CREATIVEMOVES WIN |
POWER OF GRATITUDE
INTELLIGENCE
Positive workplace is a planned change and is deliberately created by the organization. They don't happen by accident. It is the outcome of deep-seated gratitude attitude that is inculcated by the leaders and emulated by the members.
Read this interesting article written by Kate Farlin of Chron.com to know his 5 tips to create a positive workplace.
HOW TO CREATE A POSITIVE WORK CULTURE
By: Kate McFarlin
A positive workplace culture leads to increased productivity, better employee morale and the ability to keep skilled workers. Negative attitudes in the workplace, particularly when they are displayed by management or the small business owner, can have a dramatic impact on the entire workforce. Taking the steps to ensure that a positive culture is present in the workplace will go a long way towards keeping your organization running smoothly and keeping your employees happy.
1. Create a clear vision statement for your company. Employees like to know that the job they are doing is making a difference. By creating a vision statement about where you want your company to be in the future and how you want it to make the world a better place creates an air of striving for betterment in the workplace. This lays the foundation for a positive work culture.
2. Look for positive attitudes while hiring. Negative people can quickly sour an entire workplace. When hiring employees, look for a friendly smile and an upbeat disposition. Ask questions of new hires to determine how they handle conflict and interactions with others. If you already have negative employees on staff, take them aside to discuss their attitudes and make it clear that you are creating a positive work culture and negativity will not be tolerated.
3. Make an open-door policy. When the boss is inaccessible and distant to employees, they may not feel as though their opinions matter. Establish an open-door policy and encourage interaction with employees. Ask their opinions, listen to what they have to say and remember to be positive in your dealings with them.
4. Engage your employees in daily operations of the company. Employees may not realize the good that the company is doing behind closed doors. Keeping them informed about exciting new changes or new horizons will help them stay engaged in the company and feel more positive about the future. Be honest and open with your employees.
5. Let your employees know they are appreciated. Employees who are not recognized for the work they do can feel as though their work is unappreciated. Establish reward systems for excellent performance and never forget to thank an employee for a job well done.
Read this interesting article written by Kate Farlin of Chron.com to know his 5 tips to create a positive workplace.
HOW TO CREATE A POSITIVE WORK CULTURE
By: Kate McFarlin
A positive workplace culture leads to increased productivity, better employee morale and the ability to keep skilled workers. Negative attitudes in the workplace, particularly when they are displayed by management or the small business owner, can have a dramatic impact on the entire workforce. Taking the steps to ensure that a positive culture is present in the workplace will go a long way towards keeping your organization running smoothly and keeping your employees happy.
1. Create a clear vision statement for your company. Employees like to know that the job they are doing is making a difference. By creating a vision statement about where you want your company to be in the future and how you want it to make the world a better place creates an air of striving for betterment in the workplace. This lays the foundation for a positive work culture.
2. Look for positive attitudes while hiring. Negative people can quickly sour an entire workplace. When hiring employees, look for a friendly smile and an upbeat disposition. Ask questions of new hires to determine how they handle conflict and interactions with others. If you already have negative employees on staff, take them aside to discuss their attitudes and make it clear that you are creating a positive work culture and negativity will not be tolerated.
3. Make an open-door policy. When the boss is inaccessible and distant to employees, they may not feel as though their opinions matter. Establish an open-door policy and encourage interaction with employees. Ask their opinions, listen to what they have to say and remember to be positive in your dealings with them.
4. Engage your employees in daily operations of the company. Employees may not realize the good that the company is doing behind closed doors. Keeping them informed about exciting new changes or new horizons will help them stay engaged in the company and feel more positive about the future. Be honest and open with your employees.
5. Let your employees know they are appreciated. Employees who are not recognized for the work they do can feel as though their work is unappreciated. Establish reward systems for excellent performance and never forget to thank an employee for a job well done.
OUR PROGRAM
Click here to enroll
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN FROM THIS O.D. CULTURAL INTERVENTION WORKSHOP
You will take home the following learnings: 1. The benefits of gratitude attitude on your physical health of employees, 2. Effects of gratitude on motivation, relationships and faith of employees: Why work stress is no match to gratitude attitude 3. Effects of gratitude attitude on the workplace and business outcomes 4. How grateful employees can remain being proactive even during crisis 5. How to attract organizational prosperity and abundance through gratitude exercises 6. Devastating Effects of Poor Gratitude Intelligence (GQ) 7. How to encourage appreciation and discourage entitlement attitude among the millennials 8. Strategies to increase your employees' gratitude intelligence 9. Neutralize negativism in the workplace by building a corporate culture based on gratitude 10. Making your own gratitude journal BACKGROUND Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling, emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. The experience of gratitude has historically been a focus of several world religions, and has been considered extensively by moral philosophers. The systematic study of gratitude within psychology only began around the year 2000, possibly because psychology has traditionally been focused more on understanding distress rather than positive emotions. However, with the advent of the positive psychology movement, gratitude has become a mainstream focus of psychological research. The science of gratitude is just new in the Philippines and so far Creative Moves Business Outsourcing is the only training outfit that propagates this latest addition in OD cultural intervention strategies in the country today. Globally, it is the outcome of collaborative research conducted by leading psychologists, medical scientists, and quantum physicists along side with educators, management gurus, religious sects and businessmen around the world. Hence the term, GRATITUDE INTELLIGENCE (or Gratitude Quotient- GQ) was coined. This workshop will explain the benefits of gratitude intelligence and the different ways of cultivating gratefulness in our personal and work lives. BENEFITS TO YOUR EMPLOYEES The topics in this program are focused on self-awareness, gaining awareness of the many things that we should be grateful about like our jobs no matter how stressful or unchallenging, all types of customers including the demanding ones, all types of bosses whether nice people-oriented or the difficult driver type, facilities whether new or old, and of course employees who are truly a company’s number one asset. The workshop will also discuss how the attitude of gratitude can improve interpersonal relationships, leadership styles, ability to concentrate and recall details, ability to recover from stress, analytical mind, decision-making and problem-solving skills, work-life balance, team-spirit, customer-orientation, among others. The exercises included in the workshop will show the practical ways of internalizing gratitude as a way of life, a strong belief or a mindset and not just an emotion or gesture. When people’s mind is predominantly grateful, they will be positive, glad and open to anything that comes their way. They will be less bitter and complaining. The most amazing part of the seminar is how gratefulness coincides with the law of attraction and how gratitude attitude improves one’s physical, mental, spiritual and well-being. It will also show how this positive feeling can benefit one’s career, business, finances, love-life and family life. |
10 Symptoms of a Negative Corporate Culture
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast” – Peter Drucker
Having a strong corporate culture is an achievable goal for business. Yet, this doesn’t always just naturally happen. A corporate culture that is enjoyable for employees and enables their best work to be produced, is something to work on; in this article I’ll discuss 10 warning signs of a negative corporate culture and the warning signs they give off.
The effect that a negative company culture can have can be huge. Often contributing to increased employee turnover and decreased motivation. These can then influence their work, aiding in the production of work that is perhaps not as great as it otherwise could have been.
However, because a strong corporate culture is sometimes an afterthought, many companies fall into the trap of contributing to a negative corporate culture.
Because the trap of a negative corporate culture looms over every business, precautions must be taken to ensure they’re not a casualty. So when it comes to warning signs to look for, the good news is, you don’t have to look too far.
Businesses, management and employees can all employ tactics to ensure they’re working in a good culture. It’s this foresight that can ensure the longevity of the business, or lack thereof.
Here is a straightforward list of 10 warning signs of a negative corporate culture that you should look out for.
Poor internal communication
A lack of team spirit in the office can be toxic to a business. This is why it’s no surprise that poor internal communication is an undeniable sign of a negative culture. However, because your business aims to create a culture where everyone is friendly and supportive of each other, communication is key.
Creating an atmosphere where internal communication is free flowing and easy is ideal for culture creation. When speaking to one another becomes difficult, forced and un-enjoyable, this is where a problem arises.
To positively influence your corporate culture, ensure the team is able to freely speak their minds. This can be fostered and easily achieved through the hiring process.
Micromanagement
When under constant scrutiny from management, it can create an atmosphere full of tension. Regardless that micromanagement doesn’t work, all its good for is slowing down work and ensuring employees are under unnecessary pressure.
To avoid this, avoid micromanagement. Trust in your hiring process and trust in your employees. Creating a great company culture is easiest when the tasks are clearly laid out. But allowing the individual to work autonomously and at a comfortable speed.
Hypercompetition
When it comes to getting work done, competition can be great. In fact, little more beats a bit of friendly competition between co-workers. Unfortunately, it’s when it turns into unfriendly competition is when things can begin to drive wedges between employees.
By all means, implementing schemes such as ‘Employee of the Month’ can ensure more of your employees do their best work. But when competition gets too competitive, things can turn south, fast.
Bad habits
Bad habits can often start from the top. If the management of a company have bad habits when it comes to work, they can then bleed over to employees believing this is the correct way of going about the business.
For example, if a manager consistently comes into work late, employees will learn that this is okay to do. If industry standard practices aren’t taken when performing tasks, employees may soon follow. Eventually, this will make for an incredibly negative corporate culture.
If this isn’t the case, often bad habits can come about because of a failure to properly manage your employees.
Focus on profit
Ensuring the company has a good quarter can be important, but solely focussing on the bottom line can be detrimental to the culture and business all the same. In fact, “companies that don’t have a strong sense of purpose tend to focus more on the bottom line (69%) and short term results (52%).
Beyond this however, it’s believed that businesses that only focus on profit, leaving no room for employee engagement, tend to be those that people leave. It's easy to enjoy work when the business puts in effort for you.
Office gossip
Gossip is negative regardless what environment one is in. When in the office, it can be detrimental to the atmosphere, causing a shift in the culture and may even constitute bullying and therefore termination. Office gossip can be hurtful, spiteful and leaves everyone becoming closed off and guarded. Influencing a negative corporate culture can be easy when gossip starts.
To deal with this, the best thing to do is to speak directly to those in the office affected by it, as well as those who may be the culprits. Following this, it’s good managerial practice to speak to the office as a group, also.
Low office engagement
Employee engagement can be one of the reasons an employee chooses to move on. Unfortunately, low engagement among employees has the potential to be common. Still, to combat against this, can be easy, all the while breathing new life into the office with a great culture.
The solution? To celebrate birthdays, make time for non-business related chats and maybe get a ping pong table for good measure.
Lack of empathy
When it comes to human interaction, empathy is important. Yet, when it’s not there, it can appear even more important. Engaging employees and having empathy for them and their lives is fundamental to creating relationships as well as culture.
In the working environment it can be as important. For example, understanding and being empathetic towards co-workers strengths and weaknesses is of value. Know that although something may come easily to some, it mightn’t come easy to others.
Poor management and leadership
Like ‘Bad habits’, it can often be the management of a company that starts things on a downward trajectory. From setting a standard of bad habits, to not managing employees properly, the culture can often be the casualty.
To fix this, ensure the management and leadership of the company are setting the standard and get the best from the employees.
Image: Marc Mueller
Office discipline
A corporate culture that lacks discipline makes for a chaotic office space. In addition to this, often it can allow for unethical behaviour prosper. In many industries, being ethically sound is paramount. When it comes to finance, health, business, personal well-being and most other industries, being ethical is a part of life.
So when individuals don’t adhere to these rules, a response needs to be quick. Whether it’s a means of termination or a consequence not as harsh, management must take action. If this isn’t acted on promptly, other employees may see this disregarding behaviour go unpunished and opt to partake themselves.
Again, to avoid this, start by hiring the best. Ideally, the best also partake in the ‘best practice’. But if it’s already underway in your office, your culture may be under attack. Still, this is nothing to fear so long as action is taken to fix the problem.
In Summary
A negative corporate culture can be a disaster for a business. Thankfully, there are often many warning signs to be seen which can prevent you from falling victim to some of the pitfalls of such a culture. Given that a negative culture can force great employees to leave, lose clients or make for sub-par work, it must be taken seriously.
Still, even if your corporate culture is affecting your business, know that you can turn it around. When you do, you’ll be surprised how well your company can do.
-By 6Q Blog
Having a strong corporate culture is an achievable goal for business. Yet, this doesn’t always just naturally happen. A corporate culture that is enjoyable for employees and enables their best work to be produced, is something to work on; in this article I’ll discuss 10 warning signs of a negative corporate culture and the warning signs they give off.
The effect that a negative company culture can have can be huge. Often contributing to increased employee turnover and decreased motivation. These can then influence their work, aiding in the production of work that is perhaps not as great as it otherwise could have been.
However, because a strong corporate culture is sometimes an afterthought, many companies fall into the trap of contributing to a negative corporate culture.
Because the trap of a negative corporate culture looms over every business, precautions must be taken to ensure they’re not a casualty. So when it comes to warning signs to look for, the good news is, you don’t have to look too far.
Businesses, management and employees can all employ tactics to ensure they’re working in a good culture. It’s this foresight that can ensure the longevity of the business, or lack thereof.
Here is a straightforward list of 10 warning signs of a negative corporate culture that you should look out for.
Poor internal communication
A lack of team spirit in the office can be toxic to a business. This is why it’s no surprise that poor internal communication is an undeniable sign of a negative culture. However, because your business aims to create a culture where everyone is friendly and supportive of each other, communication is key.
Creating an atmosphere where internal communication is free flowing and easy is ideal for culture creation. When speaking to one another becomes difficult, forced and un-enjoyable, this is where a problem arises.
To positively influence your corporate culture, ensure the team is able to freely speak their minds. This can be fostered and easily achieved through the hiring process.
Micromanagement
When under constant scrutiny from management, it can create an atmosphere full of tension. Regardless that micromanagement doesn’t work, all its good for is slowing down work and ensuring employees are under unnecessary pressure.
To avoid this, avoid micromanagement. Trust in your hiring process and trust in your employees. Creating a great company culture is easiest when the tasks are clearly laid out. But allowing the individual to work autonomously and at a comfortable speed.
Hypercompetition
When it comes to getting work done, competition can be great. In fact, little more beats a bit of friendly competition between co-workers. Unfortunately, it’s when it turns into unfriendly competition is when things can begin to drive wedges between employees.
By all means, implementing schemes such as ‘Employee of the Month’ can ensure more of your employees do their best work. But when competition gets too competitive, things can turn south, fast.
Bad habits
Bad habits can often start from the top. If the management of a company have bad habits when it comes to work, they can then bleed over to employees believing this is the correct way of going about the business.
For example, if a manager consistently comes into work late, employees will learn that this is okay to do. If industry standard practices aren’t taken when performing tasks, employees may soon follow. Eventually, this will make for an incredibly negative corporate culture.
If this isn’t the case, often bad habits can come about because of a failure to properly manage your employees.
Focus on profit
Ensuring the company has a good quarter can be important, but solely focussing on the bottom line can be detrimental to the culture and business all the same. In fact, “companies that don’t have a strong sense of purpose tend to focus more on the bottom line (69%) and short term results (52%).
Beyond this however, it’s believed that businesses that only focus on profit, leaving no room for employee engagement, tend to be those that people leave. It's easy to enjoy work when the business puts in effort for you.
Office gossip
Gossip is negative regardless what environment one is in. When in the office, it can be detrimental to the atmosphere, causing a shift in the culture and may even constitute bullying and therefore termination. Office gossip can be hurtful, spiteful and leaves everyone becoming closed off and guarded. Influencing a negative corporate culture can be easy when gossip starts.
To deal with this, the best thing to do is to speak directly to those in the office affected by it, as well as those who may be the culprits. Following this, it’s good managerial practice to speak to the office as a group, also.
Low office engagement
Employee engagement can be one of the reasons an employee chooses to move on. Unfortunately, low engagement among employees has the potential to be common. Still, to combat against this, can be easy, all the while breathing new life into the office with a great culture.
The solution? To celebrate birthdays, make time for non-business related chats and maybe get a ping pong table for good measure.
Lack of empathy
When it comes to human interaction, empathy is important. Yet, when it’s not there, it can appear even more important. Engaging employees and having empathy for them and their lives is fundamental to creating relationships as well as culture.
In the working environment it can be as important. For example, understanding and being empathetic towards co-workers strengths and weaknesses is of value. Know that although something may come easily to some, it mightn’t come easy to others.
Poor management and leadership
Like ‘Bad habits’, it can often be the management of a company that starts things on a downward trajectory. From setting a standard of bad habits, to not managing employees properly, the culture can often be the casualty.
To fix this, ensure the management and leadership of the company are setting the standard and get the best from the employees.
Image: Marc Mueller
Office discipline
A corporate culture that lacks discipline makes for a chaotic office space. In addition to this, often it can allow for unethical behaviour prosper. In many industries, being ethically sound is paramount. When it comes to finance, health, business, personal well-being and most other industries, being ethical is a part of life.
So when individuals don’t adhere to these rules, a response needs to be quick. Whether it’s a means of termination or a consequence not as harsh, management must take action. If this isn’t acted on promptly, other employees may see this disregarding behaviour go unpunished and opt to partake themselves.
Again, to avoid this, start by hiring the best. Ideally, the best also partake in the ‘best practice’. But if it’s already underway in your office, your culture may be under attack. Still, this is nothing to fear so long as action is taken to fix the problem.
In Summary
A negative corporate culture can be a disaster for a business. Thankfully, there are often many warning signs to be seen which can prevent you from falling victim to some of the pitfalls of such a culture. Given that a negative culture can force great employees to leave, lose clients or make for sub-par work, it must be taken seriously.
Still, even if your corporate culture is affecting your business, know that you can turn it around. When you do, you’ll be surprised how well your company can do.
-By 6Q Blog
Benefits of a Year-Round Attitude of Gratitude in the Workplace
- 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 organizations.
- 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.
The neglected art of constructive praise
Two workplace surveys turn up some revealing numbers about praise in the workplace. In general, managers confess that giving feedback—especially negative feedback—to their direct reports is stressful, and 21% avoid doing so at all. Yet, surprisingly, 37% admit they also avoid giving positive reinforcement.
This reluctance to give praise in the workplace stands in the face of a great deal of research on the benefits of positive feedback. According to Gallup, engagement rates for employees whose managers focus on their strengths are more than double that of employees whose managers focus on their weaknesses. IBM’s Smarter Workforce Institute, in a survey of over 19,000 workers in 26 countries, found an even higher disparity and also concluded that recognition could dramatically improve employee retention.
Gratitude builds relationships
Perhaps executives and managers 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.
In his research on gratitude, Adam Grant addresses the related concept of social worth. In a fundraising call center, he and a colleague found that a simple personal visit from the manager—explaining the value of the work the callers were doing, and thanking them for it—resulted in a 50% jump in the number of calls made. They concluded the difference was not due to increased feelings of self-efficacy (feeling competent and capable) but to a sense of being socially valued.
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 organizational practice, employees will feel both appreciated and valued, and their productivity and engagement will increase by leaps and bounds.
Show appreciation for the whole person
It can be tempting to limit praise and appreciation to the task at hand. After all, every organization has its strategic objectives, and leaders have to ensure that employees are contributing toward meeting those objectives. However, in an economy where change and disruption are the norm, employees feel a growing need for other kinds of support.
The Gallup study cited earlier found that employees are looking for more than just good communication about their roles and responsibilities at work. They want to feel comfortable approaching a manager about a range of subjects, whether work-related or not. “A productive workplace,” the authors conclude, “is one in which people feel safe—safe enough to experiment, to challenge, to share information and to support one another.”
Concrete ways of showing appreciation for an employee as a whole person include offering flexible work arrangements when appropriate, and a willingness to support employees in their overall life and career goals. Business leaders who present themselves as more of a partner than a boss positively impact their team’s happiness and outcomes.
Gratitude costs nothing... or does it?
Articles about gratitude often stress that it involves an investment of time and effort, but not necessarily of money. That is true up to a point. Yet it is essential to keep in mind that financial rewards can make expressions of gratitude more compelling.
A Glassdoor Employee Appreciation survey reinforces many of the findings summarized above. Appreciation is the most powerful driver of employee motivation, loyalty, and job satisfaction. The survey also finds that a pay raise is the most effective show of such appreciation. Respondents rated a pay raise and other unexpected rewards like bonuses well ahead of other expressions of gratitude.
Today’s employees expect more than a transactional relationship with the organizations they work for. They want to feel their work has meaning and that their contributions are valued. Financial compensation is an important piece of that puzzle. Conscious business leaders are generous with both financial rewards as well as with non-financial rewards.
By Nash Besheti - Forbes.com
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF WORKPLACE APPRECIATION & GRATITUDE
When’s the last time you were recognized at your job? What immediate feelings did you have when this happened? Whether it’s a simple “thank you” or an office party thrown in your favor, everyone likes to be appreciated. On a surface level, appreciation is good for employee engagement, motivation and retention. Employee recognition and appreciation can also create unique company culture and strengthen employee relationships.
How does workplace appreciation and gratitude bring in these positive effects? Digging deeper, what are the psychological effects concerning appreciation?
There have been numerous studies on the relationship between gratitude and work engagement. Consider this study reported by Harvard Medical School and done by researchers at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania:
“Researchers randomly divided university fund-raisers into two groups. One group made phone calls to solicit alumni donations in the same way they always had. The second group—assigned to work on a different day—received a pep talk from the director of annual giving, who told the fund-raisers she was grateful for their efforts. During the following week, the university employees who heard her message of gratitude made 50% more fund-raising calls than those who did not.”
What compels employees to act this way? The answer may lie within our brain functions.
A Psychology Today article discusses which areas of the brain are affected by appreciation and gratefulness. The hypothalamus, which controls basic bodily functions such as eating and sleeping, and dopamine, the “reward neurotransmitter” are heavily affected from feelings of gratitude. Alex Korb Ph.D writes, “Gratitude can have such a powerful impact on your life because it engages your brain in a virtuous cycle.”
Furthermore, these brain boosts can have significant positive effects in the workplace and in the employee’s work/life balance. Showing gratitude can increase a person’s wellness, increase better sleep habits, increase metabolism and lessen stress. This directly impacts work results and employee interaction. With employee appreciation, you’re not only boosting performance and engagement, but the employee’s well-being and health.
In addition, showing appreciation or gratitude towards co-workers creates more social and prosocial interaction. According to Positive Psychology Program article, “Gratitude is currently one of the hottest topics in positive emotion research. People who participated in gratitude exercises were found to be more prosocial than others.” The Positive Psychology Program defines prosocial as “promoting other’s well being usually through altruistic acts.” By implementing gratitude into company culture, employees are more willing to spread their positive feelings with others, whether it’s helping out with a project or taking time to notice and recognizing those that have gone the extra mile.
Lastly, as mentioned previously, the greatest psychological effect of appreciation and gratitude is the happiness and other emotions immediately felt whether we’re giving or benefiting from. Gratitude creates good feelings, cheerful memories, better self-esteem, feeling more relaxed and more optimistic. All of these emotions creates a pay it forward and “we’re in this together” mentality in the workplace, which in turn, makes your organization more successful. Plus, the dopamine effect will encourage a continuous cycle of recognition if everyone participates. All of these emotions, plus many more, are what most employers want out of their staff to again, create unity.
Now that you have a better understanding on how important appreciation and gratitude are on a personal level and how it directly impacts the workplace, create an appreciation plan that fits your company values, mission, culture and most importantly, something all employees can participate in and benefit from.
Reference: O.C.Tanner
How does workplace appreciation and gratitude bring in these positive effects? Digging deeper, what are the psychological effects concerning appreciation?
There have been numerous studies on the relationship between gratitude and work engagement. Consider this study reported by Harvard Medical School and done by researchers at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania:
“Researchers randomly divided university fund-raisers into two groups. One group made phone calls to solicit alumni donations in the same way they always had. The second group—assigned to work on a different day—received a pep talk from the director of annual giving, who told the fund-raisers she was grateful for their efforts. During the following week, the university employees who heard her message of gratitude made 50% more fund-raising calls than those who did not.”
What compels employees to act this way? The answer may lie within our brain functions.
A Psychology Today article discusses which areas of the brain are affected by appreciation and gratefulness. The hypothalamus, which controls basic bodily functions such as eating and sleeping, and dopamine, the “reward neurotransmitter” are heavily affected from feelings of gratitude. Alex Korb Ph.D writes, “Gratitude can have such a powerful impact on your life because it engages your brain in a virtuous cycle.”
Furthermore, these brain boosts can have significant positive effects in the workplace and in the employee’s work/life balance. Showing gratitude can increase a person’s wellness, increase better sleep habits, increase metabolism and lessen stress. This directly impacts work results and employee interaction. With employee appreciation, you’re not only boosting performance and engagement, but the employee’s well-being and health.
In addition, showing appreciation or gratitude towards co-workers creates more social and prosocial interaction. According to Positive Psychology Program article, “Gratitude is currently one of the hottest topics in positive emotion research. People who participated in gratitude exercises were found to be more prosocial than others.” The Positive Psychology Program defines prosocial as “promoting other’s well being usually through altruistic acts.” By implementing gratitude into company culture, employees are more willing to spread their positive feelings with others, whether it’s helping out with a project or taking time to notice and recognizing those that have gone the extra mile.
Lastly, as mentioned previously, the greatest psychological effect of appreciation and gratitude is the happiness and other emotions immediately felt whether we’re giving or benefiting from. Gratitude creates good feelings, cheerful memories, better self-esteem, feeling more relaxed and more optimistic. All of these emotions creates a pay it forward and “we’re in this together” mentality in the workplace, which in turn, makes your organization more successful. Plus, the dopamine effect will encourage a continuous cycle of recognition if everyone participates. All of these emotions, plus many more, are what most employers want out of their staff to again, create unity.
Now that you have a better understanding on how important appreciation and gratitude are on a personal level and how it directly impacts the workplace, create an appreciation plan that fits your company values, mission, culture and most importantly, something all employees can participate in and benefit from.
Reference: O.C.Tanner
Attitude of Gratitude: Why Thankful People Are Successful PeopleLegendary author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said “gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” We all know people who are eternally positive. They relish the opportunity to start a new day and always take on any challenge that comes their way with grace and optimism. And in return for the thankful vibes they put out into the world, good fortune is often bestowed upon them.
So, what exactly is it about thankful people that makes them wired for success? They have a loyal following. Leaders who are genuinely thankful for the talent, work ethic, and commitment of the people they lead and make a conscious commitment to show it, have a devoted following of employees who will always be willing and prepared to follow them into battle. According to a Harvard Health Publications article that summarized the findings of several studies on gratitude, “Managers who remember to say ‘thank you’ to people who work for them may find that those employees feel motivated to work harder.” Recognition is a powerful motivator that can build employee retention and increase productivity; however, a lack thereof can have an equally negative effect. Results from a 2013 Gallup survey revealed only 45% of men and 50% of women are satisfied with the recognition they receive at work for their accomplishments. If an employee is putting in long hours and going beyond the call of duty to achieve company goals, but feels their extra effort is going unnoticed by their leaders, what motivation do they have to maintain that level of work? They are healthier in mind, body, and spirit. Robert Emmons, Ph.D., a leading scientific expert on gratitude at the University of California, Davis, asked patients suffering from severe neuromuscular disorders to keep a journal of the things in their lives that make them feel grateful. When he checked in with the group after two weeks of journaling, he discovered something incredible: “…not only did they find reasons to be grateful, but they also experienced significantly more positive emotions than a similar group that didn’t keep a gratitude journal. The gratitude group also felt more optimistic about the upcoming week, felt more connected to others (even though many of them lived alone), and reported getting more sleep each night—an important indicator of overall health and well-being.” |
Thankful people not only have healthier relationships with others, but they also experience healthier relationships with themselves. Being comfortable with ourselves and thankful for the things in our lives that bring us joy leads to a more optimistic outlook. And optimism is one of the most important characteristics of successful people.
They’re masters of perspective. Even in the most challenging of situations, thankful people have the ability to recognize the good. They see the silver lining and rather than being discouraged by adversity, they are energized by the opportunity they’ve been given to step into the unknown and blaze a new trail forward. And although they’re not by any means immune to failure, because of their optimistic disposition, they’re better equipped to learn from and respond to it. “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” – Lucille Ball The ability to be thankful for what you have achieved and to put challenges that arise in the proper perspective goes hand in hand with success. Developing an attitude of gratitude From making lists of the people and things that make you feel thankful to shedding yourself of toxic relationships or situations, embracing an attitude of gratitude is achievable for anyone willing to try. Check out these other Refresh Leadership articles for more insight into why thankful people are successful people. 5 Easy Ways to Embrace the Season of Thankfulness Give T.H.A.N.K.S. 5 Quick Tips for Writing an Employee Thank You Note Are you a thankful person? How has it affected your professional success? What are some ways being thankful helps in your personal life? |