As Thanksgiving approaches, expressions of gratitude abound. From social media posts to t-shirts to home decor, the words “thankful” and “grateful” are everywhere. It’s one of the best parts of the season! While it’s always more prevalent this time of year, gratitude is becoming a more widespread practice in our culture, year round. Thanks to a wealth of studies on the topic, people are realizing the powerful benefits of gratitude on individual and collective well-being. Those benefits aren’t limited to our personal lives, either. Gratitude has positive effects on our professional lives, as well.
That’s not to say it’s always easy to practice gratitude at work. Between workplace grievances, the temptation to compare our career to others’, and the normal demands of everyday life, we often forget to recognize the good in our work. But doing so can make a big difference in both our satisfaction and performance on the job. Take some time this Thanksgiving season to think about the following ways cultivating an attitude of gratitude could help your career.
5 Ways Gratitude Can Help Your Career
Appreciating the good in our lives is essential for our physical, emotional, and relational well-being, but it also provides significant benefits for our paid work. Consider these 5 ways practicing gratitude can help your career and support your professional success:
It will improve your work performance.
Looking for the good in your job will help you enjoy it more, and happier workers are better workers. Happiness on the job leads to higher engagement, better team collaboration, and greater investment in organizational goals. These, in turn, increase productivity and improve work performance.
It will strengthen your professional relationships.
Gratitude generally leads to greater positivity and optimism, and people respond well to that. Think about it - would you rather work with someone who complains all the time, or someone who is enthusiastic about his/her job? By practicing gratitude in your career, you can strengthen your relationships with coworkers, clients, and bosses, as well as attract new networking opportunities.
It will build your resiliency.
Every professional journey is filled with ups and downs. Regardless of your experience or skill level, you will face struggles, disappointments, and even failures in your career. Rather than becoming dejected or discouraged by them, gratitude will help you see how these setbacks can lead to greater wisdom and valuable experience for the future.
It will motivate you to greatness.
Recognizing the good in our present helps us feel more hopeful about our future. As such, appreciating your current performance is an effective way to motivate yourself to improve. Make it a practice to write down successes you achieve, progress you make, and new skills you develop. It will lead to further growth and greatness.
It will make you a better manager.
Studies have shown that feeling appreciated at work is one of the biggest factors in employee satisfaction. As mentioned above, satisfied workers are better workers. Therefore, expressing gratitude to the people on your team will cultivate a positive company culture, increase employee retention rates, and enhance the quality of work, all of which make for an effective manager.
It’s not always easy or natural to practice gratitude in the workplace, but doing so will help you build and advance your career. Have you recently taken a career pause and want to get back to the work you loved? Or perhaps find meaningful work elsewhere? No matter where you are on your return-to-work journey, Parents Pivot is here to help! See how we can help you here.
