Thanks For The Thankless Work You Do

This has been a crazy week. Amongst the usual chaos of life, we’ve had a new element added this week at school, a soft lockdown. What does that mean and why is it happening is one thing, but the reality of it is another.

What is a soft lockdown and why is our school under soft lockdown? A soft lockdown happens when there’s a potential threat, not imminent or known, but a potential. For the safety of the children and staff, police presence is amped up and students are kept inside for recess. We’re under this precaution because a man broke into a Janesville gun shop and stole a number of guns and in his manifesto, he hinted at attacking a school or a church. As a result, our district has opted to function as if there’s been a potential threat.

I’m not here to debate any of the decisions or politics of what’s going on. I’m here simply to say thank you to those who serve us without much for thanks. Thank you, teachers, for all you do. Day in and out, you love on our kids, work for their learning and safety. During a week when kids are itching to get outside and burn energy, you’ve kept them busy during recess and lunch. You’ve maintained sanity and calm in the midst of insanity. Thank you! Seriously, thank you!

For those of you in law enforcement, your work is so difficult in the current climate. Again, I’m not here to debate politics or other issues, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for serving my family and I. Thank you for protecting my child and for stepping in with courage and experience. Thank you for serving when it’s not popular or rewarded. I’m eternally grateful for you.

From a business perspective, I think there are lots of people we forget to thank for their loyalty, their hard work, the ways they make our jobs easier. We all need to be appreciated and a thank you is a free employee engagement tool. Saying thank you shouldn’t be a hoarded reward. It should be common practice.

At times people, will push back at me when I encourage them to say thank you to someone for doing their job. “Why would I thank them for simply doing their job? Isn’t that rewarding what’s expected?” My answer is it depends on how it’s done. If you say thanks because you are supposed to, but you don’t mean it, it’s like saying sorry when you are a kid and you don’t mean it. You have to mean it.

Sometimes reframing the why we are saying thanks can help make this an everyday practice. Think of a time someone said thanks to you for something that was your job, but it was also an often-unacknowledged piece of your work. You were appreciative, right? The same applies for those you work with, even if it’s to say, “Thanks for cleaning up the staff kitchen today. Without your work, we’d be growing our own penicillin colony. I appreciate your efforts.”

Say thanks today to someone who may not usually hear it.

Keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, Sarah Gibson, helps organizations leverage the power of communication, teamwork and diversity to improve engagement and transform teams. To buy her book or inquire about her speaking programs, please visit www.sarahjgibson.com.