Gratitude is an often underrated and undervalued act that can have a significant impact on the receiver. If you’ve ever received a genuine ‘thank you’ or a heartfelt expression of gratitude for something you’ve done, you likely felt really good about what you did, that you helped someone out.

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While employees get paid for being at work, receiving gratitude can significantly boost their performance, well-being, and overall sense of appreciation. Knowing they have done something right and received praise for it can reinforce a team feeling amongst employees.

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Here’s how gratitude makes a difference in the workplace and why employees and employers alike can benefit from incentives, awards, and recognition of their work.

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Gratitude effects on mood and well-being

There’s a reason gratitude journals are becoming more and more popular. The simple act of focusing on and appreciating what you have can have a significant effect on happiness, sleep, and overall well-being. Focusing on gratitude is much more effective at increasing happiness and improving well-being than focusing on what you want, what you don’t have, or why you are better (or not) than someone else.

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Gratitude effects on work performance

It follows that with all the positive effects on mood and well-being, performance at work will also experience a boost. Providing positive feedback, showing appreciation, and giving awards within the workplace have a proven effect on employees’ work performance.

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Many studies have shown that after positive reinforcement and expressions of gratitude, employees subsequently performed at a much higher rate than those who didn’t. Rewarding your employees with simple, heartfelt thank-yous, awards, or public recognition is an easy yet effective way to create a more respectful and productive work environment.

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Building appreciation within teams

The great thing about positivity is how it spreads! Acknowledging and rewarding an employee’s work boosts their self-esteem and improves their mood, which, in turn, can lift the moods of other employees, creating a more relaxed, upbeat environment. This helps the feeling of helpfulness and togetherness within work teams, and in general increases productivity.

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How to implement gratitude habits in the workplace

Rewarding employees doesn’t have to be as elaborate or significant as an awards event for their work. Gratitude can be something as simple as a shout-out in a company-wide email or a couple of minutes of positive feedback at the end of a meeting.

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At EonX, we provide an award & recognition platform that can take care of all of this for you. With a newsfeed, live chat, and instant messaging feature, our platform takes care of everything from success mentions to employee voting polls, badges, and perks.

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Let your employees know they are appreciated with a simple, effective, and interactive platform to boost your workplace environment.