Predicting Job Satisfaction: Contributions of Individual Gratitude and Institutionalized Gratitude

doi:10.4236/psych.2012.312A173

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Psychology

2012. Vol.3, No.12A, 1174-1176

Published Online December 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/psych) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2012.312A173

1174

Predicting Job Satisfaction: Contributions of Individual Gratitude

and Institutionalized Gratitude

Lea Waters

Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Email: [email protected]

Received September 14th, 2012; revised October 15th, 2012; acc e pted November 7th, 2012

This study examined the role that employee perceptions of dispositional gratitude, state gratitude and in-

stitutionalized gratitude had upon job satisfaction. Employees (n = 171) completed measures of disposi-

tional, state and institutionalized gratitude together with job satisfaction. Multiple Hierarchical Regression

showed that state gratitude and institutional gratitude uniquely predict job satisfaction. The results have

implications for the fields of positive organizational scholarship and positive organizational behavior and

suggest that workplaces aiming to increase job satisfaction can do so through organizationally-based

gratitude interventions and by institutionalizing gratitude into workplace culture.

Keywords: Positive Psychology; Gratitude; Job Satisfaction; Positive Organizational Behavior

Introduction

Gratitude is a universal human virtue (Emmons, 2003, 2007)

that has been defined by Howell (2007) as “the active and con-

scious practice of giving thanks” (p. 12). The pioneering work

of Emmons and McCullough has legitimized gratitude as an

important topic for scientific inquiry (Emmons, 2003; 2007;

Emmons & McCullough, 2003; McCullough, Emmons, &

Tsang, 2002). Wood, Froh and Geraghty (2010) argue that

gratitude interventions are amongst the most successful of all

positive psychology interventions in promoting wellbeing.

The science of gratitude has typically focused on individual

gratitude, that is, gratitude which is either dispositional or

state-like (Wood et al., 2010). Research shows that wellbeing is

influenced by one’s stable disposition towards gratitude and by

state gratitude that can be triggered/heightened through a grati-

tude intervention (GI) (e.g., gratitude letter, gratitude lists).

Wood et al.’s (2010) review shows that much research has been

done to explore the link between gratitude and well-being (e.g.,

life satisfaction, mood, self-esteem) as well as gratitude and

social relationships (e.g., helping behavior, pro-social motiva-

tion). However, limited consideration has been given to the role

of gratitude in an organizational context and the influence of

gratitude on indicators of work well-being such as job satisfac-

tion. In 2003 Emmons argued that “there is virtually no hard

evidence on gratitude in organizations” (p. 84). This argument

remains valid nine years on.

Presumably the link between gratitude and positive outcomes

remains present in a workplace context. The causal mechanisms

that link gratitude to well-being such as the broaden and build

process, the gratitude-coping link and the grateful schema

(Emmons & Anjali, 2011) are all likely to operate within the

workplace and are, thus, likely to link dispositional gratitude

with indicators of wellbeing. To date, there has only been two

published studies linking dispositional gratitude of employees

to work wellbeing. Andersson, Giacalone and Jurkiewicz (2007)

found a positive relationship between gratitude and corporate

social responsibility in a sample of white-collar employees.

Chan (2010) found an inverse relationship between disposi-

tional gratitude and workplace burnout in teachers.

The link between gratitude and job satisfaction has not been

empirically tested. This gap is surprising given that job satis-

faction is a long standing and well accepted measure of well-

being at work (Muchinsky, 2003). Indeed, Fisher’s (2010) re-

cent review of employee happiness posited job satisfaction as

one of the three top indicators of wellbeing at work. Job satis-

faction is defined as “the degree of pleasure an employee de-

rives from his or her job” (Muchinsky, 2003: p. 307) and is

aligned with a positive psychology approach.

Beyond the influence of dispositional and state gratitude

upon job satisfaction, the degree to which a workplace culture

expresses and reinforces gratitude is also likely to influence job

satisfaction. Cameron’s (2012) research can be used to suggest

that workplaces which enable virtuous behaviors, such as grati-

tude, will foster employee wellbeing. Institutionalized gratitude

(Cameron, 2012) is defined in the present study as “gratitude

that is culturally embedded within the organization, through its

people, policies and practices, such that thankfulness and ap-

preciation are customary features of daily work life”.

Using Cameron et al.’s (2011) organizational virtuousness

model, institutionalized gratitude can be said to be enacted in

and through the organization. Gratitude enacted in organiza-

tions is done so by members giving thanks to each other. Re-

search by Bennett, Ross and Sunderland (1996) found that

when patients and managers provided gratitude and recognition

to employees who worked in carer roles for HIV/AIDS patients,

it buffered the employees from burnout. Gratitude fostered

through organizations is done so by the features and practices

of the organization that legitimize gratitude. For example,

Emmons (2003) highlights Appreciate Inquiry as an organiza-

tional method that can build gratitude.

Institutionalized gratitude is not simply the aggregate of in-

dividuals who express gratitude in the workplace, rather, it is

conceptualized in this paper as a distinctive and enduring or-

ganizational characteristic that promotes gratitude within and

L. WATERS

between organizational members across time. Thus, institution-

alized gratitude may have a unique effect on job satisfaction

above and beyond the effect of dispositional gratitude because

institutionalized gratitude comes from outside of the individual.

In addition, institutionalized gratitude may have a unique effect

on job satisfaction above and beyond the effect of state grati-

tude because institutionalized gratitude is enduring rather than

transient. The intra-personal processes that link dispositional

and state gratitude to job satisfaction are likely to be the cogni-

tive and emotional mechanisms listed above such as the

broaden and build process, the gratitude-coping link and the

grateful schema (Wood et al., 2010). In contrast, the link be-

tween institu- tional gratitude and job satisfaction will come

through social processes and group dynamics like the contagion

effect, recip- rocal altruism, the elevation effect and the ampli-

fication effect (Cameron, Bright, & Caza, 2004; Emmons, 2003;

Frederickson, 2003). Thus, an employee may not feel gratitude

themselves, but will still experience improvements in job satis-

faction through the positive influence of a grateful culture.

The current study adds to the gratitude literature in two im-

portant ways: 1) it empirically tests the relationship between

dispositional and state gratitude with job satisfaction, and 2) it

examines the relationship between employee perception of

institutional gratitude and job satisfaction.

Hypothesis 1: Dispositional gratitude and state gratitude will

be significantly related to job satis f acti on.

Hypothesis 2: Institutional gratitude will have significant

predictive variance upon job satisfaction above dispositional

gratitude and state gratitude.

Method

Sample and Measures

One hundred and seventy one employees (45% male) across

two different sectors (teaching and finance) participated. Aver-

age tenure with current organization was 7.18 (SD = 4.75) years,

82% were university educated and the average age was 41.16

(SD = 8.88) years.

Four measures were used in the following order of assess-

ment: 1) The Index of Job Satisfaction (IS) (Brayfield & Rothe,

1951) assesses subjective perspectives on work (e.g., “I find

real enjoyment in my job”; 6 items,  = .68); 2) The integrity

and gratitude sub-scale of the Positive Practices Scale (IG-PPS)

(Cameron et al., 2004) assesses employee perceptions of the

degree to which their workplace fosters a culture characterized

by gratitude and integrity (e.g., “At my workplace, we express

gratitude to each other; 7 items,  = .92); 3) The Gratitude

Questionnaire (GQ-6) (McCullough, et al., 2002) assesses dis-

positional, stable, tendencies to experience gratitude in daily

life (e.g., “I have so much in life to be thankful for”; 6 items, 

= .74); and 4) The Gratitude, Adjective Checklist (GAC)

(McCullough et al., 2002) was used to assess state gratitude.

Employees were asked to think about their feelings over the

past week at work and respond to the three items that assess

gratefulness, thankfulness, and appreciativeness (3 items; 

= .74). All scales were answered along a five point Likert scale

(1 = not at all, 5 = very much). All scales are well-validated,

and have been used across multiple samples.

Procedure

Participants were recruited through a series of professional

development workshops on positive psychology run by the

researcher. The researcher was invited to three schools and two

investment banking companies to run these workshops. Prior to

commencing the workshop, participants completed the IJS,

IG-PPS, GQ-6 and GAC.

Results

Table 1 presents the means, standard deviations and correla-

tion coefficients. Job satisfaction was significantly correlated

with dispositional gratitude, state gratitude and institutional

gratitude. A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted

using SPSS in which the demographic measures (age, length of

tenure, profession and gender) were entered before disposi-

tional gratitude (step 2), state gratitude (step 3) and institutional

gratitude (step 4). The overall model was significant, F(7, 156)

= 7.35, p < .001, and 24.8% of the variance in job satisfaction

was predicted. The variance in job satisfaction scores accounted

for by demographic factors was not significantly different from

zero. However, there were statistically significant increases in

variance when dispositional gratitude (F(1, 158) = 16.63, p

< .000), state gratitude (F(1, 157) = 23.76, p < .000) and institu-

tional gratitude (F(1, 156) = 5.83, p < .05) were subsequently

entered into the equation. Specifically, they accounted for 9.5%,

11.8% and 2.8% of variability in job satisfaction above those of

previous predictor variables. Interestingly, Dispositional grati-

tude did not significantly contribute to the model after account-

ing for state gratitude scores.

Discussion

This preliminary study responds to calls by Emmons (2003)

and Cameron et al., (2011) to conduct scholarly research on

virtuousness in organizations. All three types of gratitude were

positively correlated with job satisfaction. However, disposi-

tional gratitude was not a significant predictor of job satisfac-

tion when state gratitude and institutionalized gratitude were

entered into the regression. This may be because state gratitude

and institutionalized gratitude were assessed as more localized

constructs anchored within a work context and as such, they

had more of a proximal nature to an employee’s assessment of

Table 1.

Means, standard deviations and correlation coefficients for the study

variables.

Mean (SD)JS Age CT DG SG

Job

Satisfaction

(JS) 5.92 (.78)

Age 41.16 (8.88)–.01

Current tenure

(CT) 7.18 (4.75).05 .64*

Dispositional

Gratitude

(DG) 5.56 (.78) .29** –.04 .09

State

Gratitude (SG)5.93 (.76) .45** –.03 –.02 .44**

Institutional

Gratitude 5.66 (.86) .32** .01 –.03 .22** .36**

Note: n = 164; **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); *Correlation

is significa n t at the 0.05 le vel (2- ta ile d).

L. WATERS

1176

the degree to which they derive pleasure from work, thus mini-

mizing the role of dispositional gratitude.

The significant relationship between state gratitude and job

satisfaction suggests that organizational leaders can aim to

boost job satisfaction by regularly prompting grateful emotions.

There is convincing evidence to show gratitude interventions

promote wellbeing in many different samples and settings

(Wood et al., 2010). However, little work has been done on

organizationally-based gratitude interventions (OBGI). In

Chan’s (2010) research, employees who used a weekly grati-

tude list together with the Naiken meditation questions for an

eight-week GI reported improvements in life satisfaction and

positive affect. However, the employees engaged in the GI in

their homes rather than at work. Howell (2012) established a

year-long OBGI with teachers from two schools who formed a

gratitude group and met each week in the staffroom to explore

gratitude. Her qualitative research found that teachers in this

OBGI reported enhanced wellbeing and relationships. To date,

these are the only two published studies on OBGI’s.

However, leaders can transfer many of the existing GI’s (see

Wood et al., 2010) into a workplace context. Further ideas in-

clude gratitude boards in the staffroom, providing employees

with thank-you postcards to send home to their colleagues,

gratitude lists included in weekly meetings, gratitude awards

and other activities that are designed to orient employees to

appreciate what is good in their workplace and express grati-

tude to colleagu es .

The results also suggest that employees gain benefit, in the

form of greater job satisfaction, through belonging to a work-

place culture that endorses gratitude. This benefit operates

above and beyond the amount of gratitude an employee feels

within him/herself. Through the contagion and elevation effects,

the expression of gratitude is amplified across an organization

and reciprocally expanded, which has the potential to positively

influence job satisfaction of all employees (Emmons, 2003).

Leaders can seek to institutionalize gratitude through role mod-

elling practices such as publicly expressing gratitude in team

meetings and staff assemblies, through company reward poli-

cies, appreciative inquiry methods, and by creating thankful

relationships amongst employees. Beyond these behavioral

manifestations of gratitude, those leaders who adopt a deeper

life orientation of appreciation and move away from a deficit,

or complaint focus will be the leaders who truly inspire a cul-

ture of gratitude (Howell, 2012; Emmons, 2007).

Several methodological considerations are present in this

study. All measures were self-report which can lead to common

source bias. The study accessed employees from two sectors,

but a wider range of professions is needed in order to generalize

the results. Also, it is possible that there is a selection bias in

the sample, as the five workplaces that invited the researcher to

conduct the positive psychology training are, presumably, or-

ganizations that are receptive to promoting positive cultures,

which may mean that the effect of gratitude upon wellbeing

was stronger in the sample. Finally, the study was cross sec-

tional and cannot be used to draw conclusions about the rela-

tionships between gratitude and job satisfaction over time. The

influence of disposition may be stronger over time than at one

testing point.

In their foundational paper launching the field of positive

psychology, Seligman and Csikszentmihlyi (2000) contended

that the application of positive psychology can be used to create

“positive institutions” (p. 5). The relationship between institu-

tionalized gratitude and job satisfaction is a fruitful area for

future research towards this valuable purpose.

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