As we head into Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of gratitude at work, especially when things are challenging.
Research just keeps showing us all the ways that gratitude benefits both us and others:
Feelings of gratitude can lower anxiety.
Showing gratitude while doing stressful work helps your teammates feel less stress — and even helps their hearts work better.
Gratitude helps us feel more optimistic and empathetic.
It can also make us better at creative problem-solving.
Feeling grateful, and expressing that gratitude, doesn’t mean that you are glossing over very real challenges at work. But I also believe that there are many reasons to be grateful even when your job is at its most stressful.
To help you identify your own reasons to be grateful, I want to share one of my favorite gratitude exercises. It involves tapping into your feelings of gratitude for three kinds of people:
Your supporters, energizers and cheerleaders. Whether this year has been difficult, awesome or some combination of the two for you, there are always people who make a real difference in your life. Who has gotten you through the tough times? And who has helped you create the great moments of 2022? Pausing to feel gratitude for these people will lift your spirits. But actually expressing this gratitude will give you an even bigger boost and be deeply meaningful to the people you are thanking. What can you do to let them know that they’ve made your life better? One idea: Positive psychology pioneer Martin Seligman recommends "Gratitude Visits" as a way not only to honor that special person but also to improve your own well-being.
Your high performers. When things are busy and stressful, your high performers can get lost in the shuffle. It’s all too easy to take them for granted as you focus on underperformers who need more help to get the job done. We all also tend to leap from one project to the next without taking time to celebrate successes. But don’t forget that everyone needs to hear words of praise and gratitude. When your high performers feel appreciated, it can affect their engagement, morale and productivity. And with retention on everyone’s minds these days, that’s a really big deal.
The people who have tested you. At first, you may not see any reason to be grateful for your abrasive boss or difficult colleague who puts everyone on edge. But, whether you realize it or not, these individuals have taught you a lot about your values and who you are as a leader. I suggest writing thank-you notes (not to be sent!) to the people who drive you crazy. This practice can be liberating and help you identify the positives in a difficult situation.
What are you most grateful for at work this Thanksgiving? All of us at Newberry Solutions want to express our own gratitude for this vibrant community. Thank you for sharing your support and your insights with us, and for always keeping us motivated and inspired to create new resources for you. Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. Looking for our series of articles on choosing a leadership training solution? We took a break this week for a holiday message. But we’ll be back next week with Part 2.