still run circles around me. A good example.

Nothing pleased me more than when she admired my work or when she expressed gratitude for a job well done. Each of us needs that, we need to feel that what we have given was worthwhile, that it meant something. And then there have been other bosses. The boss that rarely says thank you, that micromanages - and not in a good way, the boss that leaves you wondering if you did it right or if you would still have a job the next day. It is a horrible feeling to question every evening as you drive home whether or not you want to drive back the next day.

Whatever side you see yourself on, perhaps you are the boss, perhaps you are the decision maker for your department... Whether you have one direct report or twenty, how do you maintain work satisfaction? How do you exhibit appreciation? Does gratitude cling to your requests or are you eager to order then watch and wait - looking for a slip-up, a mistake on which you can pounce? You weren't always the boss. You weren't always the decision maker. You may have carried a heavy load or walked up a long and difficult path to be where you are. You aren't the only one.

Yesterday, my boss turned to me and said, "Good job." It caught me by surprise and warmed the cockles of my sometimes broken heart. I smiled as he walked away and thought how lucky I am to love my work and be proud of our company and what we are accomplishing. It's a small thing, you know and a fairly simple way to build loyalty. Pride often breaks loyalty, crushing the traces that ignite the fires of retention. What's it worth to you? A thank you is a pretty small price to pay.

by rayannethorn