The People Equation-Cultivating Relational Wellness in Workplace

Aesha Tahir: [00:00:00] Hello, everyone. Welcome to the 9 to 5 Wellness podcast. I am super excited about today’s episode, which is based on the people equation in the workplace, because I feel like we’re getting more and more distant from each other, especially when it comes to work. And in this episode, we are taking a deep dive into foundations of building and sustaining healthy, meaningful relationships at work.

Aesha Tahir: The challenges that we face and how to show up in our best true selves, like authentically, how we like to call it, sometimes, that’s actually the challenge. Like, how can we show up like that at [00:01:00] work? Because there are so many, misconceptions and obstacles like we have in our own mind. And today we are gonna talk about a lot of them.

Aesha Tahir: And our guest, he’s a very, very reputable author and facilitator in this area, and he’s gonna give us actionable strategies to replace relational friction with psychological safety, empathy, and meaningful trust, which will help you as a nine-to-fiver and a reliable leader so that you and your team members can thrive together.

Aesha Tahir: So my guest today is Dr. Paul White, who has worked with Dr. Gary Chapman, co-author of The New York Times bestseller, [00:02:00] The 5 Love Languages. By the way, I love that book. It’s my go-to book for relational wellbeing. So if you haven’t checked it out, go ahead and check it out. And Dr. White helps to apply… helps teams apply the concepts to work-based relationships.

Aesha Tahir: His work has been very well-received. Let me tell you how. He has sold over 800,000 books, and that the book has been translated into over 25 languages. He has served over 450,000 employees who have taken the online assessment that he provides, and he has trained 1,300 facilitators in over 25 countries.

Aesha Tahir: So I’m so honored that Dr. [00:03:00] White is joining us on 9 to 5 Wellness Podcast. Welcome to the pod, Dr. White.

Dr. Paul White: Ah, thanks for having me, A- Aisha. Glad to be with you.

Aesha Tahir: Oh, I’m so glad that we are having this conversation today. I always like to learn my guest’s journey, like how they got to this point and what inspires their work.

Aesha Tahir: So I’d love to learn about your work and how you got into relational wellbeing at work.

Dr. Paul White: Yeah. So I’m a psychologist by training. And, mid-career, uh, I was, uh, consulting, part of a team with family-owned businesses, with wealthy families dealing with, succession issues, who’s gonna run the business in the next generation, who’s gonna own it, how that’s gonna go.

Dr. Paul White: And so I was traveling around, the country and the world working with high net worth families. And I was in North Carolina, uh, working with a, a family and asked the dad how the plan was going, and he said, “It’s, it’s [00:04:00] going fine. My son’s stepping up. I think it’ll work.” And I walked across the hall and asked the son the same question.

Dr. Paul White: He said, “This is a disaster. It’s never gonna work. I can’t ever please my dad.” And having grown up in a family-owned business, I, I understood the dynamics around that. And my wife and I were rereading, probably a second or third time at, at that point, The 5 Love Languages, and I thought, “I wonder if these concepts could apply to work-based relationships.”

Dr. Paul White: So I pursued Dr. Chapman. It took me a year to get through to him, so, uh, some perseverance, there. And then he agreed to work with me to apply the concepts to, work. And, 15 years later, here we are. So it’s, it’s gone well.

Aesha Tahir: Wow, that’s amazing. I’m so glad that you found your passion of helping others, build a frictionless team, even if it’s family o- family-led business.

Aesha Tahir: love the story there. So, okay, what is the biggest obstacle that- [00:05:00] teams and or people are facing, where is that friction where we are not able to communicate at work?

Dr. Paul White: Yeah, I, I think, the issue becomes, f- a focus of work of just total on productivity and, treating people like production units of how much work they get done and how many sales they make, and forgetting that your employees and team members are people, your customers are people, and, that’s sort of a foundational element that’s, missing in a, in a lot of companies and, uh, and organizations that they get focused on the task and, and forget about the, the person.

Aesha Tahir: Yeah. Yeah. So just focusing on the human aspect. What I’m hearing from you is focusing on the human [00:06:00] aspect of this team member is where we’re l- losing that connection. I wanna ask you a follow-up question over here, because being human means that we make mistakes, right? We’re probably not as productive on certain days because there’s something going on probably at home or, or maybe with our personal health.

Aesha Tahir: That being said, how can we make sure that is something that we can communicate to the leadership at work?

Dr. Paul White: Yeah. So, you know, most organizations, w- one research study found 93% of organizations have, a recognition and reward program. but that’s largely sort of about getting things done and then, rewarding people for it, which is fine.

Dr. Paul White: Uh, but, we are people. We have different kinds of needs, and also we’re more than just a production [00:07:00] unit. We’re more than just getting things done. we have characteristics that are valuable, beyond getting work done. I, I have a team member that I just enjoy a lot. She’s just got a great sense of humor, sort of lights up the room when she comes in.

Dr. Paul White: Is she the best producer on our team? Probably not, but she adds value in other ways. And then I have another team member who’s very emotionally aware and supportive. it’s important to, to understand the value of those, even though they don’t show up on maybe your, your goal sheet of what you’ve accomplished

Aesha Tahir: I just love how you highlighted a couple of team members on your team.

Aesha Tahir: They bring value in different ways. So what I’m hearing from you, a- and feel free to expand on that, is that they are showing up as their authentic selves, right? So what does being authentic mean at work, and how is that related to the [00:08:00] five languages of love and of authenticity, in your book?

Dr. Paul White: Yeah. So authenticity is, is actually a, uh, sort of a razor edge, because there are some people that you don’t want to trust your authentic self to because they’re not safe.

Dr. Paul White: And that’s why we learn to sort of protect ourselves and have an image or a persona, and that’s okay. But I mean, at some point, we need to let people know who we are, what we like, what we don’t like, w- w- our strengths, our weaknesses. Otherwise, we’re just dealing with the image of each other, and that really gets in the way of, of producing good results for the organization.

Dr. Paul White: Um, so, you know, I think authenticity is being willing to share who you are to a certain level that you trust them. Um, and then, and hopefully they will reflect that, and then you build trust [00:09:00] over time so that it goes deeper and they get to know you better over time. You know, I mean, and you see that in daily life relationships, whether it’s at work or not, that people

Dr. Paul White: Now, there’s two sides of it. There are people you’ve known for a long time that they don’t know you any better than they knew you at the beginning ’cause you haven’t felt safe to share. Uh, and then there’s others that it really has grown deep and it, it’s a very meaningful relationship.

Aesha Tahir: Yeah. what I find, and, and I’m gonna share my personal experience working as a facilitator and as a coach at corporations, is that people don’t feel safe sharing their true authentic life at work with their management and with, uh, or their managers and/or, uh, their bosses because they’re afraid they might come to know of their weaknesses, and then they will be taken advantage of.

Aesha Tahir: And I’m v- being very, very candid here in our interview- [00:10:00] Sure … and that’s the whole reason why I host 9 to 5 Wellness podcast because I wanna have these bold conversations here so that people who are listening to us, they can actually implement some changes. They can make some changes in their work culture, and then employees who are our primary listeners here of the 9 to 5 Wellness podcast, they can take away some practical, practical strategies to implement. when I talk to employees one on, one on one, what I’m hearing is, like, they’re afraid to bring that conversation up or they’re even afraid to show them their full authentic self to the w- to the management is because they’re afraid that if they did bring any conversation or they’re afraid of oversharing.

Aesha Tahir: Let’s just say that. Yeah. But then they’re also afraid that it will end up making this relationship Even more difficult and or the, [00:11:00] or and or the results will be drastic where, you know, they have to put f- food on the table for their family.

Dr. Paul White: Right. Right. Yeah. So y- you know, um, relationships are a bit of a dance, right?

Dr. Paul White: Um, whether that’s personal or work. And, uh, but I find that people who are willing to take a, a little risk, it doesn’t have to be a major risk, risk that you share everything about yourself, but it, it’s the f- taking the first step opens the door to the other person being willing to share some about themselves.

Dr. Paul White: And it could be as small as what you did this weekend, this weekend, or how your family’s, you know, uh, uh, we’re just past the 4th of July, you know, how your family celebrates or doesn’t celebrate the 4th of July and why. and then just be quiet and, if you f- feel comfortable, ask the other person, what, what’d you do this weekend?” And it’s, it’s a step-by-step. I mean, you don’t go 300 yards and they haven’t taken a [00:12:00] step. I mean, that, that’s not wise. but it is a risk, but you, you sort of measure the risk as you go.

Aesha Tahir: Okay, so what you’re suggesting is, like, take small incremental steps, start sharing about your weekend maybe, and then gauge from there.

Aesha Tahir: Okay. No, that, that, that’s a great tip. That’s a great tip. However, I feel like, and I’m gonna challenge you a little bit over here, because I feel like being your honest self is where everything lies. Like, that’s where the … Because if you’re not fully honest and authentic at work, quite honestly, it’s keeping you from even producing your best work.

Dr. Paul White: Mm-hmm.

Aesha Tahir: Even you showing up as a person who could [00:13:00] probably take charge in so many different projects at work, but now since the, since, you know, nobody knows that, oh, you … Let, let’s just, I’m just gonna give you an example, because I worked with this, company where this employee, he was a stand-up comedian at night.

Aesha Tahir: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Paul White: Cool.

Aesha Tahir: But the company has a policy-

Dr. Paul White: Right …

Aesha Tahir: against ha- against any business. Right. Like, the employees are not supposed to have their own business, and it’s not supposed to conflict with their work, right? Right. Right. So he was so afraid to share that because of that policy.

Dr. Paul White: Mm-hmm.

Aesha Tahir: However, I feel like if, if he could show up, just like you mentioned a team member at your work, she always brings smiles on people’s faces, right?

Aesha Tahir: if he could just share that at work, maybe once a month they could have, like, a, lunch, a [00:14:00] stand-up comedy show where he’s being highlighted, his art and his true passion is being highlighted. but, that, that’s not the case. So tell me, how can somebody who’s so afraid of the policy being implemented at their work be fully seen?

Dr. Paul White: Well, th- th- they’re not. I mean, that, that’s the issue. They’re not being seen. But the policy is there for a reason. W- w- and w- maybe valid, maybe not, you know? And so we all, you know, sort of deal with rules in life and decide whether or not we’re willing to follow them, uh, whether the risk of not following it is sufficient to avoid or to, to go ahead and park in a place that’s probably not where we’re supposed to park.

Dr. Paul White: Uh, it, it, I, I think the issue that really we address is that when people feel [00:15:00] valued as a person- Um, and maybe only the part of the person that you know You’re gonna get a better result from them organizationally than if they don’t feel valued. And it’s not just about work. I mean, the five languages are words of affirmation, so saying something positive about them.

Dr. Paul White: and it, it’s best not to be global, like, “Oh, good job,” or, “I’m glad you’re part of the team.” It, it really impacts people when you’re specific and say, I really felt like you did a great job on that report for this customer. It was very thorough and complete, and it, it, you know, served what we needed.”

Dr. Paul White: So words, quality time, and quality time may be one-on-one, but for younger workers there’s sort of a generational difference. We do research and found that, people under, clearly under 40, 35, 30, uh, don’t [00:16:00] really value time with their supervisor as a, a, a positive kind of thing. Uh, it’s like, “It’s okay.”

Dr. Paul White: But they wanna go hang out with their friends over lunch or after work and so forth. and so again, it- it’s broadening it outside of the work parameter that it- they’re a person and they have a life outside of work. Acts of service is the, the third language. It’s, being able to help somebody when maybe they’re overloaded.

Dr. Paul White: You know, that, uh, they’ve got a, a time-limited project they’re working on, and something that you could do to help lighten their daily work while they’re working on that can be viewed as very supportive and encouraging. Uh, tangible gifts is the one that corporations tend to focus on, uh, giving things.

Dr. Paul White: But w- we found that, uh, less than 10% of employees view tangible gifts as really very rewarding. That’s not the top language that they choose. Um, and in our context, it’s just small things that show that you’re getting to know the other person. It [00:17:00] may be, uh, their favorite kind of specialty coffee that you get and bring in for them, or maybe a magazine about their favorite sports team, or if they’re planning a garden.

Dr. Paul White: It’s just about them as a person. It’s not, uh, bonuses and rewards that way. That’s, that’s the sort of the corporate scene. And then the last one, which is interesting because in cross-culturally we found a difference, that it’s, it’s, uh, physical touch. And, uh, physical touch in the US, especially in the Northeast , uh, is, is very n- uh, touchy, if we will say.

Dr. Paul White: Um, because it’s like, you know, uh, it’s like, “Don’t touch me. Don’t come too close.” But in other parts of the country, in the South for sh- for sure, as well as sometimes the Midwest and the, and the West, you know, uh, a, uh, a high five, a fist bump, a congratulatory handshake, you know, a pat on the back. And if cross-culturally, you know, our, uh, Mediterranean, uh, cultures as well as, uh, um- Latin, you know, are [00:18:00] more physical.

Dr. Paul White: They get a kiss on the cheek or, or a hug. And not, no physical touch feels very sort of cold and objective. And so it’s always the recipient who ch- chooses what’s appropriate. Uh, but, uh, you know, it can make a difference. So what we found is that people feel valued and appreciated, uh, in different languages.

Dr. Paul White: That, uh, uh, less than 50% of employees choose words as the main way that they wanna be appreciated. So if you’re just complimenting or sending them a note, that’s fine, but that may not really, uh, hit the mark for them as far as feeling encouraged. Versus maybe calling them up, say, “Hey, you got 10 or 15 minutes later to chat and, and catch up about the weekend?”

Dr. Paul White: You know, that, that personal connection can be more, uh, impactful

Aesha Tahir: I love how you expanded the five love languages. And I’m, like, a little surprised to find out that people, [00:19:00] or, or the value of, uh, tangible gifts is not as high as, uh, maybe something personal and maybe just writing a card to someone probably- Mm-hmm

Aesha Tahir: would be. So it’s more, like, intangible, um, uh, what makes a difference, right?

Dr. Paul White: Yeah. And, and also, I mean, if you look at the examples of tangible gifts as they’re typically done, I mean, it’s like everybody gets sort of the same thing. I mean, whether that’s corporate wear or, you know, a gift card. It’s not personal typically, and that’s really a key part of if you’re gonna…

Dr. Paul White: Let’s say somebody, a, a more shy, introverted person that really loves to read, uh, and you get them, you know, a gift card to their favorite bookstore. You know, that’s gonna have far more impact than just a Amazon gift card, you know, for, for whatever

Aesha Tahir: Yeah. Yeah, no, I [00:20:00] agree. I totally agree. I think also, like, if people know your interests, like, it creates a good, um…

Aesha Tahir: What’s that word I’m looking for? It’s not coming to me, but it’s, it’s a good way to have conversations with that person. Sort of an avenue,

Dr. Paul White: right?

Aesha Tahir: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dr. Paul White: It’s a, it’s a pathway, yeah.

Aesha Tahir: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Like, it’s a conversation starter. Um, I so I walked into offices, uh, of, like, managers and leaders, and there’s nothing.

Aesha Tahir: Nothing personal in the room except for, like, one family photo, and I’m like- … “Ooh, well, they prob-” That, that says a lot about the organization and their culture. I’m like, “They don’t wanna show too much of themselves,” right?

Dr. Paul White: Right,

Aesha Tahir: right. Yeah. So then it’s like, okay, um, I’ll have to, like… You know, I don’t know what, where to start this conversation in a light mood, right?

Aesha Tahir: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. So yeah, so that, [00:21:00] like, just looking at someone’s office says a lot. So okay, given all of this, how can we, um, build better teams? How can we implement the five love languages, uh, in team dynamics?

Dr. Paul White: Well, yeah, uh, it may sound self-serving, but, but, uh, you know, we have an inventory that comes with the book, or we have different versions for different industries, like if you’re in the medical industry or in education and so forth, because the actions within each language, like an act of service for a nurse in a hospital is different than for a teacher in a school or a carpenter.

Dr. Paul White: And so, uh, we have the inventory where it gives you… And what’s interesting is to do it as a team. That’s how we do it so that it doesn’t feel so intrusive, like, you know, “Tell me all the things that you really love.” But have the team do it and share it, and we can create a group profile so that everybody finds out how they prefer to be shown [00:22:00] appreciation, and also the ways that they don’t.

Dr. Paul White: I mean, some people, I had one leader say, you know, “Uh, this person comes in weekly and sits down and wants to chat for 10 or 15 minutes,” and their language was quality time, and the other person w- it was not, and it was, you know, uh, just, uh, an irritation. And so you find out, uh, how each other, uh, communicate and, and value that, so that when you wanna really, uh, recognize and support somebody for working on a project, you know how to get the message across to them.

Aesha Tahir: Yeah. Um, so one is the act of service. Um, and I think the other love language you mentioned was, um, uh, words of affirmation.

Dr. Paul White: Right.

Aesha Tahir: Right. So that can also probably play a role in building better teams.

Dr. Paul White: Yeah. I mean, actually, what we find is that, uh, it’s most effective for the team [00:23:00] members, not just top-down, to find out how to show appreciation to each other.

Dr. Paul White: ‘Cause you work, you know, with each other through, more than you do often with your manager or supervisor. And so, uh, a- and it, it becomes sort of, uh, it can become a bit of a, um, a thing that you tease about. You know, it’s like, “Oh, well don’t get praise to Eric because he doesn’t like, you know, words of affirmation.”

Dr. Paul White: Uh, it, it lightens the mood and it, it, it’s provides a way for you to be able to show that you do value the other person and what they do, um, in, in a, a non-offensive way that, uh, you know, just fits for people. And what we know, it’s, it’s not just about making people feel good. We’ve got research that shows that when people feel valued and appreciated, uh, they stay longer, uh, they don’t quit as soon, uh, they come to work on time, they are more [00:24:00] productive, there’s less conflict with other people, uh, you get, uh, higher customer service ratings because your customers are dealing with people who feel supported and positive versus, you know, sort of on edge.

Dr. Paul White: So, uh, a- and you’re more profitable. I mean, the, um, EU and SEC are, are putting out sort of recommendations about this, uh, because a, a company that values the person versus someone who’s, you know, under pressure to produce all the time, these people are actually more profitable

Aesha Tahir: Got it. Very nice. I love how you just mentioned that within the team, like we are laterally, like, communicating and that’s where the, uh, words of affirmation and/or encouragement might really come in play because I think a lot of times people just believe it has to be top-down.

Dr. Paul White: Right. A-

Aesha Tahir: and, uh, I want you to probably expand on this, but, uh, I’ve also realized it has to be down-up, too. Right. People don’t [00:25:00] realize that leaders and/or the C-suite executives, they feel really lonely because they’re like, “Well, we are supposed to give and not get back as much.” But I think if the team also comes together to appreciate the leader, that would go very far.

Aesha Tahir: What do you think about it?

Dr. Paul White: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we talk about that, you know, appreciation, uh, I mean, recognition is top-down, but appreciation flows every direction, both laterally, up the ladder, and across departments. So let’s say somebody in IT helps you figure out a problem with, uh, either a program or your computer, you don’t report to them, they don’t report to you.

Dr. Paul White: But, you know, to show appreciation for how they helped you out, uh, is meaningful.

Aesha Tahir: Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. So I wanna explore, a few misconceptions that leaders have. What have you felt and found out in your [00:26:00] work, and in your experience that the misconceptions that leaders have about authenticity and especially employee appreciation.

Aesha Tahir: And I can tell you the first one, and I’ve talked to a lot of executives and C-suite leaders, and they’re like, “Well, if we do too much of it, guess what?” And w- when they’re saying too much, their too much is, like, very little, just so you know.

Dr. Paul White: Yeah, yeah, I got

Aesha Tahir: it. No, I got it. It’s not often enough. Yeah. But their, their concern is that they will ask for a raise, and they don’t have the budget for it.

Dr. Paul White: Yeah. So, you know, one of the things that we do when we work with organizations, we, uh, we have videos, we have a lot of videos on YouTube, but also we’ll come in and do a presentation and really explain the difference between recognition and appreciation, um, and that, um, it’s not about r- raises. And in fact, we know that- 70, one station, 79% of the people who left a job voluntarily left because they [00:27:00] didn’t feel valued and appreciated.

Dr. Paul White: And it, most bosses think people leave for more money. They may get more money, they may not, but the, the driver is that they don’t feel connected and valued as a person. uh, you can actually sort of keep your budget low. And appreciation doesn’t cost hardly anything to the organization except for a little bit of time and effort of training and maybe, you know, assessments and so forth.

Dr. Paul White: But it’s not rewards and bonuses l- like that

Aesha Tahir: So I, I love the statistic you shared. It’s 79% of people when they leave the organization, it’s because they weren’t, uh, they didn’t feel that they were, appreciated.

Dr. Paul White: Right.

Aesha Tahir: Wow. Wow. Or they, they didn’t have, um, a strong connection to the team and culture.

Dr. Paul White: Yep. Yeah. And so we can, uh, and that’s one of the sort of our, you know, tallies on, on a [00:28:00] sheet. We can measure turnover and see it decrease over time, and save, uh, the organization a lot of money.

Aesha Tahir: Yeah. So how can we create a culture of appreciation and encouragement?

Dr. Paul White: Well, it, it takes a little bit of knowledge, uh, of what it is and a little bit of intention.

Dr. Paul White: And usually, uh, to be honest, it’s not the top leaders that, that implement this. Sometimes it is. Uh, I work with PepsiCo and their global CEO, you know, uh, engaged us. But usually it’s somewhere in the middle and it’s, like, either a manager or a supervisor finds out, gets our book, maybe r- reads the book with their team members, has the people take the, the assessment, and just meet and start to, to implement it.

Dr. Paul White: We, uh, we have trainers, uh, and we also have a training program that an HR person can go through in a couple of hours and use the resources to take [00:29:00] teams in their organization through it. it’s not intellectually difficult. It’s not hard in the sense of, super, super skills, but it takes a bit of commitment, uh, just to, work

Dr. Paul White: and encourage people to, to try it out.

Dr. Paul White: And it’s sort of like, you know, one of the things that when I do trainings, I say, start somewhere with somebody, you know? Whether that’s your, the, the team member that you don’t wanna lose, that if this salesperson or manager left, uh, your organization would be in a world of hurt, or if, if it’s just the person that you work day to day and you just wanna start there and let them know that you value them, or people that are discouraged.

Dr. Paul White: Just start somewhere and, see the posi- effects. It works best when you’re sort of doing it with some other people because then you, encourage and reward each other. it’s not a, a big deal in the sense of investment, but it’s a big deal as far as the payoff [00:30:00]

Aesha Tahir: Got it. Yeah, no, that’s really good.

Aesha Tahir: That’s a great way to go about it. so I also wanna address the remote work culture now, and- Yep … research shows that about half of the workforce is currently working remotely and/or on a hybrid schedule where they’re going half the time to the office. How can we effectively show appreciation to remote and hybrid team members?

Dr. Paul White: So before COVID, we developed a, a remote version of our inventory and did research with it, uh, because even, even then, people were working remote at a, at a lesser pace. But, and we have training materials for, for remote teams. And, and it’s, it’s not that hard. The actions are different. I mean, to get quality time with a remote team member, the best thing to do is, text them or talk to them and say, “Hey, I’d like to, [00:31:00] uh, schedule 15, 20 minutes just to chat and catch up with you.

Dr. Paul White: When, when’s a good time?” You know, um, w- we’ve made the actions actionable for remote workers, uh, and, uh, leaders of remote workers and find that it- it’s very effective. and, you know, again, sometimes it’s, it’s the lack of knowledge, uh, of sort of the experience over time that, uh, inhibits people. But it’s like, “Yeah, I’d like to touch base with them,” or, you know, “How do I give them a gift?”

Dr. Paul White: Well, you know, it’s not that hard to find out what coffee shop or restaurant they go to, you know, over lunch, and you could get a gift card there, you know? I mean, so o- one of the things that we do, I mean, as a psychologist, this stuff is not rocket science, and it’s a little embarrassing about how simple it can be if you have the right tools to, to make it happen.

Dr. Paul White: And that’s what, why I think we’ve been successful. We’ve made [00:32:00] very practical tools that people can implement very easily, and you can find it at our website, which is appreciationatwork.com. It’s the word at. Um, and the book and the assessments and training is all there

Aesha Tahir: Oh, that’s wonderful. That’s wonderful.

Aesha Tahir: And I- what I’m hearing from you is keeping those communication lines open with the remote and hybrid workers, uh, and employees is what’s, uh, needed.

Dr. Paul White: Yeah, it’s w- what keeps them. People, in the old days, even prior to, to, to me, and I’m a little bit old, uh, you know, people were committed to organizations.

Dr. Paul White: That’s gone. People are committed to other people. And so the way that you keep your people is you develop connections, not necessarily with you. You may not be the important that they wanna get to know. Uh, but be able to conne- uh, create connections between team members. and, and they stay because they value one another and really [00:33:00] enjoy working together

Aesha Tahir: Yeah.

Aesha Tahir: No, that’s, that’s, uh, key. That’s key. That they enjoy working and they feel valued. I think we- that’s at the base of human psychology, right? Yep. We want to, we want to be around people, and we want to be valued by those people. So yeah, wonderful. Anything else, um, that you’d like to add to it?

Dr. Paul White: Oh, let me look at my list here.

Aesha Tahir: Maybe there’s something I missed, you know?

Dr. Paul White: Yeah. it doesn’t take a lot of time. People think, “Ah, I don’t have time for this.” It, it- if you think about, let’s say, three or four people on your team, and, uh, an action every couple of weeks, I mean, it’s not like every day, “Oh, look, you know, Laura showed up,” and you throw a party.

Dr. Paul White: I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s just in the realm of it, but you, you become aware and becomes part of, of, uh, sort of the interactions. and it can be [00:34:00] incorporated into team meetings and at the beginning say, “Hey, what positive things did people have to report to say?” Or, “What did somebody do that, was really helpful?”

Dr. Paul White: And you build it into the structure, and that’s what we help people do.

Aesha Tahir: Yeah. That’s great. That’s great. So once again, uh, where can people find you and your work? How can they connect with you?

Dr. Paul White: Yeah. So appreciationatwork.com is the website. If they wanna email me, I got a separate, uh, one is paul@drpaulwhite.com.

Dr. Paul White: Um, but, uh… And we’re on all the social media, uh, platforms, so, uh, just look up Appreciation at Work or Dr. Paul White, you know, you’ll find us.

Aesha Tahir: Oh, wonderful. Wonderful. This is great. And I bet, uh, you know, a lot of the teams and a lot of the people who listen to 9 to 5 Wellness will be able to use your services and can benefit from it.

Aesha Tahir: So please reach out to Dr. Paul White. [00:35:00] he shared so many a- amazing nuggets of connection and appreciation with us on how to build stronger, better teams. So thank you, Dr. Paul.

Dr. Paul White: You bet. I’m glad to have been some help.

Aesha Tahir: Thank you so much. Thanks for being with us today. And thank you everyone for watching us live and listening to us.

Aesha Tahir: And this interview, as always, it will be converted into a podcast format, and you’ll be able to also listen and watch in the form of a podcast So thank you so much for joining us today, and I’ll be back next week with another episode of 9 to 5 Wellness right here on LinkedIn and Instagram Live.

Aesha Tahir: Bye for now.