Building a Better Workplace Starts with Saying “Thanks”

When people are stressed out and focus on the negative, they are more likely to treat their colleagues poorly. And many managers are at a loss when it comes to preventing uncivil and toxic behavior on their teams. New research on gratitude practices shows that encouraging colleagues to express thanks and focus on what they are grateful for can decrease mistreatment on a team. The authors’ recent study found that gratitude journaling decreased workplace rudeness by enhancing research participants’ self-control. While many managers may not want to hand out gratitude journals to their team members, they can — and should — emphasize the importance of expressing thanks and appreciation for colleagues.