Compliments are precarious in nature, as in their essence, compliments can both build an individual up, as well as tear one down in order to manipulate them into a certain state or action.

This is unfortunately something that gets seen often in the workplace, as willing employees who seek to excel in their jobs learn that they only receive compliments if they allow their boundaries to be overstepped, ignore red flags from the employer, or even in general abandon their own well-being.

The importance of compliments

A workplace culture where well put together and thought out compliments are sincerely offered and used effectively, can be the most cost-effective key in putting up and maintaining a supportive and empowering workplace culture.

This comes with the caveat that a workplace – where badly put together compliments that have been used to manipulate the employees – will never have compliments making a positive effect unless the detrimental usage is first addressed and handled openly.

As compliments are key to empowering employees – a cost efficient and simple key that is available to all with little to no effort – it is therefore important that all employers assess their workplace culture and how compliments have been used from managers and general employees alike before embarking on using compliments strategically to empower their employees.

Why are compliments so difficult?

Compliments in their essence aren’t difficult, we just live in a society that has warped the use of compliments to it’s negative counterpart and we in turn have gotten so used to it we’ve stopped realizing what a proper compliment is – we’ve even become accustomed to rejecting compliments, as we are so used to expecting the compliments to only be used for detrimental purposes.

It is important that we reclaim compliments – their proper use and the effect they should have on us – by learning how to identify an improper compliment, how to recognize and give proper compliments, as well as how to receive compliments to allow for their full empowering effect.