Gratitude is an ‘Attitude’

As corporate citizens of this world, a large number of our fraternity is still blessed and sits comfortably in the houses or apartments or wherever they remotely work from during this pandemic, there are things we can do to improve our outcomes and reflect upon the most powerful tools for staying mentally and physically healthy, gratitude. 

There are always things to be grateful for, even now, and gratitude reminds us how special, beautiful and fortunate our lives are, even under stressful or hazardous conditions. In today’s article, our focus turns to making gratitude as an ‘attitude’. While many of us tend to view and express gratitude in relation to our personal lives, gratitude relating to the corporate environment and workplace, where we earn our livelihood from, is especially critical because it satisfies the higher psychological need to feel a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves, to feel a sense of meaning at work. 

Let’s review the following pointers and reflect upon and find a genuine reason to be grateful for:

1. Everything begins with the Almighty 

The Holy Quran says: “And if you were to count God’s favours, you would not be able to number them; most surely God is Forgiving and Merciful." 

Let’s not forget one thing for sure that faith is neither restricted in time and space. nor necessarily bound in the physical premises i.e. mosque, church or temple. Faith resides within us. In fact, we breathe in faith and we breath out faith. As Sir Aga Khan III wrote in his autobiography Memoirs of the Aga Khan: “We live, move and have our being in God.” 

Having said that, we must find some quality time for soul-searching. Find a silent corner in your house and try to concentrate, establish connection, converse with the God Almighty and seek help on whatever issues you might have in life. You will truly find peace in this exercise and will find answers to your questions.

2. It changes both the giver and the receiver

Gratitude goes hand in hand with the act of giving compliments and recognition. When we recognize one another, it makes us even more appreciative and inspires the person we’ve thanked to give that feeling to someone else, leading to a swell in happiness, well-being, morale, energy, and engagement – all of which directly influence performance, productivity, and retention. 

This is the gratitude effect: a ripple of acknowledgment and appreciation that surges forward, transforming and inspiring us, and improving business outcomes. The more gratitude going around, the more human connections are being established, and the more collaboration, engagement, and innovation comes into place across the organization. Moreover, when recognition is given frequently throughout the year, the impact of that positive reinforcement is even greater.

When you thank someone, you’re creating what New York Times best-selling author Dan Heath calls “a defining moment,” not just for the receiver, but also for yourself. The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact, which he co-wrote with his brother, Chris, encourages readers to write gratitude letters to people who have made a positive difference in their life and read the letters aloud to them in a face-to-face visit. “Research shows that doing that can boost your happiness levels for as much as a month,” Dan Heath said in a 2017 interview. 

3. The virtuous cycle 

GoodThink cofounder and CEO Shawn Achor discussed the positive impact and ripple effect of expressing appreciation in his New York Times best-selling book Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness and Well-Being. “Praise creates what we call a ‘virtuous cycle’ – the more you give, the more you enhance your own supply. When done right, praise primes the brain for higher performance, which means that the more we praise, the more success we create. And the more successes there are, the more there is to praise. 

Achor’s findings were reinforced in the Global Happiness Council’s 2019 report that included a case study about the business impact of LinkedIn’s social recognition program on employee retention and performance. In addition to showing correlations between recognition, increased retention rates, and higher year-over-year performance rating increases, “particularly for high-performing employees who received more frequent recognition,” the LinkedIn data also revealed the powerful impact of practicing gratitude on the givers: “The more employees offered praise, the more praise they received in return, creating a virtuous circle of positivity and success.”

4. It builds relationships

Gone are the days when bosses use to enter and walk around in the organisations with expressionless long faces. Perhaps leaders might be more likely to dish out praise if they framed it not as feedback, but as part of a larger process of building relationships. Gratitude is a powerful concept. It goes beyond praise, beyond positive reinforcement. Gratitude is a recognition of our interdependence, of the fact that success is the result of team effort.

Showing gratitude, therefore, involves showing vulnerability. It is not easy to acknowledge that we need someone, but doing so is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Gratitude is not just about building relationships between you and your employees, but also between employees and the organization as a whole. Four in five (81%) employees report they are motivated to work harder when their boss shows appreciation for their work. When gratitude becomes a regular organisational practice, employees feel both appreciated and valued, and their productivity and engagement will increase by leaps and bounds.

5. Be the change you want to see

Leaders should model the habit of frequent and widespread expressions of recognition and appreciation to inspire others throughout the organization to emulate that behavior. 

While gratitude is a great opportunity to acknowledge and remember the proven benefits of gratitude in the workplace, remember that the power of gratitude is too important to be celebrated on just one day. When people lift one another with acknowledgment and recognition–when giving and receiving gratitude is the foundation of a culture–we’re all elevated, we’re all able to blossom into the best versions of ourselves, and one person’s success becomes everyone’s.

Last Word 

William Arthur Ward once said: “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” Gratitude is the gift that keeps on giving. Giving thanks throughout your organization is not only noble, it is smart. Mindful business leaders who are wise and generous enough to make it a year-round practice will be rewarded with healthier and more robust organisations.

The benefits of expressing gratitude are well-documented. A study found that making a regular and deliberate effort to record one’s blessings improves a range of outcomes related to mental health and overall well-being. Keeping a gratitude journal is an increasingly popular personal practice.

We have to get over whatever is holding us back from giving thanks in the workplace. Gratitude should be a central feature of company culture.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and on our official website. Also follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder and Managing Director of Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, At Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.