{"id":530,"date":"2021-10-07T09:58:35","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T09:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/?p=530"},"modified":"2024-02-06T12:25:14","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T12:25:14","slug":"healthy-workplace-begin-with-gratitude-and-employee-appreciation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/healthy-workplace-begin-with-gratitude-and-employee-appreciation\/","title":{"rendered":"Want a Healthier Workplace? Begin With Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gratitude is having a moment. Practicing it is a topic of conversation everywhere, and you wouldn\u2019t be wrong to believe that the attention is deserved. A principle of self-care, practicing gratitude involves taking the time to notice and reflect upon the things you\u2019re thankful for.<\/p>\n

Appreciation can be for anything – as simple as a Youtube video that made you laugh or as significant as a promotion at work. Research shows that practicing gratefulness has positive effects on our minds, health, and wellbeing, so regularly taking a moment to count our blessings is becoming even more compelling.<\/p>\n

At work, expressing gratitude is how we acknowledge our team\u2019s efforts and celebrate their wins. Receiving appreciation at work makes us feel good about our performance and motivates us to keep it up. While some leaders believe that expressing gratitude may undermine their authority, this is far from the truth. There\u2019s nothing worse than working for someone who thinks your paycheck is the only \u2018thanks\u2019 needed. A little TLC here and there goes a long way to your team and organization\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n

\"Ways<\/p>\n

<\/span>Some of the ways that gratitude transforms an organization<\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Increases job satisfaction, decreases employee turnover<\/h3>\n

If a company would like employee satisfaction to grow, a culture of gratitude is an excellent way to accomplish this. Without consistent and authentic recognition, employees are more likely to quit. Employee turnover<\/a> is a massive drainer on company resources, and it\u2019s pricey, costing up to $160 billion per year<\/a> in the US alone. Since lack of appreciation is one of the top reasons people are ditching their jobs, implementing a culture of gratitude can help keep your team satisfied and stick around for longer.<\/p>\n

2. Encourages employees to feel motivated, engaged, and productive<\/h3>\n

Expressing gratitude and appreciation correlates to increased employee motivation, engagement, and productivity. Some research shows that gratitude can actually be a better motivator than pay<\/a>. It also causes employees to be more concerned about social responsibility in the workplace<\/a>, performing more organizational citizenship behaviors such as making new employees feel welcome and filling in for coworkers.<\/p>\n

3. Drives greater organizational innovation and performance<\/h3>\n

As mentioned, when employees feel appreciated, their job satisfaction, motivation, engagement, and productivity improve. Meaning that they are more likely to be productive performers, ultimately driving more significant organizational innovation and performance.<\/p>\n

4. Transcends beyond the workplace<\/h3>\n

Gratitude\u2019s positive effects in the workplace spill over into other areas<\/a> of employee lives. Examples include increased happiness, greater satisfaction with life, higher resilience to stress, and even fewer headaches and illnesses.<\/p>\n

\"Gratitude<\/p>\n

5. Gratitude can be a pathway to achieving bigger goals<\/h3>\n

Gratitude is important, but it isn\u2019t the only emotional skill<\/a> valuable to a modern business. Emotional intelligence and empathy encourage employees to practice compassion and forgiveness. Gratitude<\/a> can act as an excellent gateway to these more challenging goals.<\/p>\n

6. It\u2019s beneficial to everyone involved<\/h3>\n

According to research conducted by Harvard Medical School<\/a>, practicing gratefulness is just as beneficial as receiving it. Giving thanks boosts happiness and fosters hope for the future. It also reduces stress, burnout, symptoms of PTSD and increases resilience. All are benefits critical to the health of your employees.<\/p>\n

Clearly, gratitude has an important place at work. But implementing a culture of gratitude is a little bit more complicated than just saying \u201cthank you\u201d here and there. A culture of gratitude ensures that appreciation is practiced, followed, and established in every space within the organization.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Characteristics of an effective gratitude culture<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Effective<\/p>\n

It\u2019s prevalent<\/h3>\n

For gratitude to be part of an organization\u2019s culture, it has to be consistent. A tokenistic event once a year (employee awards we\u2019re looking at you) isn\u2019t enough. A study on recognition in the workplace by Kyle Luthans found that employees value personalized, specific, and instant social awards such as attention, praise, and sincere appreciation. Luthans study infers the importance of consistent and authentic recognition at the time of action. It is making practicing gratitude front of mind so that when a team member does something worth applauding, it is second nature to give them that recognition immediately.<\/p>\n

A culture of gratitude must also start from the top and trickle down. This can be explained by \u2018upstream reciprocity<\/a>\u2019: the tendency of those who themselves have received help or support to be more likely to pay it forward or give assistance to someone else in need. Having your management team start a chain of gratitude will result in a ripple of positive effects throughout the organization. If the organization isn\u2019t practicing it at every level, it\u2019s pretty unlikely that it will be prevalent enough to become part of the integral culture of the organization.<\/p>\n

Your familiar with your team\u2019s appreciation language<\/h3>\n

You may have heard of the five love languages theory. They are words of affirmation, quality time, giving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Each love language represents a different preference for an expression of affection. Well, it turns out that the love languages theorist, Gary Chapman, found a natural application for the theory in the workplace. Here are Chapman\u2019s five languages of appreciation in the workplace:<\/p>\n