Workplace Gratitude, Culture, Well-being

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.”

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The craziness of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday, make it easy to lose the joy and spirit of the holidays. Feeling tired and stressed with the holidays looming ahead? You are not alone.

Your colleagues likely feel this way too. When it comes to sharing year-end employee appreciation, no one wants yet another holiday trinket.

Take Back the Holidays

You can take back the holidays with gratitude.

Gratitude is transformative – it lifts spirits, reminds us of the goodness in others and inspires hope and happiness. It changes our focus so we see more clearly what’s really important.

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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.

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Today is #GivingTuesday. On this day of giving back, consider how sharing in the joys of charity and volunteerism at work engages employees. Gratitude-focused celebrations like #GivingTuesday help build a year-round spirit of workplace gratitude.
The gratitude we share over the holiday season isn’t a once-a-year diversion. Let it inspire an everyday culture of workplace gratitude in your company!
Gratitude “the high-octane fuel” of relationships, says psychology professor and eminent gratitude researcher Robert Emmons in a Fast Company article this week.
It’s vital to working relationships in particular. (more…)

Inequality Breeds Unhappiness

In America (and also in other countries), an impressive postwar rise in material well-being has had zero effect on personal well-being. The divergence between economic growth and subjective satisfaction began decades ago. Real per capita income has more than tripled since the late 1950s, but the percentage of people saying they are very happy has, if anything, slightly declined.

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On September 3, the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, will launch a new online course, “The Science of Happiness at Work.” Based on the center’s hugely popular free course “The Science of Happiness,” this new course will teach attendees why it matters so much to promote happiness in the workplace and how to do it. As the center puts it:

People who are happier at work are more committed to their organization, rise to positions of leadership more rapidly, are more productive and creative, and suffer fewer health problems. More and more, research is suggesting that happiness should not be an afterthought for workplaces; it should be an essential goal, entwined with the kinds of 21st century skills that are key to individual and organizational success today.

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Thinking about building an employee wellness program?
They’re still quite popular with businesses looking for perks that will benefit both workers and leadership. Per HR Dive, in a 2017 study by Virgin Pulse, 85 percent of employers surveyed said their wellness programs were good for employee engagement, recruitment, retention, and overall company culture. More than just offering exercise- and diet-related options, these programs are increasingly incorporating mental-health components as well. That shift has proven popular with employees, 85 percent of whom say they want help managing stress. (more…)

Being a Good Citizen Is Good for Employers and Workers

Being a good citizen is good for business — in more than one way. Last year, Harvard Business Review reported on the beneficial effects when employees engage in “citizenship behaviors.” That’s another way to say going above and beyond: “helping out coworkers, volunteering to take on special assignments, introducing new ideas and work practices, attending non-mandatory meetings, putting in extra hours to complete important projects, and so forth.”
Research has found that employees who voluntarily demonstrate citizenship behaviors tend to find their work more meaningful. They also perform better and improve their companies’ performance, as well. For all of these reasons, smart employers want to encourage being a good citizen at their companies.
HBR’s recommendation is to promote “citizenship crafting,” or offering workers the opportunity to figure out how their own strengths and preferences can best be utilized to add value to the business. The idea is straightforward: When employees can help in ways they find personally satisfying and that align with their own values and goals, the help will be better and come more frequently. This is also a relief for managers, who don’t have to push so hard when extra help is needed. (more…)

Shared experiences among co-workers are instrumental when it comes to building strong and effective teams.  Don’t forget to include remote workers when communicating, collaborating and creating shared experiences – they are an important part of your team too!
In an article on shared experiential learning on HR Dive, author Tess Taylor explains the basics:

Employees benefit from having a common experience during the learning process. This social interaction helps individuals digest new concepts and gives them an opportunity to learn from each other.

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Companies with a giving culture are more successful.
They say it’s better to give than to receive. It turns out it could be way better!
Beloved Wharton School professor Adam Grant’s 2013 bestseller, Give and Take, used groundbreaking research to show that giving can have a revolutionary positive effect on all kinds of businesses. Givers are employees who help others regardless of whether they’re getting something in return. And the best-performing employees and leaders inevitably turn out to be givers. By taking steps to foster a giving culture, companies can significantly improve their productivity and efficiency, and their employee engagement and loyalty. One consulting firm estimated that implementing a giving culture saved it more than $250,000 and 50 workdays. A pharmaceutical company credited its giving culture with saving over $90,000 and 67 days of labor. (more…)

Why Volunteering As A Team Is Valuable

A Huffington Post article exploring how workplace giving and volunteering can drive employee engagement explained that “prosocial” behavior, doing something for the benefit of someone else, positively affects the individuals participating in it, and in return, their workplaces.
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Safety Incentives Work — When They’re Deployed Properly

Does your company have a safety incentives program? And if you do, is it working? June is National Safety Month, making it the perfect time to reflect on how to engage employees and motivate them to work more safely.
Make no mistake, a safety incentives program isn’t sufficient on its own. As one expert told EHS Today, “Safety incentives programs are icing on the cake. They complement a well-rounded safety program.” Essential components of an effective safety program include return-to-work light-duty programs, accident investigations, and safety committees. (more…)

Summer’s coming! Are you preparing your internship program?

The time is right for making sure your interns have a rewarding work experience this summer. That experience begins even before their first day on the job. Here are intern onboarding tips to ensure they feel valued and an important part of your workplace culture from the start. Don’t forget – these young adults are potential future employees and will also serve as ambassadors for the company during and after their internship.

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Spring is here, and World Health Day is April 7 — two good reasons to set employee wellness goals this month to support and engage healthier habits in your workplace!
Most employees aren’t even aware of the wellness benefits their company offers. According to the Transamerica Center for Health Studies 2017 Consumer and Employer surveys, 62 percent of employers say they provide employee wellness programs — yet only 40 percent of employees say their organizations offer them.
“The survey isn’t the first source to show a disconnect between how employers and workers view their wellness programs,” HR Dive noted. A 2017 Willis Towers Watson survey showed 81 percent of employers said their wellness programs were meeting workers’ needs, but 61 percent of employees disagreed. (more…)

Prioritizing employee gratitude helps keep holiday stress from hijacking your workplace.
Fun activities with a focus on wellbeing, appreciation and making social connections are the antidote to the kind of stress that can distract employees and derail productivity over the holiday season.
“Keeping employees engaged and healthy is particularly difficult during the holiday season. The weeks between Thanksgiving and the New Year offer a lot of challenges when it comes to productivity, illness and work performance,” Forbes contributor Alan Kohll writes. (more…)

Your employee Christmas gifts aren’t complete without an expression of gratitude.

Good news: all gThankYou Gift Certificates come with customizable, personalized Gratitude Cards — free!
Simply choose your design and give us your personal message of holiday appreciation for recipients. We create your custom card and can even add your company logo or management signature if you like. gThankYou Gratitude Cards are the perfect addition to make your employee Christmas gift meaningful and memorable.

We’re excited to unveil new Gratitude Card designs for the 2017 winter holidays, adding to dozens of favorites to fit any company culture and occasion.
It’s absolutely essential to show your appreciation to employees, at the holidays and year-round.
A paycheck isn’t enough, no matter how generous.
A new study from Payscale shows that how employees feel about their organization’s approach to pay and compensation has a higher impact on their job satisfaction than the actual amount they are paid. (more…)

It’s back-to-school time! Are you engaging employees with flexible workplace benefits — benefits that ease the transition from summer vacation to the demands and routines of the start of school?
Flexible workplace benefits consider employee experience in practical ways that help employees manage work-life balance.
“Employee experience” is a relatively new concept in HR. As author and futurist Jacob Morgan writes for Inc., it works best in tandem with employee engagement.
“By combining employee engagement and experience to work together, organizations can build an environment where employees feel valued,” Morgan writes.
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It’s time to rethink workplace exercise incentives involving cash.
New research shows money does little to motivate gym visits, even among people who have the intention of exercising more.
The experiment, conducted by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers and published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, randomized about 800 new gym members into four groups.
The control group received $30 after six weeks, unconditionally. The other groups were rewarded for going to the gym at least nine times in the first six weeks of membership — with a $30 Amazon gift card, a $60 Amazon gift card or an item of their choosing from Amazon worth about $30, respectively.
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