From Theory to Practice: How gratitude interventions in the workplace can benefit everyone

As the saying goes, that which may be true in theory is of no use in practice. When it comes to gratitude and appreciation at work, there is good reason to suspect that theories/knowledge may not necessarily translate into action. So what lies between knowledge of what a grateful workplace looks like and actually arriving there? Strategy, of course! In this case, organisations should consider what researchers (yes, those idealistic theoreticians) have called ‘gratitude interventions’.

A recent wave of research on gratitude has hatched various types of gratitude interventions. Before considering a few of the more popular and noteworthy ones, let’s revisit the multi-dimensional benefits that gratitude and appreciation bring to organisations and their members.

The many benefits of gratitude and appreciation

Individual benefits

There is evidence that a grateful disposition is associated with better mental and physical health.[1] In short, research shows that a grateful disposition:

• is associated with life satisfaction, optimism and happiness
• may counteract materialism
• can protect against burnout
• increases well-being
• broadens and builds a range of positive emotions
• cancels out negativity
• motivates self-improvement
• increases self-esteem
• cultivates other virtues, such as patience, humility and wisdom

Social benefits  

While gratitude clearly has many benefits for individuals, fundamentally it is a social emotion that is shared and expressed among groups. So much so that the eminent sociologist Georg Simmel referred to the gratitude “the moral memory of mankind”.[2] Research suggests that in social contexts, gratitude:

• inspires people to be more generous
• encourages prosocial behaviour
• strengthens the formation, maintenance and improvement of relationships

Workplace benefits

While the research on gratitude and appreciation in the workplace is still in the early days, a number of studies suggest these practices may help:

• employees perform their jobs better
• increase job satisfaction
• increase prosocial behaviour at work
• encourage employees to be more helpful and respectful towards their co-workers

Gratitude interventions at work

Organisations who wish to turn this knowledge into practice and create a healthier, more productive workplace should consider initiating a gratitude intervention. Here are a few of the more popular and noteworthy types of interventions:

1. Counting blessings (aka, Gratitude journals). This activity involves writing down five things for which participants are grateful for three times a week for at least two weeks. The ‘blessings’ can be work related but can also be broader; research shows the exercise has a positive impact on mood and happiness levels, which are indeed contagious.
2. Three Good Things. A variation of the counting blessings intervention, this activity goes a step further. People write down three things that went well, but also identify the causes of those good things. This could take a specific focus on work, and likely would lead to co-workers expressing gratitude and appreciation for positive collaborations.
3. Mental subtraction. Another variation of the counting blessings, this activity involves imagining what life would be like if a positive event had not occurred. In one set of experiments, people wrote about what it would be like if positive events in their life had not occurred. They reported improved mood, providing evidence for what the researchers call the “George Bailey effect” after the protagonist in the famous 1946 film It’s A Wonderful Life.
4. Gratitude letters and gratitude visits. Participants write and deliver a letter of gratitude in person to someone who they have never properly thanked.

Research has shown that employees who perform specific gratitude practices in the workplace such as these, bring benefits to both the employee and workplace alike. By increasing job and life satisfaction, a more positive mood and greater sense of accomplishment, along with decreased negative attitudes towards others and less emotional exhaustion, gratitude interventions can help prevent burnout while improving productivity and wellbeing. So, what are you grateful for?

Sources:

[1] For example, a study of people with heart failure found that people with a higher dispositional gratitude reported better sleep, less fatigue, and lower levels of cellular inflammation. Grateful people have also been found to be more optimistic, physically active and show greater improvements in emotional well-being while recovering from heart attacks and coronary events. See: Summer Allen, 2018.  ‘The Science of Gratitude’. Report for the Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley.

[2] Georg Simmel. 1950 [1908]. ‘Gratitude and Faithfulness’,in The Sociology of Georg Simmel (pp. 379-395). New York: The Free Press.

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