How do you thank people just doing their job?

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I suppose it's easier for me to view it as: if you aren't doing your job wrongly (as in, nobody has told you that you are failing in some manner), then you should assume you are doing it right, particularly if you have done it repeatedly in front of others who would have told you you were making any mistakes, and that thanks should be reserved for when you go out of your way to achieve more than was expected of you, otherwise we diminish the value of our thanks by over-using it. But I have realized by now that people don't often see things as I do.

"Just doing... [a]...job" actually requires a bit of effort, more than I could summon or could see myself summoning day after day, so if you feel moved to thank the workers, feel free. Normally I'm quite critical, so on those rare occasions when I'm moved to sincerely praise, I feel cleansed. And if the recipient of the praise feels good, too, well, then, it's warm feelings all around.

That's four of us now.

I never say thank you to bus drivers and such, i paid them.

Even if thanking people has become ritualistic, not thanking them comes across as objectification.

Saying "thank you" sends an additional message to your bus driver that you acknowledge him as a human being, and not just that "thing" that navigates the bus. If your bus came equipped with a mechanical autopilot, instead of a living human being behind the wheel, feel free to ignore it on the way out.

If you have some moral objection to thanking people who are simply doing what they're paid to do then say "Hey, have a great day" as you leave or pass by. However, a simple "thanks" will work in most dealings with people in the service industry.

Give them this.
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