The Benefits of Showing Gratitude in the Workplace

POST WRITTEN BY

Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.D

OD & Change Management Consultant (Human Capital Innovations); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (Woodbury School of Business, UVU), Social Impact & Innovation Guru

Have you ever worked in an organization and for a boss who just never seemed to value your contributions, no matter what you did, how hard you tried or even how innovative and productive you were? If so, you are in good company! While this is not a pleasant experience, the truth is that most of us have been there at one time or another. If you are among the lucky minority who haven’t, chances are you will have the “opportunity” to have your contributions dismissed, undervalued or even ignored at some point in the future.

And while it is frustrating to experience this as an employee, it is equally frustrating to see this play out among your team when you are in a leadership role. In my experience, most leaders do sincerely appreciate their people and even believe that they regularly show that gratitude and appreciation in meaningful ways. But that appreciation doesn’t always get communicated effectively, and often leaders can unintentionally and inadvertently undermine their people and cause them to feel unvalued.

Due to the myriad benefits of having a robust culture of gratitude in the workplace, leaders need to prioritize sincere and consistent expressions of appreciation and gratitude to their people.

The Business Case For Showing Gratitude In The Workplace

While few would deny that it is a nice thing for people to feel appreciated at work, is there an actual bottom-line benefit to organizations for fostering a gratitude culture in the workplace? In their new book, Leading with Gratitude, the authors lay out the case for the impact of gratitude on employee performance and state, “Workers want and need to know their work is appreciated. Showing gratitude to employees is the easiest, fastest, most inexpensive way to boost performance.”

In its simplest form, an expression of gratitude costs nothing and only requires minimal time and attention. Leaders can also create an environment where everyone gets in on the action, leveraging the attention of every member of the team to ensure that all accomplishments get recognized.

There is also a clear connection between showing appreciation to your people and employee motivation and engagement. In a recent study by the American Psychological Association, researchers found that 93% of employees “who reported feeling valued said that they are motivated to do their best at work and 88 percent reported feeling engaged.” Among that group, only 21% plan to look for a new job in the coming year. We know how expensive employee disengagement and turnover are to an organization, and demonstrating that you value your people through expressing sincere gratitude for their contributions is one of the easiest and most impactful ways to move the needle toward greater engagement and productivity.

While showing gratitude in the workplace is shown to improve individual performance, it also directly impacts team and organizational performance and drives a firm’s sustainable success in the marketplace. In a recent Inc. article, the authors state, “The benefits of [leaders expressing gratitude] are twofold, improving day-to-day morale and driving organizational success.” It really is quite simple: Thoughtful, sincere and consistent employee recognition leads to higher levels of individual employee engagement, satisfaction and productivity, which drives greater organizational innovation and performance.

The Human Case For Showing Gratitude In The Workplace

While the business case for showing gratitude is clear, we should also not forget the human case — the importance of cultivating a holistic positive human experience in the workplace. In a recent Forbes article, Karl Sun states, “Gratitude is a basic human requirement — and since we spend most of our waking hours at the office, giving and receiving thanks at work becomes pretty important.” At the most basic level, people need meaningful interpersonal connection, community and validation. A culture of gratitude and appreciation helps to check all of those boxes.

One of the coolest aspects of gratitude is that there is what has been called a spillover effect: “Individuals become more trusting with each other, and more likely to help each other out.” But there are more benefits than even an enhanced “sense of self-worth, self-efficacy, and trust between employees.” Gratitude in the workplace also leads to “significantly increased happiness, greater satisfaction with life, and higher resilience to stress [… and even] fewer headaches and illnesses.”

Finally, there are myriad scientifically proven outcomes of gratitude in individuals’ lives, including their time in the workplace. In her Forbes article, Amy Morin summarizes many human benefits of gratitude, including opening the door to more relationships, improving physical and psychological health, enhancing empathy and reducing aggression, sleeping better, improving self-esteem and increasing mental strength. When we devote so much of our life to working in a cold and sterile workplace, it takes a human toll. When we work in a warm, inviting and safe workplace, where our efforts are consistently valued, we are reinvigorated and energized in our work and we are more supportive of each other, creating a healthier and more sustainable environment and culture.

Conclusion

Everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated; it is one of the deepest and most basic human needs, and extensive research clearly demonstrates both the business and human benefits of showing gratitude in the workplace. Leaders need to recognize and prioritize their personal efforts to consistently show sincere appreciation and gratitude toward their people, and they need to foster a gratitude culture throughout the organization, where all employees feel responsible for and empowered to recognize each other for the good work being performed.

This article was originally published at Forbes.com.