Saying thank you at work is terrific, but it has become something we are expected to say. It is often said without much thought and that means that it may not make much of an impact on the person we say it to.
Of course a polite “thank you” is always appreciated – but is there a way to take it to another level? Showing gratitude to a colleague is one such way to do so.
An Inc.com article noted Francisco Gino and Adam Grant’s experiment where one group of volunteer fundraisers received no expression of gratitude; the other group of volunteers was told, “I’m very grateful for your hard work.”
The immediate result was the “grateful” volunteers made 50 percent more calls to potential fundraisers.
Clearly, that’s an important result where motivation and output is concerned (in short, if your only goal is to improve productivity, “I’m grateful” is an effective tool), but just as important, the researchers found that saying “I’m grateful” can help people:
- savor positive experiences,
- cope with stressful circumstances, and
- strengthen relationships.
This makes “I’m grateful” two really powerful words.