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.
_________
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.