At the height of the Covid pandemic, the public showed its gratitude to workers in the NHS by clapping every Thursday night at a set time. There is even a growing trend of encouraging gratitude in the workplace because it makes people more productive. How do we do this?
Clapping was an important gesture; it gave focus to the week. It allowed people to express thanks. It was an act of solidarity.
But what happens post crisis? You can’t clap forever, and even during the pandemic, in 2021, there was a reaction against the idea.
The idea of appreciation is not new to businesses.
Is gratitude a long term solution?
That’s a tricky one. According to an article in People Management:
‘Almost half of employees think the praise they receive at work is an empty gesture, study shows.’ Two thirds (61 per cent) of employees said leaders acknowledged the great work they do.
- However, a third (31 per cent) said that recognition was received in an “uncomfortable” way.
How can gratitude be meaningful?
Research has found that gratitude must be sincere and from a trusted source – no generic top down emails!’
So, what would gratitude look like where you are?
Well, the first question to ask, is what is important to people? There’s no point in buying a thank you bottle of wine for a teetotaller. To be grateful you need to know the person or organisation to which you are being grateful. That way, anything that you do, stands a much better chance of being understood as a genuine act and having the desired impact.
The difficulty is, that we tend to think of gratitude in terms of individuals. My question is: what about communities?
Historically, large businesses supported the communities of their workers – think Port Sunlight. In my home city of Lancaster think Lansil Golf Club, Williamson’s Park or Westfield Memorial Village.
All of which, neatly brings me to where I left off my last blog.
What does this mean for your organisation?
Well, no one’s asking anyone to build a small town or new park. But what small, but powerful ways could SME’s, change the culture? Here’s a couple:
- Help educate employees and perhaps sponsor financial literacy in a local school. Money problems create stress problems: stress problems affect productivity, workplace relationships, employee absenteeism. ‘We find that financially illiterate households have lower net worth, use higher cost credit and are more likely to report credit arrears or difficulty paying their debts.’
- Encourage workplace interest in health and wellbeing. ‘Over three quarters of UK adults (78%) have concerns about their health going in to 2023, with worries about weight and mental health being the biggest concerns for the year ahead.’
- Corporate social responsibility.
Your employees may be genuinely grateful.
In the next blog, we’ll look at how showing gratitude to workers can change a labour market.
Rev Ian Dewar
Lead Chaplain, University Hospital of Morecambe Bay