The Benefits of Gratitude

We should all be thankful for the many blessings that we have received. We should express our gratitude to others more often. As leaders, saying thank you more often will help us engage our employees and enhance their satisfaction and productivity. Who could quibble with these assertions. They represent common sense to most of us. Does research back up our attitudes regarding the benefits of gratitude? An impactful series of experimental studies by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough demonstrated some of the key benefits associated with counting our blessings on a regular basis. 

The two scholars conducted several studies regarding gratitude. In each experiment, they directed some subjects to list their blessings on a regular basis. Meanwhile, they directed others to list the hassles that they had experienced. A control condition existed as well. What did they find? Counting your blessings had substantial emotional and interpersonal benefits. For instance, in one study, they found that people who counted their blessings on a weekly basis "felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic regarding their expectations for the upcoming week" relative to those who listed the hassles that had affected them during that week. The researchers also found that the people in the "blessings' condition felt better physically and exercised more often during that week. 

In a second study, they asked people to count their blessings on a daily, rather than weekly, basis. They found that people in the blessings condition experienced higher levels of positive affect. Moreover, these individuals were more likely to have helped others as compared to those in the "hassles" condition.  In a third study, the scholars found that, "The gratitude intervention also appears to have improved people’s amount of sleep and the quality of that sleep. Furthermore, the effects on well-being (positive affect and life satisfaction) were apparent to the participants’ spouse or significant other." 

In sum, counting our blessings can have real benefits for us and for those around us. We should express our gratitude on this Thanksgiving, but more importantly, we should pledge to be more grateful on a weekly, and even daily, basis moving forward.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!