If you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, Carniol suggests falling back on a particularly distinctive work accomplishment.

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The newly-published survey of Wales Office staff for 2011 reveals big falls among those who believe their work gives them a sense of personal accomplishment (-23 percent), who feel valued for the work they do (-21) and have confidence in the decisions taken by their manager (-18) .

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While bringing the mine to production is a major accomplishment for the company, there is still work to be done.

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They are used throughout our lives from grades in school that encourage learning and higher performance, to the incentives we use at work through pay, bonuses and promotions to recognize and encourage accomplishment.

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Joey Hudy has entrepreneurial-minded parents that understand the value of work and how earning something gives the earner a deep sense of accomplishment and achievement.

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The implications of Arthur's work, however, suggest something more elemental is at play: Our accomplishment and our happiness are tied up with our very human desire to find and gnaw over the missing thing, the problem and the need.

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"Our principal goal is to create one worldwide standard that all wireless handheld devices work on for Internet access and browsing, and it would be a huge accomplishment to have 3Com join, " said Chuck Parrish, who recently completed his tenure as chairman of the WAP Forum.

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