Importance of agapic behavior within the work setting

IN a recent "TED Talk," Rainer Strack, managing director and senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, shed light on what jobseekers are currently looking for. He emphasized that the top four topics are not around money but are all around culture (e.g., good relationships with superior and colleagues; good work-life balance, etc.) and the top priority worldwide consists in being appreciated for our work. In brief, we could wonder, for example, if we get a "thank you" in our daily work activity, beyond our annual bonus payment once a year.

The need to be recognized in and for our jobs is becoming more and more fundamental. However, it is not always easy to recognize all those acts that characterize our daily work routines, especially when we talk about acts of care and giving. These acts cannot be quantified and could vary from helping a colleague experiencing a difficult private or professional situation to freely providing mentorship activities to our junior collaborators. Acts of giving could even arise during specific occasions. For example, when employees offer lunch to their colleagues, or simply coffee during snack times. Managers or leaders could also adopt these kinds of acts when they decide to give more time off to workers who are going through family or health problems.