Dr. Paul White - The Vibrant Workplace: Overcoming the Obstacles to Building a Culture of Appreciation

Sadly, we still need this book. Fifty-one percent of managers believe they are doing a good job of recognizing good work. Only 17 percent of their employees agree. That statistic from The Vibrant Workplace shows why we need Paul Whites splendid new book. He explains why our typical ways of showing appreciationlike recognition programsrarely live up to the hype. But he doesnt leave us hanging. He tells us how we can show appreciation in ways that actually matter to others at work. Consider buying two copies, one for yourself and one for your boss.

RICK MAURER

Author, Beyond the Wall of Resistance

Misconceptions abound on what is needed to create a healthy, thriving, and engaged workforce. In The Vibrant Workplace, Dr. White shatters these misconceptions with research-based insight into how employees are motivated. Not stopping there, The Vibrant Workplace also provides practical steps on how to overcome the most common obstacles to employee engagement.

JACK W. BRUCE

Past President of SHRM-Atlanta

The Vibrant Workplace dispels the myth that employee engagement is a simple program you just purchase and require management to deliver. In this book, Dr. White furnishes best practices and practical tools to create a path to a healthy organization. He provides a deeper understanding on ways to connect with and empower your team to grow and create caring relationships.

EVAN WILSON

Chief Experience Officer
Meritrust Credit Union

The Vibrant Workplace is written just like we need it: practical, topical, and experiential. As a coach, understanding the obstacles to advancing a vibrant workplace culture is key to helping clients and their organizations. Dr. White delivers insights into dealing with a variety of distinct situations, environments, and attitudes. Readers are given what is needed to create specific, actionable steps and build their own vibrant workplace. The Vibrant Workplace is like having a coach-in-a-book!

DAN AGNE

Owner and Principal Consultant
The Agne Group, LLC

I frequently recommend The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White in seminars and workshops I teach because its an aha for many people. Paul Whites latest book, The Vibrant Workplace, is an invaluable companion to 5 Languages because it identifies the common obstacles to increasing appreciation in the workplace and shows you how to address them. Now Ill be recommending both books.

MICHAEL LEE STALLARD

Speaker, workshop leader, and author of Fired Up or Burned Out and Connection Culture

Over the past ten years Ive had a chance to work with several companies, and it would be extremely rare to find a company, or even a department, that could be described as vibrantfull of energy and enthusiasm. The good news is that in this book, Dr. Paul White shares with us a practical approach on how we can create vibrant workplaces through the languages of appreciation.

DANA MCARTHUR

Founder, McArthur Creative

The Vibrant Workplace covers all the bases. Whether its an organization that has no structured appreciation or recognition program in place, or an organization with a flourishing appreciation culture, Dr. White offers practical insights and ideas for meeting the needs of todays workforce to feel appreciated and valued for the contributions they make every day.

LISA HOLLEY

Corporate Learning and Development Consultant Insperity, Inc.

If you want to revitalize your organization and enhance employee engagement, this book is a great resource. In The Vibrant Workplace, Dr. White provides tips and tools on how to overcome the practical challenges of implementing and sustaining a culture of appreciation in the workplaceby using personalized and effective ways of communicating authentic appreciation at work.

JASMINE LIEW

Organization Development Director, Breakthrough Catalyst Singapore

When we talk about workplaces, the typical adjectives are: task-oriented, stressful, high pressure. Yet I was delighted to read The Vibrant Workplace, which gives us an alternativethat our workplace can be people-centric, vibrant, and engaging! Sharing solid research and his personal experience, Dr. White gives many practical tips and suggestions to build such a culture via personalized and culture-sensitive appreciation.

ANDREW MA

Chorev Consulting International Ltd.
Hong Kong

2017 by FAMILY BUSINESS RESOURCES, INC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Edited by Elizabeth Cody Newenhuyse
Interior design: Ragont Design
Cover design: Erik M. Peterson
Author photo: Michael Bankston

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: White, Paul E., 1957- author.

Title: The vibrant workplace : overcoming the obstacles to creating a culture of appreciation / Paul E. White ; foreword by Gary Dr. Chapman.

Description: Chicago : Northfield Publishing, 2017.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016059712 (print) | LCCN 2017001945 (ebook) | ISBN 9780802415035 (paperback) | ISBN 9780802495174

Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Employee motivation. | Personnel management. |

BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Leadership. | BUSINESS & ECONOMICS /

Management.

Classification: LCC HD57.7 .W4585 2017 (print) | LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | DDC

658.3/14--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016059712

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Printed in the United States of America

When Dr. Paul White and I wrote the original book, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, we knew that it had the potential of greatly enhancing the emotional climate in the workplace. We knew this because we had spent two years doing pilot projects in all types of businesses: from beauty salons to construction companies. We saw job satisfaction scores increase dramatically. We also knew that when people feel appreciated they are far more engaged in their work, and thus more productive.

In the past five years, Dr. White has been involved in teaching and training many organizational leaders how to be more successful in their efforts to express appreciation. Many did not know the difference between recognition and appreciation. Many genuinely thought they were expressing appreciationbut the majority of their employees did not feel appreciated. Those who were open to using the Motivating by Appreciation Inventory to discover each persons primary appreciation language found tremendous buy-in from their employees. These men and women openly expressed how their level of motivation and commitment to the company were greatly enhanced.