By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

Along with turkey and sweet potatoes, last week’s Thanksgiving holiday in the US served up a reminder to practice gratitude. Many of us could benefit from a more regular practice to cultivate gratitude in all areas of our lives – but the workplace is especially ripe with opportunities to show more appreciation.

And there are many reasons to do so, both for your benefit as a leader as well as because of the impact it has on employee morale and engagement. Here’s a quick recap of some evidence of the personal power of gratitude:

• Can regulate the nervous system, reduce cortisol and lessen anxiety & depression
• Can help individuals handle stress better & improve emotional resiliency
• Can even  help improve sleep and boost immunity

And, at work, gratitude has been shown to:

• Improve satisfaction: employees who feel recognized at work are 2.5 times more likely to be happy with their jobs
• Increase motivation: employees who feel recognized at work are 1.5 times more likely to feel motivated to do their best

If gratitude is good for us and helps our teams to be more motivated, happier, and less likely to leave, then why isn’t it easier to incorporate? For many, it’s simply because leaders are stretched so thin. But expressing gratitude doesn’t have to be overly time-consuming, and the payback is tremendous. In fact, in times where demands are high and resources are scarce, being grateful for what we have is even more powerful.

Action > Apathy

I’ve been inconsistent at best in gratitude journaling, so while it’s a practice I believe in, I won’t lead with that suggestion. Instead, here are five ideas taken from both personal experience and interviews with some really great leaders of relatively simple actions to take to harness the power of gratitude:

1. Deliver thanks in real-time, all the time. Think something? Say it! I’ve started practicing this in my everyday life with both gratitude and compliments. If something positive pops into your mind about someone else, tell them. We often underestimate how much of an impact these moments have on individuals. As leaders, we also often underestimate the significant power of very simple expressions of gratitude. A short handwritten note, a personal five minute call, even a really genuine mention in a meeting or email after – there are many ways to help people see how much they matter, don’t make it harder than it needs to be so that it feels time consuming or like another big “to-do.” Simple is extremely effective.
2. Rely on gratitude for powerful reframing. Is your team facing a really big challenge? What happens (for you and for them) if you try reframing it as an opportunity. Gratitude is an impactful lever of perspective. Any time you feel overwhelmed or frustrated by something you’re facing, see if you can shift your thinking to what opportunity it’s creating or how fortunate you are to be tasked with such a thing. Some situations are just really hard, this isn’t to minimize that – but if we work at it, we can almost always find something to be grateful for.
3. Try a new form of expression that might matter more. I had such an interesting conversation recently with Zach Mercurio, a researcher with a Ph.D. in organizational learning, performance, and change and author of The Power of Mattering. He spoke about how despite the employee engagement services industry being a $1,000,000,000 market, employee engagement is at the lowest it's been in 10 years. In our discussion, and in his book, he shares some advice for three experiences leaders should focus on creating to unlock the power of mattering: feeling noticed, being affirmed, and feeling needed. So maybe in how you convey gratitude, there’s a tactic you can deploy so that it will resonate better. You can read my synopsis of our discussion here or listen to the full conversation here.
4. Embed gratitude into your team’s culture. Think about how the benefits of gratitude can be expanded if you were to prompt an increase in expression within your team. How might you do this? I think of some of the daily practices we have as a family. At dinner, we share our favorite part of that day. At bedtime, we express appreciation for one another, our home, our health & safety, etc. What are some simple ways you could encourage more expressions of gratitude at work? Perhaps start each meeting with “What’s going well?” Again, it doesn’t have to be an intricate plan – it can be simple shifts that prompt more focus on thinking about and sharing the positive.
5. Offer a helping hand. Last but not least, do something to support someone(s) less fortunate than you. When we stay “stuck” in our own lens, we can lose sight of how much we have to be thankful for. Taking time to do something to help a less resourced group is a powerful act in many ways – serving a need in your community or network, reminding you your (relative) position of privilege, and creating the positive feelings of doing good for others. This is great to do as an individual, but can also be an exercise to consider for your team.

What would you add to this list? I’d love to hear more ideas! Email me anytime.

PS – I’m thankful for you, our wonderful Future of Field Service community.