“People here mainly complain about what is not going well.”

Sound familiar?

The workload is high.

A colleague responds abruptly.

Before you know it, the conversation is mainly about what is going wrong, what is not working or what could have been done better.

That is understandable. Our brains tend to notice problems more quickly than the things that are going well.

But when complaining becomes the norm, it can affect the atmosphere, motivation and resilience within your team.

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What Research Shows

Research into gratitude interventions in the workplace shows that simple exercises, such as regularly writing down things you are grateful for, can help reduce stress. Consciously paying attention to what is going well can help strengthen emotional resilience (Komase et al., 2021).

Not by ignoring problems.

But by training your brain to notice positive signals too.

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The Solution

Start with a small gratitude exercise.

At the end of your working day, take two minutes to answer these three questions:

What went well today?

Who or what helped me today?

What would I like to give more conscious attention to tomorrow?

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At Moovs, we look at vitality from four perspectives: physical vitality, mental clarity, emotional resilience and meaningful, sustainable employability.

Gratitude falls under emotional resilience: how do you stay grounded, self-aware and positively engaged, even when work is busy or challenging?

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Would you like to explore how vitality and wellbeing can play a greater role within your organisation? Get in touch with us for a no-obligation conversation.

Or download our Vitality Wheel: a practical overview that helps you look at vitality more broadly and translate it directly into small actions in the workplace.

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Source:‍

_{Komase, Y., Watanabe, K., Imamura, K., & Kawakami, N. (2021). Effects of gratitude intervention on mental health and well-being among workers: A systematic review. Journal of Occupational Health, 63(1), e12290. https://doi.org/10.1002/1348-9585.12290}