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Gratitude at Work Works! A Mix-Method Study on Different Dimensions of Gratitude, Job Satisfaction, and Job Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Michela Cortini

    (Department of Psychological, Health and Territory Sciences, Università“G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti CH, Italy)

  • Daniela Converso

    (Department of Psychology, University of Turin, via Verdi 10, 10124 Turin, Italy)

  • Teresa Galanti

    (Department of Psychological, Health and Territory Sciences, Università“G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti CH, Italy)

  • Teresa Di Fiore

    (Department of Psychological, Health and Territory Sciences, Università“G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti CH, Italy)

  • Alberto Di Domenico

    (Department of Psychological, Health and Territory Sciences, Università“G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti CH, Italy)

  • Stefania Fantinelli

    (Department of Psychological, Health and Territory Sciences, Università“G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti CH, Italy)

Abstract

Gratitude may be defined as a personal positive tendency to recognize and respond with gratitude to positive experiences. It has been extensively described within personal relationship literature, showing its correlations with life satisfaction and decreased psychopathology. We propose here to consider gratitude as both a personal and an organizational value able to improve job performance and job satisfaction. The specific aim is twofold: to explore how public administration workers are used to express and perceive gratitude in the workplace, and to validate a serial mediation model, in which dispositional, collective, and relational gratitude are predictors of job satisfaction and job performance. We have designed a mix-method study, with a survey and a diary study, choosing to collect data also on a daily basis because we were interested in gratitude exchanges in work contexts using the event-sampling data method. Nine employees from several Italian public administrations completed a gratitude diary for ten working days in the initial qualitative part of the study. Afterwards, a sample of 96 Italian public administration employees filled in a questionnaire with measures related to job satisfaction, job performance, and three dimensions of gratitude: dispositional, collective, and relational. Results confirm that the three types of gratitude are predictors of job performance and job satisfaction and this relation has been tested in a serial mediation model. This investigation on gratitude has practical implications for the planning of training interventions framed in the positive psychology context.

Suggested Citation

  • Michela Cortini & Daniela Converso & Teresa Galanti & Teresa Di Fiore & Alberto Di Domenico & Stefania Fantinelli, 2019. "Gratitude at Work Works! A Mix-Method Study on Different Dimensions of Gratitude, Job Satisfaction, and Job Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-12, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:14:p:3902-:d:249342
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Engin Ari & Osman M. Karatepe & Hamed Rezapouraghdam & Turgay Avci, 2020. "A Conceptual Model for Green Human Resource Management: Indicators, Differential Pathways, and Multiple Pro-Environmental Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Nadežda Jankelová & Zuzana Joniaková & Anita Romanová & Katarína Remeňová, 2020. "Motivational factors and job satisfaction of employees in agriculture in the context of performance of agricultural companies in Slovakia," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 66(9), pages 402-412.
    4. Ali Katebi & Mohammad Hossain HajiZadeh & Ali Bordbar & Amir Masoud Salehi, 2022. "The Relationship Between “Job Satisfaction” and “Job Performance”: A Meta-analysis," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 23(1), pages 21-42, March.
    5. Jeffrey L. Godwin & Susan M. Hershelman, 2021. "Utilizing Self-Leadership to Enhance Gratitude Thought Patterns," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-12, April.
    6. Silvia Ștefania Maican & Andreea Cipriana Muntean & Carmen Adina Paștiu & Sebastian Stępień & Jan Polcyn & Iulian Bogdan Dobra & Mălina Dârja & Claudia Olimpia Moisă, 2021. "Motivational Factors, Job Satisfaction, and Economic Performance in Romanian Small Farms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, May.
    7. Cheng-Feng Cheng, 2020. "Revisiting Internal Marketing for the Determinants of Job (Dis)Satisfaction by Using Asymmetric Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, May.

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