OD Network Student Paper Submission

If you would like to read the paper submission please send me an email at akrenzke@gmail.com.  Thank you.

Abstract

This project was based on my research as a scholar-practitioner experimenting with different ways of using appreciation in the workplace to create a more positive, engaging environment.  My workplace had become disengaging so I set out to find a simple way to use appreciation to create an enjoyable workplace where employees felt valued for their work.  I developed a qualitative research study to put my ideas of appreciation into practice.  This study included two pilot programs called the Appreciation Board and 15-Minute Meetings and focuses on the evaluation of these pilot programs.  From this evaluation I created a method called Appreciation Space to address how to actively attend to appreciation through four supporting factors of appreciation.  Leaders within an organization attend to appreciation the Appreciation Space is energized.  This space is not a physical space but a whole-person space that allows employees’ to experience appreciation through mind, body, and spirit.  This paper will discuss the background of this project, the development of the Appreciation Space method, and how Appreciation Space can be used within an organization to create a positive environment where employees feel valued for their work.

            Keywords: appreciation, workplace, positive environment, Appreciation Space