You spend hours with them every day, have lunch and coffee breaks together, but how often do you actually practice gratitude with your coworkers? If you’ve never thought about bringing a whole lot more “thank you’s” into the workplace, let this new study give you a reason to do just that.
According to new research coming out of Portland State University, gratitude in the workplace, and your physical and mental health go hand-in-hand.
While the study specifically looked at nurses, its results can be applied to us all, no matter the workplace environment we’re in on a daily basis. Receiving a simple “thank you,” whether it’s from our superiors or our peers, can actually help in preventing job burnout, leads to better sleep and fewer headaches, and is actually associated with healthier eating.
Not to mention, yes, your overall job satisfaction would naturally go up.
“Employees that receive positive feedback are healthier, and that can impact the bottom line,” says David Cadiz, of the university. “Preventing headaches and other stress-related symptoms means fewer sick days, and, in this case, cuts down the cost of replacement nurses and overtime pay.”
And that feedback, when built into the workplace practices, can have a profound effect on the happiness of the employees — not to mention the number of sick days they ultimately take.
Incorporating informal and formal ways for coworkers to show their gratitude — the study suggests — is the secret sauce to making business succeed.
Take note from a company like Alo Yoga, which has made gratitude through yoga a pillar of their mission. Or Stylerunner, which gives employees regular opportunities to nominate their fellow coworkers for recognition of a job well done. Those few words, and a simple recognition might be what can really elevate any business and its employees’ happiness.
