For this second article in our series on gratitude, we’ll dive deeper into the benefits—for you and for your employees—a workplace environment grounded in gratitude can bring. To read the first article in our gratitude series, click here.
“If there was a pill that could do this, everyone would be taking it.”
So writes Mayo Clinic certified nurse practitioner Amanda Logan about the health benefits of gratitude. Her assertion is well founded; according to Logan, “studies have shown that feeling thankful can improve sleep, mood and immunity. Gratitude can decrease depression, anxiety, difficulties with chronic pain and risk of disease.”
Today this may be somewhat common knowledge, but it’s worth revisiting the landmark 2003 article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that helped put gratitude on the well-being map (title: “Counting blessings versus burdens”).
In the three-part study, researchers assigned three groups to keep weekly records of their emotional and physical well-being. During the first two parts, each group was subjected to one of three different “experimental conditions” researchers described as “hassles,” “gratitude listing,” and “either neutral life events or social comparison.”
In the third part, the researchers directed a new cohort of participants, all with neuromuscular disease, to keep weekly records. These participants were directed to either engage in “gratitude listing” (i.e., deliberately and regularly taking stock of what they were grateful for) or do nothing.
The study found that the participants who engaged in gratitude listing “exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures . . . relative to the comparison groups.” Ultimately, “the effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding.”
Logan explains that positive gestures, like taking time to feel thankful, prompt the release of oxytocin, “a hormone that helps connect people.” Crucially, the article in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology demonstrated that this can be true even if someone is suffering physically.
The boundaries between our personal and work life don’t stop at the building door, especially when it comes to our emotional well-being. So if practicing gratitude can have a positive impact on us as we make our way in the world, surely it can do the same in our workplaces.
Making Changes is Easy. Making Them Stick…..
The Power of Gratitude in the Workplace
In a recent Forbes piece, Adrian Gostick, author of the books Leading with Gratitude and The Carrot Principle, writes about a restaurant chain he worked with that instituted “Thank You Thursdays.” On that day, general managers write thank-you notes to employees who best embodied the company’s values the previous week by some action they took.
“The genius of these two simple ideas is not what the managers are doing, but that they are doing something,” writes Gostick. “They have found rituals that work for them—helping build an ecosystem of gratitude.”
You don’t have to hand-write notes or offer praise on a Thursday (a Tuesday or Wednesday will do just fine!) to build such an ecosystem. As Gostick instructs, the specifics matter less than the intention. The very act of instituting a system for providing positive, affirming feedback shows beyond a doubt that you support employees’ well-being.
It is this kind of workplace culture that inspires creativity and teamwork, says Gostick.
“Sure it’s fun to work in cultures like this, yet there’s much more. The spirit of competition is alive and well, but instead of battling against each other for attention from management, employees work together and encourage each other as they make their business more competitive against outside forces.”
Actions Speak Louder than Thoughts
Nadia Tatlow, CEO of project management software company Shift, makes a similar argument in favor of publicly praising employees. “The power of ‘thank you’ lies not in merely feeling grateful; the important thing is to actually say the words,” she writes in a Forbes article titled “Leading with Thank You.”
It’s not that gratitude journaling or some similar action isn’t beneficial. Rather, it’s that solitary action limits the potential impact. To bolster her case, she cites a tweet from the organizational psychologist Adam Grant. “The point of gratitude is not just to feel it; it’s to show it. Experiencing gratitude serves our happiness. Expressing it reminds others how they matter. As an emotion inside a journal, gratitude is fleeting. As an action in the outer world, it lasts.”
If you want to create a culture of gratitude, you have to, well, show your gratitude.
What are you waiting for?
"Silent gratitude isn't very much to anyone."
– Gertrude Stein
Do You Need a Gratitude Feast?
As the founder of Beyond Thank You, a consultancy that advises managers how to better incorporate gratitude into their organizations, Christopher Littlefield has spent his career preaching the virtues of gratitude. Along the way he’s become something of a gratitude guru.
In an article in the Harvard Business Review published in October 2020 (a moment when so many of us could surely benefit from a boost in spirit, to say the least), Littlefield likens the human mind to our digestive system, in that “what you put in it impacts how you feel.”
So “when you flood your mind with a constant flow of worry, envy, resentment, and self-criticism (compounded by a barrage of news and other media) it negatively impacts your mental wellbeing.” The solution is a consistent gratitude practice—“a workout and a healthy eating plan for your mind.”
We experience gratitude, he says, when we pay attention to the right things. This happens “when we shift our focus from what we don’t have to what we do, and when we take time to appreciate and be thankful for those who have contributed to the abundance in our lives.”
If you think this sounds good but don’t know where to start, fear not. In the same article, Littlefield shares ten basic prompts you can use anytime to access feelings of gratitude:
When you find yourself stuck in a constant state of worry, or hyper focused on what is not working around you, try to pause for a second and ask yourself one or two of the following 10 gratitude-evoking questions.
10 Gratitude Reflection Questions | |
1 | What have I gotten to learn recently that has helped me grow? |
2 | What opportunities do I currently have that I am grateful for? |
3 | What physical abilities do I have but take for granted? |
4 | What did I see today or over the last month that was beautiful? |
5 | Who at work am I happy to see each day and why? |
6 | Who is a person that I don’t speak to often, but, if I lost them tomorrow, it would be devastating? (Reach out today!) |
7 | What am I better at today than I was a year ago? |
8 | What material object do I use every day that I am thankful for having? |
9 | What has someone done for me recently that I am grateful for? |
10 | What are the three things I am grateful for right now? |
Take a few moments to answer some (or even all) of these questions. Have they clarified anything important for you? Do you feel any different?
Tip
If you’re nervous about expressing gratitude at work, one tip is to practice with friends and family first until you get more comfortable.
Appreciate your spouse’s extra effort on a meal they recently made? Let them know! Grateful for your son’s determination to do his chores even after a long day? Don’t hold back! By getting into the practice it will become more natural for you, and, as a result, feel more authentic wherever you want to express your appreciation.
Beware False Gratitude
I learned early in my life that generosity was a good thing. But I also learned an equally important lesson: that it could win me favor even if my generosity was fake or acquired dishonestly.
I’ve spent many years understanding the origins of that conditioning and unlearning a lot of it with the help of friends, loved ones, and some great team members I’ve had the good fortune to work with.
Today, I better understand the need to balance generosity with a deeper examination of my motivations for any moment of giving. I’ve been blessed in many aspects of life, so when my motivation to be generous is born of gratitude, I know I’m being true to that value.
I’ve learned that true generosity is humbling, both because you receive so much more than you could ever give, and because it’s motivated by the right reasons.
Most importantly, I’ve learned that the most generous gift I can offer someone isn’t a present but my presence, to invest my time in helping them become the greatest version of themselves. And when I am drawn to give from a sense of guilt, obligation, pride, or reciprocity, I know I need to step back because I’m no longer seeing gratitude at work, but self glorification.
Like any power, gratitude can be used for good or ill. So when you’re ready—and really, why wouldn’t you be?—to start showing gratitude at work or beyond, make sure it’s for the right reasons.
For that, we can all be grateful.
Read our four-part series on purpose: |
Develop Gratitude Practices That Drive Performance
Gratitude is powerful –both at home and the workplace. However, to make gratitude practices in the workplace meaningful and truly effective, it needs to be done with care and consideration. For guidance on how to implement meaningful gratitude practices in your workplace, reach out to Navalent.
We’ve spearheaded over 1,800 transformational initiatives, and we can help yours become more cohesive, engaging, and effective too. Contact us today.