Gratitude

Today is World Gratitude Day!

Celebrated every Sept. 21, World Gratitude Day was started by the United Nations more than 50 years ago. It’s also known as the International Day of Peace.

In the workplace, World Gratitude Day is for celebrating the power of “Thank You” — from company leaders to employees, between coworkers, from employees to customers and, ultimately, as a building block for a culture of gratitude.

The scientific argument for gratitude in the workplace is strong and backed by rigorous research.

Numerous studies and business cases have shown the benefits of gratitude and the ill effects of a lack of gratitude — job dissatisfaction, turnover, absenteeism, burnout, gossip, negativity and exploitation.

When leaders exude gratitude, it sets off a chain reaction that builds a culture of gratitude that eventually circles back and betters the workplace for everyone.

In the end, employees deserve appreciation. Everyone deserves appreciation. Give a fist bump, a kind note, a small gift — or a simple, “I’m grateful for all you do!”

Happy World Gratitude Day, everyone!
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As workforce leaders find their way through the COVID-19 world, defining ways to keep remote workers happy and engaged is of utmost importance. Remote working isn’t new to the world of work, but for many industries and people, it’s a brand new endeavor.  

According to the New York Times, “In a May working paper, Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor in management science at M.I.T., and a group of academics reported survey results indicating that half of those who were employed before the pandemic were now working remotely. That’s a significant increase — pre-Covid-19, the paper estimates, the figure was about 15 percent. (In 2018, a U.S. Census Bureau survey found that just 5.3 percent of Americans worked from home full time.).”

According to SHRM.org, “This working arrangement may seem exciting at first, but it can lose its appeal over time, resulting in disengaged employees. And, when employees aren’t engaged, their productivity and motivation can suffer.”

As passionate champions of happy, productive workplaces, we’ve gathered some suggestions for embracing remote workers to keep the engine running on all cylinders.

How to Keep Remote Workers Happy & Engaged

Solution #1: Allow Creativity to Infuse Decision-Making

Some workplaces are a hotbed for creative thinking (think advertising agencies), and some industries aren’t exactly wired for out-of-the-box thinking. This is an opportunity to enjoy the freedom that creativity can bring to a group of employees. Instead of “We’ve always done it this way,” NOW is the time to say, “How can we do this differently?” This relates to every organization that has shifted its daily operations.

Engage employees to weigh in on how processes and procedures can be expedited, improved or even scrapped. Look at how innovative companies tackle certain parts of business and push yourself (and your executives and teams) to look at new ways of “getting things done.” Here are some great examples from a recent CNBC piece on innovation.

Remember, this isn’t change just for change’s sake, which can be a buzzkill for employees. Instead, view this as a way to dream up new models that make everyone’s lives (and the business) better!

Solution #2: Embrace New Opportunities for Employee-Up Communication

Most of us have “chat” functions, cell phones, and other technology for basic communication. However, some organizations are taking this a step further to open up employee dialogue – maybe even between people who never had the ability to communicate before!

There are some 24/7 technology tools (such as Glint) that allow employees to share ideas, feedback and even complaints (anonymity is optional). Now is an excellent time to implement such systems. An organization that we work with has rolled out a technology platform across its national network to improve engagement, measure the success of current companywide communication, and learn from the “front lines.”

As a result, they have been able to gather excellent information that would be impossible in many other formats (typical town halls or staff meetings). It offers flexibility and a methodology where the information can be filtered to managers or departments who can respond with agility.

Solution #3: Rethink Meetings

Chances are that these technologies aren’t going anywhere – especially as remote working continues to be the norm. However, now is a great time to think about how to take the funny yet painful examples of why these can be a complete waste of time and use knowledge about your company culture to make them … dare we say it – enjoyable?

What would engage your employees? Keeping check-ins to 15 minutes? Allow for everyone to weigh in on something important? Do a swift but fun icebreaker at the beginning of the meeting to avoid the “Just hangin’ in there” and “What’s the weather like over there?” warm-up conversations?

This is another opportunity to turn the work-as-usual model and turn it on its head. Ask your people – and use some common sense, too!

Solution #4: Consistently Show Employee Appreciation

We are clearly advocates of employee appreciation. In fact, we believe that it should be touched upon every day. There are big gestures and there are also the smallest, nuanced acts that can equally improve the employee experience.

To get started, check out our 2020 Day-to-Day Employee Appreciation Calendar. There is always room for a note of gratitude or a “Thank you for all you’re doing during these shifting times” statement to express thanks. This resource offers insights into the importance of employee appreciation and also delivers excellent examples based on company culture, seasonality (did you know that National Ice Cream Day is in July?), budget and other considerations. 

Solution #5: Ask the Right Questions

When looking for solutions, be sure to pinpoint the issues. What can go wrong with a remote workforce? Isolation? Overworking? Lack of trust? Shifting group and team dynamics?

Take the time to define what is most likely happening in the organization – which can vary drastically even among departments. Utilize surveys, ask questions, challenge leaders to ignore the tendency to say, “Everything is fine!” and ask, “What isn’t going right and how can we fix it?”  

With the right tools and a sincere listening ear, team members will feel valued – which goes a long way. Medium.com offers employees some tips to fight isolation, which you can offer as a resource here. Forbes addresses how to avoid burnout, another great resource for the high achievers of the world.

For more timely information, check out our blog, “Supporting Remote Workers Now”. 

Since 2007, gThankYou has been helping managers delight, honor and thank employees and customers. We’re all about building workplace gratitude. Check us out at www.gthankyou.com.

*Photo by Allie on Unsplash

With stress and uncertainty at high levels due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing your sincere workplace gratitude is more important than ever.

Even if your employees seem to be keeping it together and are being productive, it could be that they are anxious, depressed and fearful as they face increased pressure at home while possibly dealing with unfamiliar ways of getting their work done.

Harvard Business Review in an article highlighting how a little thanks goes a long way in this time of crisis, writer Sabina Nawaz puts together several strategies that you can implement to underscore just how grateful you are for your team and their efforts. 

HBR reminds us that:

“Research clearly indicates expressing gratitude is beneficial to our health and well-being. We’re happier when we’re grateful. During a crisis, taking the time to thank others is vital to dampen loneliness, amp up social connections, and generate generosity.”

In the article, a busy academic executive said “I’m so busy fighting fires from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. that I don’t have time to acknowledge the work my team is doing.”  If you also feel too swamped to focus on gratitude, the suggestions provided are relatively easy to achieve, even during these tumultuous times.

Workplace Gratitude is More Important than Ever

How You Can Help: Share Gratitude!

Host a daily gratitude shower

Like the neighborhood gatherings to salute and applaud essential workers that are being held around the world, create a similar event for your organization – host a daily live chat for just a few minutes and have staff type compliments about their co-workers.

Customize the way you give thanks

Research indicates that gratitude is stronger when it is for what the person did instead of how it benefited you!  Learn to understand how people like to be acknowledged.  This is where the 5 Love Languages can be a useful tool.  Even though it was designed for couples, it can apply to the workplace. 

Put employees center stage

It’s likely that everyone is working at their full capacity during this pandemic even if sometimes it doesn’t look like it. Don’t lose sight of the “invisible work” – those every day, ordinary tasks that may get overlooked.  And, don’t underestimate the effort behind work. Now’s the time to celebrate those who may not typically be the “stars” by featuring them in company-wide communications. 

Positivity – play it up and pay it forward

Research indicates that recipients of thanks are more likely to be helpful and generous. To create this snowball effect encourage those you thank to show appreciation to someone else. Provide an easy means and the tools to do so such as an electronic gratitude board or a workplace ‘Thank You’ app like Just Thank You.

Build a thankful team

The message travels farther (and louder) when you work as a team to give credit and thanks. Packaging praise can be coordinated using online tools like Kudoboard – create a theme and build a special card together for a colleague. This also generates good vibes for the team, not just the recipient.

Still not sure that you can carve out the time to show gratitude when you are struggling to keep yourself afloat at work, here’s a good summary of why it makes sense:

“…being thankful to your team is the right thing to do.” People are battling fears about the pandemic and juggling home and work in close proximity. Almost every employee needs to hear that their dedication is noticed and it matters. What’s more, gratitude is proven to show improvements in self-esteem, achieving career goals, decision making, productivity, and resilience.

And don’t forget, when you show gratitude, you benefit as well:

“Gratitude is a dish best served to suit the recipient’s tastes, but it comes with benefits for both the chef and the consumer. When people around you feel seen and acknowledged, they return the favor, invest more in their efforts, and form stronger connections — all essential ingredients to offset the stress of a crises. Giving thanks can be infectious.”

You’ve probably seen examples of gratitude being shown for essential workers on the news, whether it is New Yorkers banging pots and pans, applauding and singing at 7:00 pm or restaurants delivering free meals and snacks to hospitals and clinics, heartfelt homemade yard signs and innovative fundraisers. When doing more reading about workplace gratitude during the pandemic, we came across several examples that might inspire you as much they inspired us.

Pandemic Workplace Gratitude in Action

Three stories of gratitude to inspire your day and your creativity for sharing deep appreciation for your colleagues during these challenging times.

1. Leader Showing Thanks (and Vulnerability)

Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Vicki Christiansen shared a moving message on the organization’s website that conveyed her sincere thanks for Forest Service employees during this stressful time.  She began by using adjectives that employees may not often hear that were particularly apt given the circumstances:

“First, as I always do, but I really do mean it, I want to thank you for your endurance, your flexibilities, your innovation in working in this different posture as we all are across the nation in response to this pandemic.”

She also acknowledged the creativity required to keep delivering services while maintaining safety and showed genuine concern for employees who may be infected with the virus.  And, addressed the stress that employees were under, and the uncertainty of the future and managed to strike the right tone of concern and comfort (and also stressed keeping communication lines open).

“We will stay connected, we will keep thinking together and we’ll re-imagine what working safely is as we get on the backside of the spread of this pandemic, but of course it’s not going to just disappear in the weeks and months ahead, as I think we all have come to realize. So more to come there. We really want to hear your questions and your feedback.”

But we were most struck by her openness about her own challenges that made us realize by revealing her vulnerability she is connecting with her team and showing they are not alone in their struggles. 

“I wanted to touch on…resilience and coping; many of you in the calls that we have and in other notes you send, you know, are very nice—to ask me how I’m doing, how I’m holding up, how I’m maintaining my mental wellness, and I really appreciate that. It’s the care that we really demonstrate with each other in the Forest Service. So I’m human like everyone else, I’ll admit there are moments where I’ll say, “Aaahh!”

Additionally she shared a practical resource for approaching the pandemic 3 Zones:  Fear, Learning and Growth that uses German pedagogue Tom Senniger’s learning zone model (which you may have also seen recently as many people have shared it as lens to view racism).  After reading Chrstiansens’ post, we thought that this a leader who really understands the importance of gratitude in both work and personal lives.

2. Helping Hospice Workers Stay Positive 

A Hospice News article by Holly Vossel highlighted several ideas of how hospice providers boosted staff morale during the pandemic.  Retention and staffing issues were already a concern prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, so this industry has been under considerable stress.  Some hospices around the nation tried innovative approaches to show gratitude:

• North Carolina-based Hospice of Davidson County implemented a Hospice Heroes campaign to show appreciation for workers putting themselves at consistent risk of COVID-19 infection while providing end-of-life care to patients. The campaign featured an online form to leave messages of gratitude as an encouragement for their staff members. Additionally a banner was hung at one of the organization’s hospices and luminaries were light for each hard-working staff member.

• Florida-headquartered Interim Healthcare launched a staff newsletter, ‘Inspirations,” featuring the ways each of their locations encouraged staff and patients facing COVID-19 challenges.  One story was about a drive-thru breakfast at an Oklahoma City franchise location for staff to pickup of bagged meals before going to work in patient homes.

• Interim Healthcare also gave staff an 800 number to call and talk with a counselor or counseling group that is 100% confidential.

3. The Magical Gift of “Gratitude Bots”

In an American Red Cross Cascades region blog post the creative and caring efforts of Portland Oregon based artist Gary Hirsch were profiled.  Hirsh designs his “Bots” to provide energy, happiness and other positive emotions to those who receive them. 

Hirsch has created over 57,000 of these “small (and sometimes, big) totemic, art objects programmed to help” which are painted small on the back of dominos. Hirsch painted and donated 130 Gratitude Bots for for Red Cross phlebotomists working in Oregon and SW Washington with the intent of reminding those who receive them that someone out there cares about them.  

Hirsch explained how his Bots transitioned during the pandemic:

“I started making Bots about 10 years ago. The Gratitude Bots came when Covid-19 hit. I wanted to do something to thank the people on the frontlines who are sacrificing so much to help us out in the world as we stay at home.”

Hirsch hopes these small bots will make a big difference:

“I am interested in small shifts and reminders. If someone gives you a Gratitude Bot, my hope is that you will take a moment, a pause to take in that gratitude so it can be fuel for your amazing work when things get hard.”

Hirsch also hopes that others will mount a similar campaign and gives you the info to get started:

“My real hope is that people will start making their own Bots to thank those in their community that way as well. I have step-by-step instructions on my website for how to ‘Steal the idea” and make your own.” For more details, watch Hirsch’s video above and check out his website.

Even if you don’t start creating Gratitude Bots for your company, we have the perfect tool to walk you through writing meaningful and impactful thank you notes for your staff.

Or now might be an ideal time to share summer treat gift certificates for  ice cream, or fruit with your staff to thank them for their hard work during these unprecedented times.  We have lots of fun seasonal Thank You Cards for you to pick from for free!

Ready to spread a contagion of gratitude? We hope so and hope you share your creative ideas with us here at info@gThankYou.com.

There isn’t just one recipe for success when it comes to employee recognition; there are many thoughtful ways to acknowledge employees’ dedication. Leaders who take the time and energy to show employee gratitude year-round end up with happier team members and a more enjoyable workplace. Below are some ways to show Spring gratitude!

We couldn’t agree more with this recent Forbes article that states,
“Never underestimate the power of ‘thank you.’ Everyone wants to feel recognized and appreciated, so encourage employees to thank the people around them, including their colleagues, senior leaders, and employers, on a regular basis, year-round.”

So what are you waiting for? It’s always the “time of year” for gratitude!

Celebrate Spring in the Workplace

Right now, many people are gearing up for Easter (Sunday, April 12). While not everyone celebrates this holiday, it can easily be regarded as a “Spring into Spring” workplace celebration with chocolate, bunnies, family meals and egg-hunting – which everyone would welcome and enjoy.

If you have concerns about tackling Easter at work, take a look at our blog post about Why You Should Celebrate Easter in the Workplace. It is chock full of ideas about how to make Easter-ish and spring workplace celebrations entertaining and appropriate for everyone!

Another resource is “4 Easter Employee Engagement Ideas For Your Office.”  Dying eggs is easy and relaxing, allowing employees to chat while dipping. And a Peep diorama? How fun would that be? Check out these creative winners!

Share the Gift of an Easter Ham

If you are pondering how to shower employees with a “Happy Spring” thank you, consider the gift of a holiday ham. For many, the gift of a ham for Easter is a valued and welcome gift. It evokes family and underscores the joy and warmth that comes from sharing a special meal together. gThankYou makes it easy to share the gift of ham – during springtime or whenever you want to share your workplace appreciation.

Want more choice? Consider our Ham or Turkey Gift Certificate. Recipients choose what’s best for the centerpiece of their family celebration.

Be sure to check out our Spring cards selection, they are guaranteed to brighten someone’s day and are always free with any purchase.

Thinking you’d rather go the sweet route? How about a Candy Gift Certificate? Since sugar makes the world go ‘round, this is always a fan favorite for employee appreciation gifts. There are so many seasonal candy classics like jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and of course Peeps in every color.

Our Holiday Ham Guide Gift for You!

At gThankYou, we love a delicious, juicy ham with all the fixings. That’s why we created our Ultimate Holiday Ham Guide – so everyone can cook a a crowd-pleasing ham! Our Guide is packed with pages of ham goodness, including an exploration and explanation of the different kinds of ham, cooking tips, menu planning ideas, food safety strategies, recipes and much more!

And even better, it’s FREE for you! Download it now and share with colleagues and friends. Give this guide/cookbook with your gift of a holiday ham and delight your recipients. They will appreciate getting not just the centerpiece of their meal, but all of the helpful hints contained in the guide.

Do you want to learn new ways to glaze a ham? Interested in how to properly cook and carve? Intrigued by new recipes that inspire novice and top chefs alike? Then look no further! Check out the Ultimate Holiday Ham Guide for inspiration and practical advice.

Happy spring and Easter from your friends at gThankYou! We appreciate YOU.

As we approach celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends, this quote from Melody Beattie beautifully reminds us of the transformative power of gratitude at the holidays – and every day.

Beattie knows about the transformative power of gratitude having survived a traumatic childhood, addiction and the loss of a child but emerging from this to live a a full and rewarding life. After having an epiphany in rehab that got her to focus her energies on “the right things,” she became a renowned self-help author (she literally wrote the book on codependency, followed by many other bestsellers) and remains a celebrated writer and an inspiring beacon for many struggling with addiction and grief. The daily meditations on her website (or apps) are a good way to start or end your day!

Let’s break down what she said in this quote because while it’s the perfect quote as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, it’s also a powerful reminder for us to look at every day through the lens of gratitude.

Gratitude:

“Unlocks the fullness of life…”
Who doesn’t want to live their life fully, experiencing the maximum of satisfaction and joy at both home and at work. Gratitude opens our eyes to the beauty and goodness of the world around us. It energizes us and brings hope. Sharing gratitude brings out the best in those around us too.

“Turns what we have into enough…”
Gratitude allows us to be thankful for the abundance of good things in life and not be driven by societal or selfish needs. Gratitude helps us realize we are, and we have, enough.

Research finds that “just acting grateful can make you feel grateful” says Arthur C. Brooks in “Choose to be Grateful. It will make you Happier.” He goes on to say:

“If you want a truly happy holiday, choose to keep the “thanks” in Thanksgiving, whether you feel like it or not.”

“…turns denial into acceptance…”
Gratitude let’s us enjoy relatives and friends for who they are – imperfections and all. And, most importantly accepting ourselves for doing the best we can. Gratitude heals.

In a recent Forbes article on gratitude, positive psychologist researcher and author Robert Emmons “cites research showing the effectiveness of gratitude in buffering stress and building resilience. He even recommends a strategy he calls “Remember the bad.” The point is not to dwell on the negative, but to look back and reflect on difficult experiences and how we got through them. In doing so, we learn not to take our current blessings for granted. We are also reminded of the resources that helped us weather past storms.”

“…chaos to to order, confusion to clarity…”
Stopping to take a breath and reframing stress that can come at the holidays (or any day) is an opportunity to clear your mind and re-prioritize what’s important. Being grateful helps put what’s really important in perspective.

“…turns a meal into a feast, a house into a home and a stranger to a friend.”

No matter the scale of the meal, gratitude for the bounty and those we share it with turns any occasion into a “feast”.

Thanksgiving is a holiday uniquely steeped in a history of gratitude. It’s the one time of year we treat everyone as family. It’s gratitude that allows us to open our hearts and our homes.

This holiday season share your gratitude and share in the joy you spread.

Wherever and however you celebrate Thanksgiving, we hope the meal becomes a feast of gratitude for you and your loved ones.

By Cheryl Baker, Co-Founder and Director of Social Capital, Give and Take, Inc.

When you hear the term “contagion,” what image comes to mind? Disease. Panic in mass crowds. Viral social media trends. Perhaps this time of year, you think of the flu. 

Scientists have found that within groups, thoughts and moods can be just as contagious as physical diseases or behaviors. In a phenomenon called emotional contagion, researchers have observed that “individuals tend to express and feel emotions that are similar to those of others,” seeming to “catch” the feelings of those around them. 

While the word “contagion” often carries a negative connotation, research on the benefits of emotional contagion has shown that this ripple effect may be a secret workplace weapon for productivity and engagement. If you have a culture of generosity and appreciation, you’ve likely seen this in action.

Not sure if you have a generous workplace?
This free quiz will give you some idea of where you stand today. 

If you still have some work to do in terms of building a generous culture, it may help to educate employees on the benefits of generosity in the workplace. It’s more than just giving to United Way during the annual drive. It’s about making a commitment to share your time, talent, expertise, connections, advice, and help in ways that don’t overextend throughout the year.  

Why should we give?

Here’s the good news for leaders: creating a culture of giving is great for your workers, but extensive research shows why building a sustainably collaborative culture is good for companies. It makes companies more efficient, innovative and productive. It increases profitability and revenue. It improves customer satisfaction and employee retention. It’s the classic win/win. 

Sometimes, if we’re going to encourage employees to participate more fully and wholeheartedly in a culture of productive generosity, we need to show them what’s in it for them.

A willingness to ask for help and give help to others at work is not just a fluffy, feel-good concept. There are real, tangible, measurable benefits to being a giver at work:

1. Giving makes us happy

There have been countless studies that suggest helping others improves the helper’s own mood as much, if not more, than the recipient of the help. A study at University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that altruism in the workplace had relatively large effects on happiness.

Professor Donald Moynihan says, “Our findings make a simple but profound point about altruism: helping others makes us happier. Altruism is not a form of martyrdom, but operates for many as part of a healthy psychological reward system.”

2. Giving increases gratitude

Doing favors for others increases gratitude, which in itself is a positive emotion that can improve an individual’s health and well-being. In a study evaluating interventions for lasting happiness, founder of positive psychology Martin Seligman found that a daily gratitude practice was one of only two ways participants were able to increase happiness and decrease depressive symptoms over the long-term.

3. Giving inspires more giving

Paying it forward pays off. Contagion researchers James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis found that one person’s initial generosity can spark a chain reaction of benevolence up to three times as large as the original contribution. The single act can begin what social scientists call a “virtuous circle,” where one person’s generous behavior triggers another’s and so on. People are grateful for help received and are motivated to pay it forward according to research by Dr. Wayne Baker and Nathaniel Bulkley.

4. Giving makes us more well-liked

When you help others, you become someone that others can trust and rely on when they have a future knowledge, resource or connection need.

5. Giving grows and strengthens our networks

Offering help to others helps you make connections within your organization that you may not have otherwise made, which will increase your resources next time you need help.  Moreover, these connections are more likely to be high-quality connections. So while we may not be givers for the express purpose of getting a reward, there are possible career and financial advantages to doing so.

6. Enjoy greater happiness and good health

Research shows that people who are givers are happier and healthier both mentally and physically. In fact, I wrote a whole blog post on the health benefits of being a giver at work.

7. Be the change you wish to see in the world

Giving back to others by offering your knowledge, connections and resources makes your world and your work environment a little better. Work environments with givers breed more generous behavior in others. The whole culture of a company can start to change.

8. Boost your career

According to Wharton professor and Give and Take co-founder Adam Grant, corporate “givers” are ultimately the highest performers and the most successful.  Givers are able to tap into a network of knowledge and resources that provides them with greater resources and knowledge than those who try to succeed in isolation. If you’re interested in this aspect of generosity, Grant wrote a whole book on it, called Give and Take: How Helping Others Drives Our Success. 

Pay it forward

The positive emotions generated through giving and receiving spreads through groups by way of emotional contagion and ripples through the entire organization. Research on groups experiencing positive emotional contagion found that more than good feelings spread. These groups experienced less interpersonal conflict, more successful cooperation, and felt they had performed better on their task than the control group. 

When we give, the benefits are amplified and multiplied, as the positive emotions created by giving and expressing gratitude spread from one person to another. Even if we don’t give, we reap the benefits by being around people who are givers themselves.  Barbara Fredrickson reports that people who merely witness or hear about a helpful interchange may experience positive emotions as well. 

Benefits of asking for help

If Adam Grant wrote the book on giving, Wayne Baker wrote the book on asking for help (All You Have to Do is Ask, coming out January 2020). In his forthcoming book, he argues that asking for help at work is the most important skill for success. 

It can be hard to ask for help at work. But it’s really important that we encourage our teams to do so (and help them learn how to do it) because the benefits are legion.

Studies show that asking for help makes us better and less frustrated at our jobs. It helps us find new opportunities and new talent. It unlocks new ideas and solutions, and enhances team performance. And it helps us get the things we need outside the workplace as well. 

And yet, we rarely give ourselves permission to ask. Luckily, the research shows that asking—and getting—what we need is much easier than we tend to think. 

When you ask for what you need, you are:

1. Building team camaraderie and cohesion. You are reinforcing the idea that it takes a strong team to make a difference.
   
2. Making other people feel better.. Don’t think you are burdening someone else by asking for help, people enjoy helping each other!  It is really a win-win: you get help and you make someone else feel good.
   
3. More likeable. We like people who dare to show their vulnerability and ask for help on things that are challenging for them. You’re also setting a great example for your teammates.
   
4. Getting smarter: A willingness to ask for help makes it easier to do your job, providing you with an answer, advice, or a different perspective or a connection to someone outside your network who has the knowledge or resources you need.
   
5. More successful. No great achievement can be done alone, and asking for help makes us more productive.  No one has all of the resources, connections and knowledge to be totally self-sufficient and maximally effective.
   

Besides, we’ve already established that being a giver is good for so many things. The best offers of help occur when someone has asked for it. 

All of this starts with leaders setting a good example. Leaders should be generous with their own teams, sharing both time and talent as well as recognition and appreciation for a job well done. 

About the Author

Cheryl Baker is an innovator in the field of social capital and an expert in the translation of social science principles. She’s also the co-founder of Give and Take Inc., along with Wayne Baker and Adam Grant. Give and Take makes Givitas, software that connects any group of people to exchange help, including employees, customers, members, donors, students, alumni, and more. By fostering a giving culture, organizations of all sizes drive positive business outcomes like increased efficiency, productivity, loyalty, and engagement.