Friday 16 December 2016

Everyday Gratitude in Re-humanizing Work Environments

Everyday Gratitude in Re-humanizing Work Environments
Guest Blog by Sandy Carter, Ph.D.


As a nation, in the United States, we’ve recently come through a very bitter and divisive presidential election process. I was frequently keyed up as if in immediate danger. When I paused to reflect on what was going on I realized nothing in my environment had changed, but the collective dialogue was stimulating fear and uncertainty in me and almost everyone I knew. It was as if we were all locked into a negative reality show that we couldn’t escape no matter where we turned. Sadly, the election results haven’t done much to alleviate these feelings. Fear and uncertainty linger as our leaders send conflicting messages and their words and actions don’t align.

As 2016 nears completion we’ve entered into the holiday season bringing added demands and stretching stress levels even further. Now, more than ever, it is vital we define practices that promote calming and centering. It is critical we intentionally and courageously re-humanize our work environments creating spaces that are harmonious, joyful and support conditions for positive connection.    

Research suggests one aspect of the season that is a natural part of our tradition promotes wellbeing and lifts our spirits – expressing gratitude.



Gratitude is one of the virtues positive psychology researchers study. Positive psychology is a scientific study of human flourishing that emerged about 17 years ago. It evolved from traditional psychology moving beyond focusing exclusively on the study of distress and pathology. The study of positive psychology is geared towards what works and assists individuals, organizations, and communities to thrive. According to the research, gratitude is important because it strongly correlates with greater health, happiness, and wellbeing – emotions that support flourishing!

The Oxford English Dictionary defines gratitude as “the quality or condition of being thankful; the appreciation of an inclination to return the kindness.” The word gratitude is derived from the Latin gratia, meaning favor, and gratus, meaning pleasing. Gratitude is expressed worldwide and is a universal human quality.  

There are various expressions of gratitude and also a difference between expressing gratitude and being a grateful person. For example, most of us express gratitude at appropriate times as we’ve been socialized to have good manners, but to truly be a grateful person goes deeper. This occurs when we recognize we’ve received something positive from another. Research suggests reciprocal relationships have their basis in altruism and are rooted in our ability to be empathic with others. There is evidence grateful people are more likely to sacrifice individual gains for communal profit. Expressing gratitude at this level connects us to something larger than ourselves – such as other people, nature, or even a higher power. When we practice “everyday gratitude” we’re intentionally weaving thankfulness into the fabric of our lives, and the benefits are enormous.

Barbara Fredrickson Ph.D., a leading scholar in the positive psychology movement, developed the broaden-and-build theory. Fredrickson suggests positive emotions broaden our thought-action repertoires. This, in turn, builds our personal capacity at various levels (physical, intellectual, social and psychological), enhancing resources from within.  Fredrickson states “Gratitude opens your heart and carries the urge to give back – to do something good in return, either for the person who helped you or for someone else.”

Robert Emmons Ph.D., wrote the book Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, and is one of the world’s experts on the science of gratitude. Emmons indicates it would be easy to minimize the emotion of gratitude as common in everyday life and therefore see it as very simplistic, but Emmons stresses this is not the case. He says,  “[I] soon discovered that gratitude is a deeper, more complex phenomenon that plays a critical role in human happiness. Gratitude is literally one of the few things that can measurably change peoples’ lives.”



Emmons conducted research with his team asking participants to journal daily on three themes over a ten-week period. One group noted things they were grateful for; another group noted things that irritated them, and the third group wrote about things that affected them (not labeling them positive or negative). The results showed, after describing in a single sentence five things they were grateful for daily, the gratitude group had a 25% increase in happiness. It also helped people take more positive actions in their self-care.

Having a daily practice of gratitude enhances our happiness and wellbeing. According to the scientific literature, becoming happier brings us greater experiences of joy, contentment, love, pride, and awe. It also improves other aspects of our lives: higher income, stronger social support, more energy, more robust immune systems, higher engagement at work and in relationships, and our own physical and mental health. Happiness boosts feelings of self-confidence, creativity, and self-esteem as well.

However, regardless of the benefits, it turns out developing gratitude towards others is not necessarily easy to do. To recognize and express gratitude, one must be vulnerable. The literature explains expressing gratitude places a person in an inferior position related to their benefactor, as they are acknowledging the positive in their lives and recognizing that it is external coming from someone or something else. For this reason, Aristotle viewed gratitude as incompatible with magnanimity and did not include it in his list of virtues. According to Aristotle, magnanimous people insist on self-sufficiency and find it demeaning to be indebted and, consequently, grateful to others.

It takes courage to develop a practice of gratitude because the expression of gratitude stimulates an uncomfortable feeling of dependency. Suffice it to say – gratitude is a complex and multilayered concept that challenges our western values of independence, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. There was a time when I was so engaged in the daily struggle of surviving with my head to the grindstone that I did not often look up to see the gifts around me. The tricky part is that I framed this as striving towards success, as I rigidly defined the American dream. I often felt burdened and certainly had good manners, but was limited in my capacity to genuinely give and receive. I associated those experiences as weak or even insincere when expressed by others. My life was out of balance related to relying on myself and receiving support from others in authentic ways.

A number of things shifted my mindset, allowing me to embrace a spirit of gratitude. One critical incident was when my daughter, Kyrsten, gifted me with a “gratitude jar.” This eventually led to a daily gratitude practice I’ve sustained ever since. Each day, I reflected on the things I was grateful for, wrote them down, and placed them into the jar. Initially, I did it because it seemed like the right thing to do to be appreciative of my daughter’s gift. What I didn’t count on is how gratitude practiced daily became a superpower for me. Over time, I internalized the practice and now go to bed and wake up reflecting on what I’m grateful for. The more I embrace gratitude, the more it grows and spontaneously flows into my life in big and small ways – uplifting and energizing me.  



In 2013 the John Templeton Foundation surveyed 2,000 Americans asking them how likely it was for them to feel and express gratitude at work. Survey results ranked participants last (regarding work) in terms of the things they were grateful for. Many of the participants reported that expressing gratitude to colleagues makes them feel happier and more fulfilled, but only about 10% acted on the impulse. The other 60% said they do not express gratitude at work or do so about once a year. The results indicate we suppress being thankful at work, even if we would be happier doing so.

Cultivate gratitude at work

Intentionally cultivating gratitude on the job makes people feel better, and research indicates it improves the bottom line. Here are some ideas for re-humanizing your work environment through the practice of everyday gratitude.

  • Express your gratitude clearly and consistently by saying “thank you” both privately and publically. If you’re in a position of power – incorporate gratitude into performance evaluations
  • Thank the people who do the mundane tasks and rarely get thanked. Every organization has people who are not as high profile, yet, make a difference in the work place setting
  • Expressions of gratitude must be authentic – it is not how much you express gratitude (quantity), but how sincerely you express gratitude (quality) that matters. It is also important to pay attention to individual preferences for receiving gratitude.  
  • Be creative – Discover ways to deliver gratitude in unique ways. One example, build a gratitude wall. Gift giving also fosters gratitude.

Cultivating a culture of gratitude can support employees in mediating conflict, and dealing with the natural part of their work environment related to failures and change. There is scientific evidence indicating grateful people are more resilient to stress and in dealing with large and small-scale change efforts.

Gratitude plays an essential role in making the world we live in a better place. It evolves our collective humanity as it binds us together in community. Our differences are vast and significant right now, but these differences need not supersede what defines us at our core. We must unite around our common values and desire to live good lives. As the research (and common sense) indicates, a simple practice of gratitude can make us stronger individually, and it can make us more humane collectively. 

Remember, gratitude is a choice! Developing gratitude is like building any habit. It is a skill that can be enhanced with dedicated practice. Having a life orientation that focuses on noticing and appreciating the positive can help us to re-humanize our work environments. During times of heightened fear and uncertainty shifting our focus towards happiness and wellbeing becomes a necessity more than ever before.

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Sandy Carter, Ph.D. works as a physician coach and consultant. Sandy is a professional certified coach, holds a PhD in organizational management with a specialization in leadership, and Masters in Business Administration and Social Work. Her research is in the area of transformational leadership with physicians, and wellness and resiliency.


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