Understanding the Impact of Workplace Gratitude on Heart Health
What if just a few words of thanks could alleviate the leading cause of death in the US? According to research conducted by experts at the University of Konstanz and published in Public Health, higher gratitude in the workplace is significantly and independently linked to lower cardiovascular heart disease. In the study, 103 male participants reported their feelings of gratitude at work, social support, and self-esteem, while their risk of heart disease was assessed using various blood tests. A greater sense of gratitude at work was associated with a reduced overall risk for cardiovascular heart disease, particularly lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Promoting gratitude at work may help reduce the development and progression of cardiovascular heart disease.
Heart Disease and Stress in the U.S.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the US. Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease, affecting approximately 1 in 20 adults aged 20 and older. Each year, approximately 805,000 individuals in the United States experience a heart attack. Heart disease costs the US approximately $239.9 billion annually, including expenses for healthcare services, medications, and lost productivity due to death. Current treatments include lifestyle changes such as improved diets, increased physical activity, and stress management. In many treatment plans, medication is prescribed to widen blood vessels and control cholesterol levels.
Work-related stress is pervasive in the US, with 83% of American workers experiencing job-related stress and over 25% stating that work is the primary stressor in their lives. Approximately one million Americans miss work each day due to stress, costing companies $51 billion per year, as well as an additional $26 billion in treatment costs. The main causes of workplace stress are workload (39%), interpersonal issues (31%), balancing work and personal life (19%), and job security (9%). Making employees feel appreciated and valued in the workplace would provide significant relief to the many Americans experiencing both heart disease and work-related stress.
Benefits of Gratitude
Feeling valued and appreciated by others has numerous positive effects. It is associated with the fundamental human need to belong to a group. It also serves as a reward mechanism at work, counterbalancing work-related stress. Gratitude boosts self-esteem and buffers against stress experiences, conveying care, respect, empathy, and understanding.
Evidence for the impact of gratitude on health and well-being tends to overlap with various constructs and measures. Higher gratitude at work is associated with higher well-being, peace of mind, energy and joy, job satisfaction, lower feelings of resentment, as well as better mental functioning. It is also linked to higher levels of subjective well-being, lower levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety, burnout, lower back pain, lower risk of sick leave, and fewer exits from any 9 to 5 job. Clearly, feelings of gratitude have many benefits. However, the specific impact of gratitude on heart health was unclear until the recent study conducted at the University of Konstanz.
Measuring the Impact of Gratitude on Heart Health
The study measuring the impact of gratitude on heart health involved 103 male participants, including 25 participants diagnosed with heart disease, 40 hypertensive participants (32 were medication-free, and eight were medicated at study participation), 32 normotensive participants, and six with concealed hypertension. Participants measured their blood pressure on six separate occasions at home, and trained staff obtained three additional measurements.
Psychological assessments and blood tests were collected at the research laboratory. Gratitude at work was measured with a 10-item Bern gratitude scale that asked participants to rate the extent to which they felt appreciated by supervisors and colleagues. Social support was assessed by the eight-item subscale of the Berlin social support scale. Participants rated their agreement with statements such as "There are people who offer me support when I need it." The 10-item Rosenberg self-esteem scale measured global self-esteem, with participants rating positive and negative feelings about themselves. Finally, the amount of strain induced by lack of gratitude at work was measured using the effort-reward imbalance at work questionnaire.
The risk of heart disease was assessed by measuring blood pressure, the diabetes marker HbA1c, blood lipids TC and HDL-C, clotting activity in terms of the prothrombotic factors D-dimer and fibrinogen, along with the inflammatory markers IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP.
Study Results
Statistical multivariate analysis of covariance reveals that gratitude at work is significantly associated with the risk of heart disease, both with and without controlling for medication usage, age, BMI, and smoking. Higher gratitude at work is associated with lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels but not with the diabetes marker HbA1c or the clotting and inflammatory indices. The researchers suggest that being thankful can help reduce stress and improve heart health, potentially lowering the risk of cardiovascular issues.
Practical Examples of Gratitude at Work
Professor and author Gary Yukl provides practical examples of how to express genuine gratitude at work: recognizing diverse contributions and achievements, actively seeking contributions to recognize, acknowledging improvements in performance, recognizing noble efforts, even if they failed, not limiting recognition to high-visibility jobs, not limiting recognition to a few top performers, providing specific recognition, providing timely recognition, and using an appropriate form of recognition.
As we confront the staggering statistics of heart disease and workplace stress in the U.S., the concept of gratitude emerges not only as a remedy but also as a proactive measure for safeguarding both employee well-being and organizational success.