Challenges and benefits of a culture of gratitude in business

Why cultivate gratitude at work?

Most of our behaviors are the result of our Ongoing quest for happiness. Whether at home or at work, happiness is both a cause and a consequence of many small details, which sometimes go unnoticed. Among these fine details is... the gratitude.

How do you thank effectively at work?

Often, efficiency is equated to the field of management, or even work. That's why we'll do the same with the Gratitude in a professional setting. According to Larousse, gratitude is recognition for a service, for a benefit received. Gratitude also expresses a loving feeling towards a benefactor. Knowing how to thank stems from the principles of nonviolent communication or CNV. The idea is to make those to whom we say “thank you” feel the importance of their contribution. In a professional context, the expression of thanks consists of 3 elements: individual level :

• Actions that contributed to the well-being of everyone.
• The satisfaction of needs through these actions.
• The pleasure that comes from meeting these needs.

Let's take a concrete example of gratitude at work. Consider that a manager asked one of his collaborators to finalize the budget for a project in 5 days. Against all expectations, the designated employee finishes the work 1 day before the deadline. This gives the team 1 additional day to possibly make corrections before the project starts. In this case, the manager must and can express his appreciation for several points:

• The efficiency of its collaborator.
• The excellence of his work.
• His involvement.

First, the manager praises the work of his collaborator. Second, the act contributed to his own well-being and that of the team. Finally, the manager can be proud of himself by having recognized the professionalism of his collaborator and that the employee is aware of it at the same time.

In this case, we can say that the team leader has gone from being a manager to being a leader. For many employees,” The value of a man (manager) It depends on its capacity to give and not in its capacity to receive ”, as Einstein would say.

How do you show gratitude in the office?

All stakeholders in a company have everything to gain by encouraging the practice of gratitude, and the example comes from above... Making employees feel valued, appreciated and recognized enriches the company's main asset: human capital.

To do this, it is necessary to develop an operational system that simplifies Expressing the strategic summit's gratitude to its employees :

• Financial recognition such as bonuses, benefits, salary increases. It is one of the drivers of performance and motivation at work.
• An evaluation of the satisfaction of employees who are also customers of the company (internal customers).
• Training courses, career development opportunities, programs for Mentoring.
• Etc.

Between the company and its employees,” The shortest way from one person to another... it's a touch of kindness.” All actors in society, especially employees, feel the need to be recognized for their efforts, skills and results.

How do you instill gratitude at work?

Here are some tips for encourage gratitude at work starting with the involvement of leaders in saying “thank you” to whom.

Managers who are grateful to their employees

Beyond salary, there are other factors that motivate or demotivate employees. Ingratitude is part of it. That is why “bosses” are the first to be asked to set a good example. It can be a simple “thank you” after a successful slide presentation. It can also be a small party organized on the occasion of the retirement of a staff member. The opportunities are numerous for Expressing managers' gratitude to their employees.

Those people who go unnoticed to whom we owe a lot

In most businesses, the sales department is the one that gets the praises. Since they are the “lungs of the business”, there is no lack of praise for salespeople. However, we will not forget the other departments and functions that also participate indirectly in the proper functioning of the company. This is also what transversal management recommends, a different vision of the organization chart where we can see the contribution of each actor in the company. From the surface technician to the department manager to the person in charge of the mail, everyone contributes in their own way to the life and success of the company. La Gratitude from the company should therefore be equal for everyone, as far as possible.

Quality over quantity

For Foster gratitude at work, we must also create a space conducive to its expression. The idea here is not to list all the good that one employee does better than another. Rather, it is about recognize each quality act that has benefited the company. That's why” It is better to aim for perfection and miss it than to aim for imperfection and achieve it ” said the writer and philosopher Bertrand Russell.

Every opportunity is a good time to say thank you

” A kind word is like a spring day ”. Also will we go Cultivate gratitude at work to make every hour spent in the office smelling like spring. Certainly, everything is in good timing. Indeed, managers or employees are sometimes reluctant to thank in public. Shyness, the confidentiality of a mission or any other context: in all cases, you must Take every opportunity to say thank you to the person who deserves it. La Gratitude at work would also allow make professional relationships evolve positively based on a study conducted by the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.