The Benefits of Gratitude at Work and the Myths holding us Back

In the last article,?flourishing with gratitude, we explored the all-round benefits of gratitude to individual well-being. These profound benefits of gratitude have significant positive implications for our workplaces. When we bring gratitude to work, it can transform the workplace.

I was fascinated by a story about a manager narrated by Richard Templar in his book?Rules of Work.?In explaining rule 4.7 (Use?please?and?thank you), he tells the captivating story of a co-employee and manager. The loyalty this manager enjoyed from his team went through the roof. His team members would voluntarily, without any compulsion or manipulation, come in to work on holidays, work overtime, work on their day off, and even work on the weekends (I don’t encourage this as a norm). Everything was voluntary! Richard watched with amazement and curiosity as this people leader enjoyed unusual loyalty from his team that the other managers in the organization did not experience. While trying to figure out what he was doing that he and other managers were not doing, they eventually found out the secret of this manager was largely in two things. He made it a habit to say?please?and?thank you. It is amazing to see the power of gratitude at work.

?Noteworthy Findings

Gratitude at Work, an organization founded by Steve Foran, shares the following noteworthy facts about gratitude in the workplace:

• At least 93 percent of people agree that grateful bosses are more likely to succeed.
• Studies show that 88 percent of people say that expressing gratitude to colleagues makes them feel happier and more fulfilled.
• When asked, 81 percent of people would work harder for a grateful boss.
• At least 70 percent of people would feel better about themselves if their bosses were grateful.
• Receiving a thank-you from a supervisor boosted productivity by more than 50 percent.
• Grateful people spent up to 50 percent more time helping strangers by going the extra mile.
• The number-one reason people leave their jobs is that they don’t feel appreciated.

Read through these statistics, and you will agree that gratitude is a major productivity booster in the workplace. If you take gratitude away from the workplace, the result is a workplace community that gradually begins to crumble with a high turnover rate and the loss of talent. Bonuses and higher pay are great, but they lose their ability to motivate employees if gratitude is missing in the overarching company culture.

The Organizational Benefits

Amazing things happen when we make it a habit to bring gratitude to work and infuse gratitude into the organizational culture. Gratitude at the workplace has been linked to:

• Fewer sick days
• Lower levels of work stress
• Greater job satisfaction
• Prosocial and collaborative workplace
• Emotionally intelligent and empathetic teams

The Myths Holding Us Back

Despite the evident benefits and productivity boost that gratitude can cause in the workplace, the place where people are least likely to express gratitude is the workplace. Could you ponder on the last statement for a bit? This is kind of a paradox, and it deserves some probing. In the book Leading with Gratitude, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, aptly describe this paradoxical?phenomenon as the?gratitude gap. With compelling stories and numerous references to studies, they share several myths (wrong beliefs) that people hold on to (particularly managers and leaders) that contribute to this gratitude gap in the workplace. I list and briefly explain?some?of these myths below:

1. Fear is the best Motivator:?Some managers lead with the weapon of fear. They leverage their authority and privileges to intimidate people into action and to align with their agenda. While fear may make people work harder in the short term, it is not sustainable. Long term, the sure outcome is harmful stress, diminishing productivity, and high turnover rates, among other negative outcomes. From the story of the Ford CEO, Alan Mulally, employee engagement can significantly increase when transparency, collaboration, and particularly gratitude become part of the company culture. In the case of Ford, it jumped from 20% to 91% over an eight-year period.
2. People want way too much praise these days:?While it is hard to find an employee who complains of too much praise, it is interesting to observe workplace leaders who believe Millennials and Gen Zs employees desire too much recognition and compliments. This is a myth because, as per human nature, every typical employee, irrespective of age, wants to be recognized, thanked, and appreciated for doing a good job. We all have a deep-rooted need to know that our work matters. Millennials and Gen Z are unique because their loyalty to a company is not determined solely because the company hired them. Their loyalty is instead spurred when they feel appreciated, challenged, and rewarded.
3. There’s just no time:?Gostik and Elton make and prove a bold claim that “practicing gratitude doesn’t take that much time and the returns in productivity far outweigh those of any other management practice.” Many people leaders prioritize the hard skills and focus most of their time on hardcore management actions?(e.g., developing strategy, setting goals, executing goals, performance reviews, and others)?aligned to the functional details of their role—to the point where there is no time left to say express gratitude to their teams. This approach to management neglects the vital people component and is short-sighted. In today’s marketplace, workers leave for competitors more readily, particularly if they feel their work is not meaningful, they are not adding value, and are not appreciated. Per Gostik and Elton “Deloitte estimates the cost of losing each employee ranges from tens of thousands of dollars to 1.5 times the employee’s annual salary. This cost includes ramp-up time to reach peak productivity, hiring, onboarding, training, loss of engagement from colleagues due to high turnover, and increased mistakes and errors.”
4. I save my praise for those who deserve it:??People leaders often think that employees who deserve their praise are the highly-visible performers, and they omit silent performers and team players who do a great job in supportive roles from their practice of gratitude. This inappropriate scenario at work could be amplified if the so-called highly-visible performers are self-conceited and good at hogging all the praise. Leaders should go the extra mile to thank the unthanked and repeatedly show gratitude for the work every member of the team does.
5. It’s all about the Benjamins (money):?Adequate compensation for employee’s work is crucial. In fact, dropping the ball on payroll processing could be a major cause of frustration among staff. However, while high pay and bonuses are great, they lose the ability to motivate employees if gratitude is missing in the overarching company culture. As shown by a 2012 study, once people earn a comfortable level of income, gratitude is more appreciated and meaningful to them than cash awards and bonuses.

These gratitude myths are real, and they stand in the way of people practicing gratitude in the workplace and reaping its enormous benefits. As we continue our reflections on gratitude this thanksgiving week (In the United States), it is time to challenge some of our beliefs and shift our mindsets to one that fosters the unhindered expression of gratitude.

To learn more about gratitude, take a look at Uno Okon's new book?Relentless Gratitude .?Also, visit?www.relentlessgratitude.org

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

1. Richard Templar, “Rules of Work: A Definitive Code for Personal Success.” Prentice Hall Business, 2010.
2. Kira M. Newman, “How Gratitude Can Transform Your Workplace” greatergood.berkeley.edu, November 23rd, 2022, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_can_transform_your_workplace .
3. Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, “Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results.”?New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2020.