Co-Author Dr. Paul White Joins Young Professionals Discussion

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The Vicksburg Young Professionals met last Wednesday for the final discussion on the book “5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” and received a surprise when one of the co-authors, Dr. Paul White, joined the meeting via Zoom.

Michelle Fisackerly led the discussion on the fifth language: touch. She shared that, as a teacher, she usually uses fist bumps, but her students respond best to stickers.

“Honestly, my students’ love language is stickers,” joked Fisackerly. “Every year, I spend about $200 on stickers.”

The concept of physical touch in the workplace is tricky. The group, along with Dr. White, discussed examples and challenges, and, ultimately, it depends on what the other person is comfortable with.

“We had 400,000 people take the assessment,” said Dr. White. “Of the five languages, touch is less than one percent.”

Despite the low percentage, Dr. White emphasized its importance.

“Dr. Chapman and I, when we first started out, debated including physical touch in our model. We chose to include it for two reasons,” said Dr. White. “We didn’t want to advocate for a touchless society in the workplace because there are times and places where physical touch is beneficial, like in senior care centers and hospitals. Secondly, it represents spontaneous celebration.”

“Cross-culturally, a pat on the back is the most accepted,” he added.

Christine Rials, the organizer of the group, said that she had learned a few things herself.

“It’s been really fun,” said Rials. “Having different leaders lead the discussion opened up new perspectives.”