Workplace Gratitude Is Contagious (And Super-Healthy)

The lifeblood of an organization is its people, complete with very human needs and emotions. One basic human trait is the need for appreciation, that one matters.  A healthy company not only recognizes this, but celebrates it. Gratitude can be part of corporate DNA.

Our law firm has adopted 23 basic tenets to reinforce our culture: we call them TED Tenets. One of our core Tenets is number 11: Show Gratitude. In this Tenet, we remind each other that "Gratitude has been proven to be essential for strong relationships, and is core for both personal and business health. Invest the time and effort to express gratitude to to our clients who trust in us, and to our colleagues upon whom we rely."

We talk about expressing gratitude in very specific ways, not simply as a catch-all or platitude. "Thank you for all you do" is nice. But we work to demonstrate an expression of gratitude that is very specific, and recognizes effort. "Thank you for staying late yesterday to get that project out the door. It was very important to the client. We couldn't have met the deadline without you." 

Does your workplace culture celebrate gratitude?