Workplace Gratitude - American Society of Employers - Mary E. Corrado

Workplace Gratitude

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It’s such a relaxing day filled with watching the parade, having a nice meal with family, and watching the Lions game.  But until I read an article recently, I never really associated the thankfulness aspect of Thanksgiving with work.  I came across a research study by Plasticity Labs entitled “Gratitude at Work: Its Impact on Job Satisfaction & Sense of Community.”  It was very eye opening.

“Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone who has done a lot for you.”  This quote from Gladys Bronwyn Stern says it all.  The Plasticity study revealed that only 30% of people express thanks to co-workers throughout the work week and only 20% thank their boss.  Gratitude does not seem to be a central component of the workplace, but it should be.  Research shows that grateful people are happier at both work and at home.  It reduces stress, and they feel happier and more fulfilled.  A study by the John Templeton Foundation found that people are less likely to express gratitude at work than anyplace else.  And sadly, most are not thankful for their current jobs.  In fact, they ranked their jobs as last in a list of things they are thankful for.  What I found really interesting though is that these same people reported that saying thank you to coworkers makes them feel happier and more fulfilled, but only 10% of them do it.  60% said they never or rarely say thank you at work.

When I think about these statistics I wonder why this is.  Is it because people think that since everyone is paid to do what they do that they don’t need a thank you?  People work for more than a paycheck.  We work to better ourselves, better the company we work for, have a feeling of accomplishment, and have a sense of purpose.  We invest ourselves in our jobs and many spend most of their waking hours at work.  We definitely need more than a paycheck to feel good about that.

“Gratitude is indeed a duty which we are bound to pay, but which benefactors cannot exact.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  Another great quote, and while gratitude can’t technically be measured we do see good results when it’s displayed.  In the workplace gratitude can predict job satisfaction.  The Plasticity study showed that gratitude at work resulted in less burnout and increased job satisfaction.  By increasing gratitude employers can raise employee performance and decrease turnover.  Employees need to feel appreciated by both leadership and coworkers.

So how do we as leaders promote gratitude in the workplace? We must start with ourselves.  Employees need to hear thank you from their managers on a regular basis.  Management should give authentic thank you’s both publically and privately.  Create systems that promote thank you’s.  Here at ASE we have a very simple system where we each have smiley face stickers that we can give to anyone at any time.  It is a simple way to say thanks when we appreciate something a coworker has done.  You’d be amazed at the effect such a small gesture can have.

So this Thanksgiving I want to say thank you to the wonderful, talented staff (pictured below) I get to work with every day at ASE.  I consider myself very lucky to have a job I enjoy and people I enjoy working with. 

How do you promote gratitude in your workplace?  Let me know at [email protected].  I really do appreciate hearing from you.


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