Are we being thankful to our organisations to what it gives us or to people in terms of appreciation and kindness? The answer from my experience is a Big NO. Lack of a culture of gratitude is one among the factors which makes organisation and its people stressful and less productive.

Robert A Emmons is a US Phycologist who works in the field of personality psychology. In his recent book named ‘’Gratitude works’’ he writes about the work he has done on the power of gratitude. He says that in a Physical plane gratitude helps create a stronger immune system and in a psychological plane it creates a higher level of positive emotion. Moreover, socially we become more helpful, more outgoing, more forgiving and feels less lonely and isolated. He advises us in his book that we need to keep up a gratitude journal where we write down our gratitude.

The above work of Robert is relevant in our maritime environments as well. A ship sails smoothly at sea and honours the charter party commitments of the shipper due to the relentless work of many young seafarers under a Captain or a Chief Engineer. The question is how much are these leaders feeling gratitude to their subordinates but instead take only credits and are more concerned with finding faults in them. Appreciation and even a pat on the back of a sailor is a sign of showing gratitude which as per Robert will enhance the leaders well being only. Gratitude is positively contagious and mariners should vehemently practice it.

Shipping companies also need to pull up their socks and find out the quantitative effect of a lack of a culture of gratitude in their organisations. The increasing level of stress, anxiety and depression among employees and the resultant loss of productivity is measurable and gratitude is the right panacea. What can corporations do in this field? Firstly, set up a gratitude journal in the organisations or in the ship where sailors can share their gratitude. To quote Robert Emmons “One of the best ways to cultivate gratitude is to establish a daily practice in which you remind yourself of the gifts, grace, benefits, and good things you enjoy. When we are grateful, we affirm that sources of goodness exist in our lives. By writing each day, we magnify and expand on these sources of goodness. Setting aside time on a daily basis to recall moments of gratitude associated with even mundane or ordinary events, personal attributes one has, or valued people one encounters has the potential to weave together a sustainable life theme of gratefulness just as it nourishes a fundamentally affirming life stance. … Gratitude journaling promotes the savouring of positive life experiences and situations so that we can distil the maximum satisfaction and enjoyment from them. This promotes a shift in consciousness from what we are lacking to the abundance that surrounds us. Gratitude leads us to affirm and acknowledge the good things in our lives. … And because you can’t be grateful and negative at the same time, it counteracts feelings of envy, anger, greed, and other states harmful to happiness.”

Peoples who cultivate gratitude are 25 % more happy and contented. If that number holds good for organisations we could well image the benefits of gratitude on employee profitability. A sort of journaling or gratitude visits where employees show gratitude through functions and visits have significant impact in reducing stress in an organisational context. Gratitude’s link to mental health is now well established and maritime sector need to acknowledge this fact to create a happy sailing.

Marex Media