Why Getting Appreciated At Work Is Overrated


Very few people I come across are happy at their jobs and almost every time, being underappreciated or not appreciated at all is the most common reason for this discontent with their jobs.


William James﻿

It is in our nature to crave appreciation, be it our personal or professional life; we need recognition from others to feel good about ourselves. However, I think that getting appreciated is highly overrated and by craving appreciation, you only create more stress for yourself.

So, today I will give you reasons why you should not crave appreciation, even though its good for us, and why it is highly overrated in today’s work culture;

Not every appreciation is honest

There is a high chance that the appreciation that you received is not sincere. Many people appreciate for the sake of acknowledging just because they don’t want to be blamed that they don’t appreciate your work or you. Moreover, if you pay attention to the words used while appreciating you, you will know whether the person acknowledging you actually mean it or he/she is just doing it because they don’t want you to feel upset or demotivated.

Appreciation is temporary

Appreciation is superficial and in this competitive work culture today you are appreciated and tomorrow you are not. This causes much stress in people and honestly, it shouldn’t. I used to think that I am doing great work only when I was appreciated, but the truth was whenever I took up a project, I gave it my best whether I was recognized or not. The sooner you realize that appreciation is temporary and expires but what lives is the result of the work that you did.

Appreciation can be a distraction

I have seen people who are appreciated all the time for multiple reasons, primary being favoritism. These people start taking work for granted because they know they will be appreciated no matter what. This is also why over appreciating someone is terrible as it can distract them from doing the best work he or she could. Also, its bad for their growth, the more they take their work for granted, the less they grow professionally.

Appreciate yourself!

The only appreciation that matters is yours! If you are honest with yourself, you will know when you deserve appreciation, and that is the best appreciation you can get. Knowing that the work that you did is work appreciating. I have started embracing this in my life, and it means that no matter where I work, I know that the only appreciation that will matter is mine. Once you realize this, you stop depending on people and almost every time you deliver the best work that you can, because you are doing it for yourself, not for others.

Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree on the above points. If you have anything else to add to the article, please feel free to comment below.


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