Robert Emmons, PhD and Michael McCullough, PhD are considered the world's leading scientific experts on gratitude. They describe gratitude as personality strength — the ability to be keenly aware of the good things that happen to you and never take them for granted.
Research shows that cultivating an attitude of gratitude has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others.
In one study, participants kept a short journal. One group briefly described five things they were grateful for that had occurred in the past week, another five recorded daily hassles from the previous week that displeased them, and the neutral group was asked to list five events or circumstances that affected them, but they were not told whether to focus on the positive or on the negative. Ten weeks later, participants in the gratitude group felt better about their lives as a whole and were 25% happier. They reported fewer health complaints, and exercised an average of 1.5 hours more.
So how can you cultivate gratitude among employees? Follow these tips:
These small interventions take little time but can have significant positive ramifications for your workforce. And in the spirit of gratitude, thank you for reading our Employee Wellness Blog. I hope you find it relevant and useful as you work to create worksite wellness programs.
For more reasons why to practice gratitude, check out this infographic created by Here’s My Chance.