Collective Gratitude: Positive Organizational Scholarship Perspective

Abstract

This research examines collective gratitude, and makes three contributions to management literature. The first contribution is theoretical. The concept of gratitude is a vital emotion or a virtue for daily life in organizations. However, the collective effect of gratitude among employees in work place is interestingly missing in the organizational behavior literature. The second contribution is that we examine the collective gratitude in aspect of positive organizational scholarship. In this conceptual article we propose that contextual performance, team learning and high quality connection is enhanced by cultivating collective gratitude. The third contribution is of conceptual nature: provide a novel framework for future research.

Gratitude in Organizations: A Contribution for Healthy Organizational Contexts

“…A recent approach by Müceldili et al (2015) , focused on a positive organizational perspective, examined the importance of gratitude at the collective level in organizations. They define collective gratitude as a positive emotional state shared within the group and being grateful for the good things that happen ( Müceldili et al, 2015 ). Collective gratitude was found to enhance contextual performance, team learning, and high quality connections in organizations ( Müceldili et al, 2015 ).…”

“…They define collective gratitude as a positive emotional state shared within the group and being grateful for the good things that happen ( Müceldili et al, 2015 ). Collective gratitude was found to enhance contextual performance, team learning, and high quality connections in organizations ( Müceldili et al, 2015 ). Even more recently, Fehr et al (2017) developed a multilevel model of gratitude in organizations that includes episodic gratitude at the event level, persistent gratitude at the individual level, and collective gratitude at the organizational level.…”

Seeking Happiness through Materialism, Gratitude and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Pakistani Employees, with the Mediatory Role of Feeling Experiences

“…but that there are also strengths-specific processes and mechanisms (e.g., zest-interventions may induce higher physical activation and may facilitate physical well-being). (Muceldili, Erdil, Akgun, & Keskin, 2015) proposed that contextual performance, team learning, and high-quality connection is enhanced by cultivating collective gratitude. (McCulough, Kilpatrick, Emmons, & Larson, 2001) examined the associations of subjective well-being and the disposition to experience gratitude in a slightly different way: They correlated measures of subjective well-being (e.g., trait positive affect, negative affect, optimism, etc.)…”

Workplace Adversity

“…Positive psychology is a growing body of research intended to enable the flourishing of human potential. It was first introduced as a science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions and promised to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies of a barren, meaningless one (Müceldili et al 2015;Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000). The focus of positive psychology on enhanced coping and well-being through the generation of ideas, hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance has become clear research directions, for organizations, individuals, and groups wanting to improve the quality of their work life (see, e.g., Tejeda 2015).…”

“…POB has been concerned with studying positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological capacities to improve individual performance in workplaces. POS is a study of the conditions and processes that contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning of people, groups, and institutions (Müceldili et al 2015). These approaches have offered a positive lens for seeing, analyzing, and better understanding organizational life.…”