Gratitude is not a tick box exercise

The benefits of practicing gratitude for individuals are well established and include improved mood and sleep, and reduced stress. Incorporating gratitude into the workplace has benefits for employers and employees alike. It can improve job satisfaction, productivity, and reduce staff turnover. For some however, it can be lumped in with other ‘wellbeing tools’ and unfortunately, dare we say it, seen as a fad. It’s all too easy for a well meaning integration of ‘gratitude in the workplace’ to become something to be ticked off. Organisations can feel smug that they’ve added ‘5 minutes of gratitude discussion’ or linked appreciation to an anonymous financial reward often in the form of vouchers gifted by a colleague. There is an understandable backlash against wellbeing tools that are seen as an add-on to our busy lives. A superficial stamp of ‘we care about our employees’ without any deeper exploration as to the actual impact on wellbeing doesn't cut it. 

There is some benefit, but not enough, from asking someone to reflect upon what they are grateful for during their working day. However, if during the rest of their day they feel undervalued by their boss, taken advantage of by their co-workers, and isolated, it’s simply a sticking plaster over a gaping wound.  There is a difference between recognition awards and authentic appreciation. Rewarding someone for being the top sales person is not the same as appreciating someone’s inherent worth as a person. Employees value the latter more than the former. Ultimately the strongest benefits of gratitude come from fostering a culture of gratitude in our lives and in our networks. It should permeate our work and social interactions. Having helped to develop the culture of gratitude in various organizations it has been amazing to then see how the ripple of positive impact extends well beyond the boundaries of initial interventions. 

So how can we foster a culture of gratitude? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Thank your colleagues, say why, and be sincere.

This sounds like a really low hanging fruit and quite obvious. If you feel grateful for what someone has done, simply tell them. It does however require us to first notice the contributions colleagues have made, and to be role modeled by everyone no matter the hierarchy.  In busy work schedules this is often difficult.  

There is also some reluctance occasionally to share our gratitude for fear of it feeling awkward. Reassuring research shows that the perceived ‘awkwardness’ of the recipient is much less than the gratitude giver thinks. So don't overthink it. 

To really show our appreciation we must explain why we are grateful. ‘Thank you for getting that work done for the deadline, i know you had to sacrifice some time in your evening and i really appreciate it’ goes further than simply ‘thank you’. A really important aspect of this is sincerity. People very quickly see through insincere thanks. As such, we dont feel like there should be ‘thanks quota’s’. Have you thanked your X number of people today? Rather we should move toward more open communications styles where it is easy to thank people but not forced. 

2. Have time each day to reflect upon what is going well at work. 

Consistency helps. Setting aside some time to reflect upon and be grateful for what is going on at work can be helpful each day. Can you add 2 minutes at the start or end of meetings. Shorter but frequent space to do this helps it become more ingrained. Whilst there is benefit in having this dedicated space to explicitly think about what employees are grateful for, the aim is that it plants a seed and paves the way for more organic interactions day to day. 

3. Celebrate wins, document them.

Hands up who finds it easier to notice what hasn’t got well rather than what has?  It’s human nature to have a cognitive bias toward the negative. As a result our perception of our working lives and successes and failures can become skewed. If something has gone well, note it, celebrate it. Even perceived ‘failures’ are often not as bad as we make them out to be, and hidden within there may be some positives to be taken. If a colleague hasn't noticed a ‘win’ can you point it out to them? Similarly if a colleague feels something has gone wrong can you reduce their cognitive bias and singpost them to some of the positives? Writing down successes somewhere prominent can later help us when things may not be going so well.

4. Gratitude isn’t one size fits all. 

Everyone has different communication styles and levels of comfort. Think about how you interact with different friends or relatives. Some may respond well to spontaneous phone calls, others would recoil and be happier with a text. Some may wear the heart on the sleeve, others may need more time and space to have deeper conversations. Our interactions at work can be similar and the way we express thanks may need to adapt to the individual. Its ok to ask them their thoughts on this. 

5. Take it beyond the workplace.

The above tips don't just apply to work. Our capacity to be grateful and express it does not stop as we leave the office or workspace. In fact, continuing to utilize some of the above with our family and social lives has a symbiotic relationship. Being more mindful of our gratitude can improve both home and work life. By noticing more what we’re grateful for at home it can make it easier to notice things to be grateful for at work, and vice versa. 

These are just a few suggestions to get things started. We appreciate there is some irony in providing a list of things to do whilst also spouting the virtues of a non tick box approach to gratitude. However, from our experience starting small, and making incremental changes to workplace culture, can ultimately have a transformational impact and become self-sustaining in time. We’d love to hear your thoughts. What works well in your organisation?