What is gratitude?

Gratitude is a multifaceted concept that extends beyond simple expressions of thanks, such as a verbal “thank you.” It involves a deliberate and meaningful acknowledgement of the contributions, efforts, or positive aspects of individuals and circumstances within one’s environment. Distinct from appreciation or thankfulness, gratitude encompasses a deeper emotional and cognitive recognition of value, fostering a sense of connection and mutual respect.

Incorporating gratitude into an organizational culture requires a clear understanding of its definition and implications. By prioritizing gratitude, workplaces can cultivate an environment that values diverse contributions and promotes inclusivity. Such a culture encourages employees to focus on meaningful recognition, which can enhance interpersonal relationships and create a more equitable and supportive professional setting.

How does gratitude benefit the individual? 

Before delving into how practising gratitude can benefit your organization, it can be necessary to begin by identifying its effects on individuals. Here are a few ways that gratitude can benefit your team members individually:

• Helps rewire the brain: Gratitude can impact your mind in many beneficial ways. It enhances the production of dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that increase feelings of happiness. Gratitude activates the hypothalamus, leading to better sleep and it reduces levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. This is just a small sample of how gratitude can improve wellbeing and mental health.
• Improves mood: Offering and receiving gratitude can greatly enhance your mood, increase a sense of positivity, and decrease anxiety.
• Increases empathy: Gratitude often encourages people to focus on the feelings and positive attributes of others. This can increase levels of empathy and decrease one’s focus on self.
• Fosters bonding: Expressing and receiving gratitude helps individuals form closer bonds with one another, leading to improved relationships. This can enhance familial bonds, help one cultivate new friendships and enhance the overall quality of life.
• Enhances self-confidence: Celebrating the accomplishments of others and having your own strengths recognized can increase an individual’s confidence and sense of self-efficacy. It takes the focus off comparing oneself to others and, instead, emphasizes that each person has qualities worthy of celebration.
• Encourages future acts of gratitude: The more you practise gratitude, the more you may develop an “attitude of gratitude.” This may significantly change how you perceive yourself and others, compelling you to engage in other acts of gratefulness.

What are the benefits of practising gratitude in the workplace?

Introducing and successfully integrating gratitude into your company’s culture will require time and effort; therefore, it can be wise to identify the potential benefits. Here are some benefits associated with a culture of gratitude in the workplace:

• Boosted levels of engagement and motivation: Appreciated employees may feel a deeper connection with their team and their work. This can lead to an increased effort, greater motivation and a heightened desire to go above and beyond.
• Higher retention rates: Employees who feel valued are more likely to remain loyal to your organization. This leads to a happier team that is less likely to seek employment elsewhere, making this a potentially great employee retention strategy.
• A more tightly knit team: Regular displays of gratitude can help your team develop stronger connections with one another, reducing conflicts and fostering a genuine sense of friendship and community. This can lead to a more supportive and cooperative atmosphere and the greater inclusion of remote employees.
• Improved employee wellbeing: When team members feel appreciated, they may experience less job stress, boosted levels of happiness and enhanced self-confidence and self-efficacy. This may lead to a greater willingness to learn new skills and tackle novel tasks and better equip employees to bounce back from setbacks. Another bonus benefit is that this increased wellbeing can lead to fewer sick days.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction: Your clientele can benefit immensely from your happier, more engaged, and dedicated team. This may lead to increased customer satisfaction rates, a boost in sales and an improved company image.
• The ripple effect: Gratitude can be contagious. When a team member receives an expression of gratefulness, they are more likely to pay it forward. This ripple effect can spread quickly across teams and beyond, growing a company-wide culture of gratitude. This contagiousness also spreads into other parts of an individual’s life, spurring them to focus on the positives.
• More positive company culture. High levels of employee satisfaction, a tightly knit team, a sense of improved wellbeing and happy customers all work in tandem to foster a positive company culture. This can lead to a stellar employee image and brand reputation. 
• It’s inexpensive. When weighed against the many benefits (employee retention, cohesive teams and happy customers), showing gratitude can be extremely cost-effective. Extending a simple thank-you does not cost a penny.
• Elevates trust. Leaders who show sincere gratitude are often perceived as being more sincere and having higher levels of integrity. In return, they are often deemed more trustworthy by their employees.

What are some tips for fostering a culture of gratitude? 

You may have a plethora of ideas for nurturing a culture of gratitude within your organization. Before you embark on your plan, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind:

• Be authentic. In the beginning, you may be tempted to shower everyone with feelings of gratitude. Don’t. Gratefulness is ideally sincere and has real meaning. Be specific in expressing gratitude by citing what you are grateful for and why. This lets the recipient know that your appreciation is authentic and encourages them to repeat the desired action or behaviour in the future.
• Don’t force it. You can’t force other team members to feel grateful. Instead, provide opportunities and tools for employees to express sincere gratitude to coworkers when they are ready.
• Act quickly. Express your gratitude shortly after the team member has performed the action you are grateful for. Your employee is typically looking for your feedback once a task is completed. And postponing your shout-out can make it seem like an afterthought.
• Appreciate the person. Appreciation and recognition programs tend to celebrate employee performance and not the actual person. When introducing the practice of gratitude, it can be wise to focus on who the individual is as opposed to what they do. For example, rather than expressing gratitude for their record sales, focus on their contagious enthusiasm, willingness to learn or eagerness to help others.
• Personalize your expressions of gratitude. Tailor your approach to the needs and personality type of the recipient. One team member may bask happily in a public display of appreciation, while another may experience extreme discomfort.
• Be inclusive. Ensure that each team member experiences gratitude and receives acknowledgement for their contributions to the team’s success. It’s highly important that each employee has a sense of inclusion in the workplace and feels valued.
• Lead by example. Changes to a company’s culture typically start at the top. When employees witness management showing displays of gratitude, they are more likely to adopt this practice as well.
• Show gratitude in the bad times, too. Every organization experiences hiccups. Some projects may not work out, and some customers will remain dissatisfied. This doesn’t mean your team did not put forth their best effort. It is important to remain grateful for the things they did right. On the flip side, by recognizing their efforts, they may be more likely to admit where they went wrong and identify how they can make improvements in the future.

How can you nurture a culture of gratitude? 

Here are a few employee recognition ideas to spark your imagination:

• Verbalize your gratitude. The most straightforward way to express and model gratitude is to simply verbally acknowledge how much you appreciate someone’s actions and why. For example, “It meant a lot to me when you helped me with the filing. Your thoughtfulness saved me a great deal of time and enabled me to focus on my upcoming presentation.”
• Create a “grateful space.” Peer-to-peer gratitude is a powerful tool. Harness it by dedicating a gratitude wall in your workplace where team members can share acknowledgements of each other. Another option is a virtual space where in-house and remote employees can exchange thank-yous.
• Foster moments of gratitude. You may wish to schedule time for expressions of gratitude in meetings or group activities. Another option is asking employees to share what they are grateful for each day.
• Introduce a “gratitude box.” Similar to the traditional “suggestion box,” this box provides employees a space to place their notes of gratitude.
• Compose an old-school thank-you note. Sending a handwritten thank-you note adds a nice personal touch to an expression of gratitude. While an e-mail or other electronic message feels impersonal, this physical card possesses greater depth and meaning. You can also provide employees with blank thank-you notes that they can send out. You could also send out appreciation letters.
• Go beyond words. While words of appreciation are meaningful, there are times when you may want to offer an extrinsic reward. Some possibilities include giving a gift, offering a paid day off, hosting an employee appreciation day or providing professional development opportunities.
• Celebrate milestones. You may choose to celebrate your gratitude in the workplace through reward programs that honour tenure, employee of the month or other significant accomplishments. You may also wish to celebrate specific milestones in project management.
• Eat. You may choose to show your gratitude to your team by taking them out for a meal, catering an in-office luncheon or having a pizza day. This not only displays your appreciation but it also serves as a team-building activity and may increase your employees’ sense of belonging in the workplace.
• Provide gratitude journals. Encouraging employees to focus on gratitude daily can create a shift in their perspectives. You may even wish to block out a brief allotment of time to complete their entries.
• Promote volunteerism. A great way to promote a sense of thankfulness within your organization is by having team members participate in a volunteer organization. Whether it’s working a shift at a local soup kitchen, collecting for a toy drive or hosting a fundraiser, this type of activity may strengthen your team’s bond and foster a sense of gratitude, too.
• Provide gratitude education. If you wish for your team to embrace a culture of gratitude, it can be wise to teach them about its benefits. This could be accomplished via blog posts that discuss the research and benefits of gratitude, holding a gratitude-themed meeting or inviting a keynote speaker who specializes in the topic.
• Recognize random acts of kindness. Employees who perform acts of kindness in the workplace foster a positive work environment. Imagine what could happen if these kindnesses were doubled or tripled. By recognizing team members who take the time to help coworkers, offer encouragement, provide mentorship or elevate the team’s spirits, you can encourage others to engage in similar positive behaviours.
• Thank your customers. You may wish to express gratitude to your customers through thank-you notes, clothing, loyalty programs or follow-up phone calls. You can even find ways to celebrate a client’s birthday.

With the benefits of a gratitude-focused workplace clear, you’re ready to craft a plan. Consider designing thoughtful initiatives that embed appreciation into daily practice, fostering engagement and inclusivity while strengthening organizational unity.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gratitude and appreciation?

Appreciation involves recognizing the positive qualities of a person, place or thing and being thankful for them. Gratitude is usually a deeper form of appreciation, a complex emotion often described as being both an individual’s state of being and a characteristic. A person can experience gratitude in the moment, while they can also list gratitude as one of their personality traits.

What are the four A’s of gratitude?

While it seems that the four A’s can vary according to the source, they are commonly listed as appreciation, approval, admiration and attention. Appreciation involves expressing gratefulness and making gratitude a mindset. Approval requires you to recognize and praise others for making a sincere effort or attempt at something. Admiration is when you express your appreciation for another person’s traits, qualities or accomplishments. Attention usually requires you to actively listen to someone and give them your full attention.