How to Show Gratitude in Business

It’s the time of year to reflect on what we’re grateful for. Although we often focus on gratitude for the holidays, we should practice gratitude more than once a year because it will help our businesses grow. 

Yes, showing gratitude can help your business grow.

It’s one of the easiest things to do but somehow always gets forgotten. People start to feel resentful, unvalued, disrespected, and unappreciated, which leads to an unhappy workplace with high turnover - unappreciated customers who don’t return to purchase from your business. 

Establishing a culture of gratitude is an easy way to set yourself up for success.

Why Gratitude is Important for Business

Are you more likely to do business with someone who takes your money and runs, or someone who shows genuine appreciation for your business? I’m guessing the latter (let’s face it, we all want to be appreciated). Showing appreciation for “your people” greatly improves the amount of business you receive and builds your loyal customer base. People will keep coming back to you when they feel truly appreciated and valued. 

On the other hand, employees and employers need to feel appreciated, too. An excerpt from Intelligent Change reveals something interesting about U.S. workplaces: 

“Recent research conducted by the John Templeton Foundation revealed that for Americans, the workplace is the least likely place to express gratitude. Although as many as 93% of the respondents agreed that a grateful boss is more likely to succeed, and almost all of them agreed that a simple ‘thank you’ at work made them feel valued and respected, only 10% were actually prone to express gratefulness. The majority, or 60% of the respondents, have never expressed gratitude at work, or have only done so once a year!”

That’s pretty sad! How does showing gratitude once a year foster a positive work environment? It doesn’t. Employees and bosses need positive affirmation, encouragement, and to feel respected and appreciated to be their best selves in the workplace. It will make work more enjoyable for everyone, which is important since we spend so much of our one life doing it. 

How to Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

It takes a conscious effort to choose an attitude of gratitude. It’s not something that happens overnight, and even for those who practice gratitude regularly, it can be harder on difficult days. Adopting a gratitude mindset and intentionally practicing gratitude every day will get you there, though. And it’s definitely worth it.

Mindset

I like this definition of a gratitude mindset from Lucemi Consulting: 

“When you have a gratitude mindset, you focus on the limitless opportunities available in business and life because you already appreciate what you have. When you are grateful, you choose to focus on the positive things rather than the negative things.”

Mindset is key when adopting an attitude of gratitude. You can see opportunity everywhere, but you’re aware of and thankful for where you are and what you have today. No one can take away your choice to be grateful for the life you have or the opportunities you’ve been given.

Attract What You Put Out in the World

You attract what you put out in the world. (Yes, it’s the law of attraction - you knew it was coming.) If you’re constantly throwing negativity into the world, you’re going to get negativity back. If you switch that mindset and start putting positivity into the world, you will attract it back to you. If you constantly show gratitude to people, they will return the favor. 

Another aspect of this is that whatever you’re putting out in the world, you notice more in your own life. In the case of gratitude, when you constantly praise people for the work they’ve done, you notice when people do the same in return. Sometimes small notes of praise can go unnoticed, but when you make that a core value of your business, you notice when people are expressing gratitude towards yourself and others. 

4 Ideas for Showing Gratitude in Your Business

Obviously showing gratitude is important to growing your business, but how do you go about actually doing that? Here are a few ideas of how to start.

Keep a Gratitude Journal

I like to practice gratitude journaling in the morning. It sets me on the right foot for the day. I make a list of 10-15 things that I’m grateful for. I try to be really specific, too. Not just “food” (which, of course, I am grateful for). Instead, I would write something like, “I am grateful that I have the means to purchase food I want.” Be specific when you fill out a gratitude journal. It will be fun to look back after a few months or even years to see how much you’ve grown and developed as a human. 

Be Grateful for Small Things that Happen Every Day

Do you know how many small things happening every day that you can be grateful for? Probably hundreds. During your gratitude journaling, identify small things that have happened to you in the last day or two that you can be grateful for. In addition (or alternatively), you can log your gratitude each night in a journal or app like Pixels. 

Send Gifts to Clients or Customers

Client gifts aren’t just for the holidays. You can send thank you letters when they sign with you, a quick birthday message, or a small gift of congratulations when they hit a milestone in their business. It’s always nice to receive “fun mail,” as I like to call it. It makes clients feel special and appreciated. 

Show appreciation to employees

We’ve all been part of the corporate world and felt unappreciated. If you haven’t, you’re one of the lucky few. It makes you dread work every day, resentful toward the company, and often straight-up miserable. Create a culture of gratitude and appreciation among employees. Give them positive affirmations, small gifts or thank you cards, and encourage employees to show gratitude among themselves, too. An appreciated employee is happier and has a higher job performance. Who doesn’t want that for the people who work with them?

P.S. Freelancers and contractors who do work for you count, too! 

I encourage you to practice showing gratitude daily. Start a daily gratitude journal, send gifts to clients or customers, and create a culture of gratitude by regularly showing employee appreciation. Not only will your business flourish, but you and everyone around you will be happier and more grateful people. We need more of those people in the world, don’t you agree?