Be it a workplace or otherwise, gratitude is a never-ending subject. When a sense of gratitude resides among leaders and employees, it has a heavy impact. It should be the primary objective of seniors and owners to boost the workplace by showing gratitude towards the members fulfilling their duties.
The idea and meaning of “gratitude” vary from person to person, and there is no magic recipe to inculcate “gratitude” over time. A culture of gratitude shapes with time; it takes place from the roots of consistency and values right from the start.
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- Topic: Tips To Foster A Culture of Gratitude in the Workplace
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Tips To Foster Gratitude
In a workplace or otherwise, it is crucial to understand that it would be impossible to meet customer demands without acknowledging the efforts of hardworking employees.
Here are a few tips that you can keep in mind when it comes to “gratitude.”
Gratitude should be a daily activity!
Isn’t there so much to be grateful for? If you can’t find anything you are grateful for, start by expressing gratitude regularly to understand the importance of everything around you.
Start from the basics. Acknowledge your employees by letting them know how hardworking their efforts have been over the week or month. Moreover, you can also start sending texts or making brief calls to your employees to appreciate them.
Recharging your mindset as the day starts is the best way to focus on the right things before your mind automatically diverts to the wrong ones.
A gratitude delivery system could work too!
Your employees are working for you, leaving behind everything; thus, a simple “Thanks”, while you walk by their table, could motivate them to go above and beyond. However, there are other ways to inculcate gratitude practices in the workplace.
- Send out emails to employees by specifically mentioning their names.
- Thank-you cards that anyone can use to thank everyone else.
- Team members who have excelled deserve appreciation, and the same can be done through personalized letters.
- For employees to thank each other, set up a “gratitude box” where everyone can leave a positive note about one another.
Focus on the ones who feel neglected!
Every company consist of employees who are exemplary performers and are frequently awarded due to their performance. In these cases, employees who can’t be seen as much as others feel rejected and ignored.
Such hardworking employees should be paid equal attention to the efforts they are putting in. Expressing gratitude towards them will help them understand they are being noticed too. Every leader must make sure to keep the morale of their employees high. This is the only way to target and achieve long-term goals.
Importance of Gratitude & How Does It Help Employees?
A leader should try to foster a workplace culture where everyone feels appreciated and expresses their gratitude towards others. Many benefits tie along and depict the importance of gratitude for employees.
The Team Stays Motivated
Within a team, employees make little gestures for one another almost every day. Be it fetching a bottle of water, picking up their phone calls, or volunteering to take up someone else’s task.
It is all so wonderful and pleasing.
Gratitude helps the team stay on their foot and gives them a sense of recognition. Employees who are thanked for their hard work are likely to work hard and volunteer to provide more help.
Hence, it is best to keep your team motivated by thanking them every now and then for their efforts.
Chances of Burnout Decreases Drastically
The health of the team members who are working for you is equally important. This is another critical reason why gratitude is significant in a culture where employees give more than they should.
Motivation and collaboration are two splits, but when they are appreciated for their efforts, it automatically reduces burnout chances.
Several MNCs and startups have high burnout rates for employees, and this can be reduced marginally by adopting a sense of gratitude. After all, they are human beings too. The team’s happiness increases exponentially when they frequently receive appreciation from their leaders and bosses.
Gratitude Nurtures Relationships
Gratitude is a big game within an internal team as it helps inculcate teamwork and encourage collaboration.
As a leader, when you appreciate your employees, they tend to do better and further acknowledge the efforts of other team members. When colleagues exchange gratitude, it triggers positive behaviour within the team. Even a simple term like “thank you” can go a long way toward promoting collaboration and teamwork in the team.
How To Foster a Culture of Gratitude?
It is indeed easy if you start from the basics.
Hire The Right Kind of Employees
Hiring has many layers to it. When you hire the right kind of employees who share values, it becomes evident that they will magnify their learnings within the workplace.
There shouldn’t be any hidden agenda behind a “thank you.” Never express gratitude if you are expecting something from them in return. Therefore, read people and hire those who don’t have ulterior motives and genuinely care about people.
Start With Practising Patience
There are good days, and then there are bad. Some days it is extremely easy to express gratitude, and some days, you are ready to blast off on resources for not meeting up to expectations.
It’s best not to blast off on them and instead take a deep breath. Find the reason to explore gratitude even in the worst situation. Patience is the key and a significant part of gratitude.
Conclusion
Get outside the box, and start finding reasons to be grateful. It’s never too late. Begin with one step at a time, and incorporate gratitude as a daily practice.
Make sure to show your team how grateful you are for the efforts they have been putting in for you. Acknowledge them and their hard work. Spending time creating a culture that appreciates the diversity that exists within a team can be a monotonous task, but it isn’t impossible. Everyone in the workplace wants to be valued and feel valued, and as a leader, it is your utmost duty to ensure the culture thrives.
Photo by RODNAE Productions
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