The Power of Gratitude in the Workplace | E. 81

The Healthcare Leadership Experience

Gratitude is the foundation of a happy working environment in all sectors, including healthcare. Scott Colby explains how the power of gratitude can transform our professional lives, with Jim Cagliostro.

Episode Introduction

Scott explores why gratitude is a form of self-care, why it’s good business to implement a gratitude practice, and the impact of workplace loneliness. He also reveals the reason that 79% of workers leave their jobs, the transformative power of a handwritten note and how 36 questions can build long-lasting connections.

Show Topics

• Lessons from Guatemala for healthcare leaders

• Gratitude is a form of self-care

• The power of handwritten notes

• Treat people like humans, not transactions

• Loneliness causes disconnections in the workplace

• How 36 questions build relationships

06:09 Lessons from Guatemala for healthcare leaders

Scott said that work is often a reason people are unhealthy in the US,

‘’From my perspective, what I see is workers are overwhelmed, they're stressed, they have things to get done. I think in the US I think specifically we have a put your head down and get the work done no matter what the expense is. And often I think it's at the expense of the employee, the team member, the healthcare worker. And so I think that's a mentality. It's like, "Hey, we need to get the job done no matter what. And if it takes working long hours, if it takes not getting to take a lunch break or taking any type of break, we just have to get it done." And sometimes I think people feel like the work environment is not conducive to taking care of our own personal wellbeing. And then sometimes I know for people, they have challenges just asking for help. That was a big difference in Guatemala. Now keep in mind, I was there for a short period of time, but the community came out to welcome us. And the other thing I didn't share is they were getting their hands dirty alongside the volunteers and actually did a lot of the work, but not at the expense of their health. They did it alongside of each other and like, "Hey, we have a common goal to build a new classroom and we're going to do it as a community, but at the same time, we're going to welcome strangers, we're going to play soccer, we're going to be in the outdoors and take breaks." And I just think it's a different mindset here where we work, and I know specifically as I still do some individual health coaching with clients who are looking to lose weight and improve their sleep and lower their stress. No matter what industry they're in, it seems like work is a big reason that they're unhealthy. And it stinks because as an employee, if we're unhealthy, we're not going to do our best at work.’’

10:18 Gratitude is a form of self-care

Scott explained why having a gratitude practice is beneficial for physical and mental well-being.

‘’I believe it's essential that we have our own gratitude practice first before we even bring it into the work environment. Well, I'll give an analogy, and most people probably have heard of this, is to, when you're on an airplane before they take off, they're reading the safety instructions, put that oxygen mask on yourself before you help other people around you. So just imagine if you don't put that oxygen mask on yourself and you pass out, you can't help anybody else. And so I believe if we're feeling down and depressed and negative and then our work says, "Hey, we're going to start implementing gratitude." Well, we're not going to be full participants because we don't feel good ourselves, we're feeling mentally, maybe physically sick. And so gratitude is a form of self-care. So the studies show that if you have a consistent and regular gratitude practice, you will feel more optimistic, you're going to be more positive, your stress is going to be less, you might have more energy, sleep better. Whole host of benefits to practice personal gratitude. So I feel like that needs to be in place so that you are kind of more fit and more strong to give it out to other people when you start implementing that at work.’’

13:54 The power of handwritten notes

Scott said handwritten notes are a simple but powerful way to express appreciation in the workplace.

‘’Now, the reason I like handwritten notes so much is if you think about the way we live our lives currently, we're in a rush, we're getting messages from everywhere, like social media, text, email, and probably 100 other ways that I didn't name. And even if we're getting a thank you, which sometimes we don't, they're often just quick text messages like thank you. And they're usually for things that we did or for gift giving. Think about how would you feel if all of a sudden at work you received a handwritten note from a coworker who took the time to actually buy a card, get an envelope, mail it to your home, and write a heartfelt message of how they feel about you and what they appreciate about you. Not even looking about, "Hey, you're doing a great job" or "Thank you for filling in for me when I had to miss a day." But just like, "Hey, here's what I love about you as a person. You're funny. You make me laugh every day." If you got that from a coworker or a boss and it came into your mail, which we know most mail is bills and ads, and you're getting this envelope and it's a handwritten envelope and you open it up and you're like, wow. If that's from a coworker or boss and they just pour their heart out to you, you're going to be like, "I feel really good. This person really cares about me as a human being" and it's going to change your attitude in the workplace. So you are going to want to do a better job and probably be more productive and you're happier overall and maybe want to stick around the workplace and not quit your job. And so I think that's why gratitude can be shown in many different ways at work, but I think handwritten notes is one of the most powerful ways that you could do so.’’

18:20 Treat people like humans, not transactions

Scott shared an anecdote to illustrate the importance of leading with gratitude.

‘’And so I consider leading with gratitude, especially whether you're a one man company or you have a whole organization with hundreds of people as treating other people. And so I know we've talked about how we treat our coworkers, but let's say how we treat our patients, our residents, our clients, treating them like humans and not like a transaction. So got a couple good examples for you based from my own personal life. When I lived in Denver, I had two cats, one of them named Nomar and Nomar had to get two teeth pulled one morning. And so as our pets are getting surgery and whatever is going on with them, we get nervous, we're anxious. So that morning I went to my favorite coffee shop called Fluid, and Fluid is a company and organization, they serve coffee, but they really got to know me over the years as a person. They knew that I had two cats. They knew I took a trip to Guatemala. Well, that morning I told the barista Coley, "Hey, my cat was getting two teeth pulled." This is very coincidental, but she had a cat getting teeth pulled that day as well. She just did something simple. She said, "Your coffee is on the house." And that made me smile. It took my mind off my cat for a few minutes, and it wasn't a company saying, "Hey, we need to milk this transaction and make sure we get money out of you." It was like, "Hey, Scott is anxious today. How can we put a smile on his face for a few minutes?" And so that stuck with me. And then later on that day when the vet office called me in to pick up Nomar, they said he did a good job. It's easy just to have, "Here's your cat. Pay us $1000." While that did happen, what they also did was they gave me a certificate, and the certificate was for Nomar, and they called it a Certificate of Bravery. And they said, "Nomar was a brave boy today." And it may sound corny, but if anybody praises our pets for those pet lovers out there, we just love that company. And so this vet did something very simple. They made a certificate of bravery for Nomar, and that just made my day.’’

23:40 Loneliness causes disconnections in the workplace

Scott said helping people make connections and build friendships at work boosts engagement and productivity.

‘’One eye-opening statistic, it's not talked about, I think as much as maybe appreciation or workplace wellbeing, although it's part of it, is loneliness in the workplace. And so a statistic that came out a few years ago is 61% of employees feel lonely at work, they feel disconnected. And again, that's going to hurt engagement and productivity, and you're not going to want to stay there longer. On the other hand, 70% of employees in a survey said that having a friend at work is the number one critical factor to workplace happiness, which I love saying that. So I think one of the things I would really invest in is creating these deeper connections in the workplace and even friendships. I know maybe we don't talk about that much. Creating a friend at work. …. the jobs that I had when I had friends at work and we maybe did things together or we got to know each other on a more personal level, that made work more fun. It made it more tolerable, even if there were things about the job I didn't like, and then you have a second thought about quitting your job because "Hey, I don't want to leave a job that I have friends at." So there are different ways that you can create these human connections at work, such as writing handwritten notes or taking a break with them outside and sharing a laugh or sharing a meal together.’’

30:30 How 36 questions build relationships

Scott said research by psychologist Arthur Aaron showed the positive impact of getting to know your coworkers.

‘’Arthur Aaron was a research psychologist decades ago. He wanted to answer this question, how can we in a laboratory setting create instant intimacy between strangers? So what he did, he got a large group of people, brought them into his laboratory, and what he had done, he created, after some trial and error, he had created a list of 36 questions. They started out more general and then got more intimate, and he paired people up. Mind you, these people were strangers and they just took turns back and forth asking each other these questions. Just imagine if you're in a room with some other person, maybe a coworker that you don't know very well, and that you ask each other these 36 questions. By the end of that, you're going to be like, gosh, I know this person a lot better now. I know their likes, dislikes, what they're going through. And so what Arthur Aaron found out is I think it was 57% of the people in the group that were strangers wanted to hang out with their partner again in some other setting after the research project was over. So they got to know the person enough that they wanted to hang out together after the fact. And then two people from the study, one pair actually got married and invited everybody from the study. So really asking these kind of open-ended questions like what is one word that describes how you're feeling about life right now?

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You’ll also hear:

How a trip to Guatemala inspired Scott’s personal gratitude journey. ‘’I started to kind of examine my life, like why am I complaining all the time? Why am I focusing on the things that I don't have instead of being grateful for my life and what I do have?’’

Why stepping back is important in the working environment: ‘’The thing about pushing yourself so hard is it leads to illness, whether it's physical illness, emotional exhaustion, mental breakdowns…. studies actually show that when we can take breaks and step away for a few minutes, we'll come back to our work more recharged and more productive.’’

The importance of valuing people in the workplace: ‘’… 79% of the people that answered the survey said they left their job in large part because they didn't feel appreciated in the workplace…it's one thing to recognize you for your work, but it's another thing to feel appreciated as a human being...’’

Alternative questions to ask when "How are you today?" isn’t enough: ‘’…the standard answer is, "I'm fine." When in reality we probably have 50 other emotions that aren't fine that we could have expressed, but we're not comfortable expressing them …’’

Leadership tips: Understanding that business is personal ‘’…get to know people on that level, and I think that's going to make a big difference in your organization.’’

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