The aspect of the behavioral approach that I find is underused in the workplace is that of feedback. Unfortunately in our organizations today, the word feedback is thought of in a negative way. If your boss approaches you and says "I'd like to give you come feedback," we typically assume that we are going to hear something negative. In this way, feedback has been abused. In terms of the behavioral approach to motivation, if supervisors and bosses would commit to giving at least as much if not more positive feedback than negative feedback I think that we would have an incredibly productive workforce.

Why is it that when we are dealing with children, praise is seen as a good thing designed to support continuing the behavior that we want. But in the workforce, people who offer positive feedback are not prevalent despite the clear evidence that it works? What are some characteristics of the workplace that might not support positive feedback? What could be done to change that?