Valentine’s Date at work: what is the office’s most common love language?

A recent survey by printing specialists instantprint found that one in five Brits were unhappy at work. It would appear, therefore, that very few of us are in love with our work. The study surveyed 2000 UK office workers and found that they were dangerously out of sync with their employers. We posit that the best way to rectify this is for employers to be more aware of the five love languages that could turn dissatisfied workers into infatuated workers.

What are the five love languages?
First established in the book by Gary Chapman, there are five love languages we rely on as human beings to show and receive affection. These are:

1. Compliments or words of affection.
2. Spending quality time together.
3. Sending or receiving gifts.
4. Providing a service for each other.
5. The act of physical touch.

For obvious reasons, the fifth love language is probably best reserved for your romantic partner. However, 53% of survey respondents at least were able to pinpoint the love language they identified with. This information could be key for employers looking to cultivate a more rewarding workplace for their staff.

How do employees want to be shown appreciation?
The instantprint study found that, in personal relationships, physical touch and quality time were the two most desirable love languages. However, when it came to being appreciated at work, the statistics were somewhat flipped on their heads, as you might expect. Indeed, many office workers actually believed that banning handshakes from the workplace would be a positive step.

51% of workers said they would be most happy with private praise for a job well done and 48% said a gift (in the form of a pay rise) would be their preferred method of appreciation. Perhaps most encouragingly for employers, 32% of employees would be happy with public praise for a good job. But just because these things are desirable to workers, does that necessarily mean they are receiving them?

Are the needs of workers being met?
Thankfully, it would seem that employers and employees in the UK are largely on the same page as far as workplace love languages are concerned. 44% of workers say they’ve received private praise at work and as this is the most desired love language for the workplace, this is certainly encouraging. However, if 44% are being praised it still means that 56% are not and this is something employers might want to consider in the near future.

Of course, when it comes to romantic entanglements in the workplace, things are a little more complicated so let’s leave those thoughts for another time, shall we?