Is Gratitude the Productivity Hack We’ve Overlooked?

Gratitude might feel like the stuff of thank-you cards and mindfulness workshops but what if it also has something important to say about how we work?

A recent study published in Personality and Individual Differences explores how our natural tendency to feel grateful (known as "trait gratitude") might help explain why some people are more motivated and perform better at work than others. And while we’ve long known that gratitude is linked to well-being, this study asks a more practical question: does gratitude make you a better employee?

The research team which includes Elena-Gabriela Nicuță, Cristian Opariuc-Dan, Loredana R. Diaconu-Gherasim, and Ticu Constantin tracked 246 Romanian employees over 10 weeks. They asked participants about their levels of gratitude, their motivation at work, and how well they were performing in both their assigned tasks and the extra, often invisible, efforts that keep workplaces running smoothly (like helping colleagues or going the extra mile).

Gratitude as fuel for performance?

The findings? Grateful employees were more likely to perform well on core job tasks not just in the moment, but even ten weeks later. In other words, gratitude had a lasting, measurable effect on task performance over time.

This supports a growing idea that gratitude works as a kind of “social glue” or moral motivator. Grateful people may feel a natural desire to give back whether it’s to their colleagues, their organisation, or simply the job itself. Regardless of whether that means staying late to finish a report or helping a new hire feel welcome, it seems gratitude isn’t just a warm feeling but it might shape how we behave at work.

Interestingly, gratitude was linked not only to more productive behaviour but also to better work motivation. Grateful employees were less likely to feel aimless or “checked out,” and more likely to report intrinsic motivation - working because the job felt meaningful or enjoyable, rather than just for rewards or recognition.

But is it the whole story?

The plot thickens (just like a good mystery novel!) when we get to the mediation analysis. The authors expected that work motivation might explain how gratitude boosts performance but that link didn’t quite hold up in the statistical models. That doesn’t mean motivation isn’t important (it is!), but it suggests that gratitude might influence performance through other routes too like boosting engagement or resilience.

So, should we start gratitude journaling in the office?

Maybe – I’m willing to give it a go if you are! The authors stop short of making sweeping prescriptions, but their findings do suggest that cultivating gratitude in the workplace through small rituals, cultural shifts, or leadership modelling, could bring benefits that go beyond just good vibes. Think higher motivation, better performance, and perhaps a more connected workplace culture.

For HR teams and managers, this could be a gentle nudge to think beyond skills and KPIs. Sometimes, the biggest performance boost might come from something as simple, and powerful, as saying “thank you.”

Read the full open-access article here