Gratitude at Work: A Small Practice with a Meaningful Impact

A Thanksgiving Moment to Pause

Thanksgiving invites us to pause and appreciate the people, opportunities, and progress we might otherwise overlook. Gratitude starts with what we notice, but its benefits can ripple outward—from our own wellbeing to the way we connect with others at work.

At SCP, we are grateful for more than three decades of working alongside leaders and organizations, for the trust of our clients and partners, and for the team who makes this work possible.

Those relationships—and the challenges we have worked through together—remind us why resilience, wellbeing, and a healthy culture matter.

Before the next deadline, meeting, or leftover turkey sandwich, take a moment:

Notice something good. Thank someone who made a difference. Let that appreciation ripple outward.

For you, gratitude offers a chance to recognize what is going well. At work, expressing that appreciation helps others feel seen and valued. A small personal practice can become a shared source of connection and support.

Research in the Journal of Occupational Health found benefits for workers’ perceived stress and depression from workplace gratitude interventions.¹ Research in Frontiers in Psychology also links gratitude to employee wellbeing, positive relationships, social support, organizational citizenship behaviors, and healthier workplaces.²

The takeaway: gratitude begins with you, but its benefits can reach the people around you.

Putting Gratitude into Practice

Building more appreciation into the workplace does not need to be complicated.

• Be specific. Instead of simply saying “great job,” tell someone what they did well and why it mattered.
• Recognize progress. Before moving immediately to the next goal, take a moment to acknowledge what the team has already accomplished.
• Notice the quiet contributions. Some of the people who contribute most to a healthy culture are not necessarily the loudest people in the room.
• Make appreciation timely. Recognition carries more meaning when it happens in the moment rather than months later during a formal review.
• Look beyond the workplace. Gratitude can be as simple as appreciating a beautiful day, enjoying a conversation with a colleague, being thankful for meaningful work, or recognizing the relationships that make difficult periods easier to navigate.

Most importantly, don’t wait until Thanksgiving to do it.

Gratitude Builds a Healthier Culture and a Path to Growth

At Strategic Consulting Partners, the SCP GROWTH Index™ explores six connected dimensions of organizational health: Goals, Resilience, Operations, Wellbeing, Talent Development, and Healthy Culture. Gratitude connects especially with Wellbeing, Resilience, and Healthy Culture through the ways we recognize and support one another.

Research highlights why recognition matters. Gallup research found that employees recognized daily by their manager are 2.67 times more likely to be strongly engaged than those recognized weekly or less.³

A 2026 research compilation reports that 78% of employees feel closer to their team when appreciated, and 92% say appreciation lifts team morale.⁴

These connections grow through everyday moments:

• A manager thanking someone who quietly kept a difficult project moving.
• A colleague saying, “Thank you for stepping in. You made a difference.”
• A leader appreciating a team’s effort through a hard stretch, even when things were imperfect.
• A team celebrating progress before taking on the next challenge.

Practiced consistently, these small gestures send a hopeful message: we see you, your contributions matter, and we can move forward together.

Gratitude does not mean ignoring what needs to change. Burnout, poor communication, ineffective processes, leadership challenges, changing markets, and difficult decisions still deserve honest attention. Appreciation cannot replace a healthy work environment, but it can help us recognize strengths and progress while we address challenges.

That balance is the heart of a growth mindset: being honest about where we are, hopeful about where we can go, and ready to build on what is working.

A 2026 review in the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior explored gratitude’s connections to trust, employee voice, helping behavior, team creativity, and relationships.⁵ These are important parts of learning, adapting, and growing together.

We do not have to wait for everything to be perfect to appreciate what is good. Gratitude is one small practice we can carry forward each day as we work toward a healthier, more supportive workplace.

Start today:

Think of one person who has made your day or your work a little better. Tell them what you appreciate and why it matters. Then make room for that same gratitude tomorrow—at home, at work, and in the moments in between.

Interested in working with SCP to build your growth mindset?

Contact SCP today to start the conversation.

References

1. Komase, Y., et al. (2021). “Effects of gratitude intervention on mental health and well-being among workers: A systematic review.” Journal of Occupational Health. Article.
2. Di Fabio, A., Palazzeschi, L., & Bucci, O. (2017). “Gratitude in Organizations: A Contribution for Healthy Organizational Contexts.” Frontiers in Psychology. Article.
3. Gitnux. “Employee Recognition Statistics” (citing Gallup). Compilation.
4. Worldmetrics. (2026). “Employee Appreciation Statistics.” Compilation.
5. Fehr, R., Heng, Y. T., & Fulmer, A. (2026). “The Psychology of Gratitude: Implications for Organizations.” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 13, 489–511. Article.