‘Love language’, is a concept that has become all the rage in the youth of today. It’s impossible to dive into a conversation without the question, “What’s your love language?”, coming up. 

The main goal of love languages, according to Gary Chapman, an author mainly credited for his writing on the love languages, is to describe how we receive love from others. This being from romantic partners, family members, and friends! Although each is a different form of love, these languages allow us to express the affection we have for others in a way that they are fluent in. Physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, and gift giving. These are known as the 5 love languages. These are not to be associated with just romantic relationships, or even solely friendships. These love languages can be transmitted into the workplace as well. 

In 2021, six out of ten workers claimed that feeling disrespected/unsatisfied was their reason for resigning. This is why love languages need to, and can be implemented. As humans, we value our feelings immensely, and if we are feeling appreciated, we are more likely to perform at a higher level of efficiency. This can range from small gifts of appreciation from leaders of the workplace, or perhaps words of affirmation. Knowing these details about coworkers, leaders, and employees, can drastically impact how they feel about their positions. The only problem is that a majority of people have no idea what their language is. If you’re in that same predicament, I encourage you to follow this link and take the quiz! 

In my case, my language is quality time. Knowing this has assisted me in many ways. For example, in a setting where I am around many new people, I struggle forming a strong connection with all of them. I never truly understood why, until I realized that the way I create bonds is through spending time with others, including outside of work. Meetings or settings where work is a priority was not sufficient, however, the moment I began spending quality time with my coworkers, (going out to eat/ attending events), the relationships bloomed. 

As a leader in a workplace, or any place, it is a responsibility to keep your employees content where they are. Without this, it is incredibly common to have higher resignation rates, thus lowering productivity. Although a bosses main goal is to keep the business running, having individuals who are committed to the workplace stems from positive outlooks on their jobs. As a result of these ideas, Gary Chapman and Dr. Paul White collaborated and created, “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.” 

Directly quoted from them, “Because we don’t normally think in terms of our coworkers loving us — the word appreciation fits much better — but it is meeting that deep need to feel that somebody cares about me, and somebody appreciates me.” 

Each and every person varies in these terms. Whether you feel appreciated most with gifts, physical reassurance, pleasant words, acts of appreciation, or quality time, ensuring that you get what you need from every relationship is a necessity. And if you don’t know what that is exactly, once again, here’s a quiz you can take! 

Sources 

https://www.15five.com/blog/what-the-5-love-languages/