Jill's Journal: The good feeling of being appreciated

Last week, when a friend told me that she was celebrating her 40th anniversary of working for the same employer – albeit in different job assignments – I was surprised to learn how they marked her long-term dedication to the company.

Drum roll please … She received her congratulations via an email, something to the effect of: “40 years – Wow!”

An oh-so-sincere email. 

No card. No bouquet of flowers. No balloons. No cake. Not a picture frame. No silver watch or clock or even a firm handshake or a pat on the back. Not a thing but that oh-so-sincere email.

Good grief, I even received a set of engraved wooden coasters when I hit 10 years with a former employer. It may not have been the gift I’d hoped for, but nonetheless, at least they acknowledged the milestone.

Can you imagine how “unappreciated” my friend must have felt in that moment? I can. 

I’m guessing we’ve all felt that way at one time or another in our lifetime. Perhaps we gave a thoughtful gift to a family member or a good friend, who when they unwrapped it, didn’t show the excitement you had anticipated it would bring. Or, maybe you went above and beyond for whatever purpose without receiving a simple thank you.

We all want to feel appreciated. 

We all need to feel appreciated.

That’s human nature.

And sometimes, it’s the simplest things, like a “thank you” that means the most to us human-folk. Just to let us know that hey, someone appreciated what I’ve done or what I’ve given, or for putting in the work.

Sometimes that appreciation comes in the form of a card, a cake or balloons or flowers, a picture frame, a set of wooden coasters or perhaps something even more extravagant.

Out of curiosity, I Googled the meaning of “appreciated.’ One of its meanings is to ‘recognize the full worth of.’

I’m not quite sure that my friend’s employer expressed that feeling of appreciation to her in an email.

Social media has done that to us, though. I’m guilty of it myself – and I reckon you may be, too. We wish our friends “Happy Birthday” via Facebook reminders and receive invitations to events, like a wedding, via social media. I recently was told a friend received an invitation to a wedding in a Facebook invite, and the couple’s gift request list was short and simple: they asked for money. Yep. That’s right. Cold hard cash.

I’m guessing my friend wasn’t feeling ‘the love’ in that invitation that came via social media, along with the deliberate request for cash. The couple probably didn’t even care if that cash came in a card or for that matter, who it came from.

I’ve received those kinds of invitations before. Just as easy as it was for the sender to extend an invitation to what I would consider formal affairs, has been just as easy for me to reply “not going”, to scroll by or delete it and simply put it out of my mind.

I’ll get off of my soapbox for now, but I just want you to know that in recent months, I’ve appreciated many of you for the kind words you’ve said and the kind things you’ve done for me.

After all, we all want to feel appreciated. We all need to feel appreciated.

That’s human nature. And sometimes, it needs to come in more than a not-so-sincere email.