Posted: January 14, 2011

by Nora Firestone

Correspondent

Facing difficult survival-based decisions, many in 2010 had to reassess their holiday gift-giving budgets and, possibly, how the perceived values of past gifts - both given and received - have or have not held up over time.

Small business owners and charitable donors bore an especially disheartening burden as they weighed generous inclinations against sustainability in deciding how to compensate or support those who've helped support them and their causes. The good news heading into a new year is that there's real value in gifts of the mind and heart.

Seventy-six percent of participants in the 2010 Effects of Gratitude on the Everyday Experience survey, sponsored by Virginia Beach-based ThankingOfYou.com and closed in November, reported that of all the gifts they've received in a lifetime, the "most valued" have been of an emotional/mental nature. Both monetary and physical gifts ranked most valued with only 8 percent of respondents; spiritual and material gifts each ranked highest with only 4 percent, though some noted that they'd count a spiritual gift as one of emotional/mental nature.

Overwhelmingly, respondents reported that the presence of feelings of gratitude in their lives played a "notable" to "driving force" in their abilities to recognize the good in others and the workable within a challenge; to prioritize and make good decisions; to fulfill business and personal obligations; to help, serve and manage others successfully; and in their overall states of emotional, mental and physical health and happiness; and their desire to use their talents and skills to benefit others.

In light of the options, what's the "value" of the gift of gratitude when bestowed upon employees and charitable organizations? I've long proposed that "gratitude is the most sustainable and renewable of all human resources" for its inherently perpetual promotion and recycling of positivity, and that the value of the genuine expression of gratitude grows exponentially when received with an equal dose of the virtue.

Within the workplace, as assessed on the levels of recognition, affirmation and honor, the process works as follows: Recognizing the goodness in a person, entity, act or circumstance is the first step to affirming the value and relevance of that goodness. A person who feels valued and affirmed for his or her relevance to an important goal or mission can often easily refuel with that "high," with that rush of sense of purpose. And when that same person honors that affirmation by allowing it to inspire and enhance new confidence, ideas, behaviors and self-discoveries, he or she becomes more liberated in mindset; more aware of opportunities for growth, creativity and progress; more mentally and emotionally prepared to pursue them; and more likely to attract the alignment of cooperative people and circumstances.

So when honored with intention and attention, even the smallest acts of goodness - like praise for goodness - can evolve as the kinds of personal rewards that money cannot buy.

Rewards like the heightened senses of life's purpose, affirmation and inspiration can recharge a spirit, repurpose a half-worn mission and recycle a passion. It's this perpetual nature of the virtue of gratitude that fuels positivity, its continuum and its expansion. While the gift of gratitude itself is not a gift of monetary value, when received as something of great value the virtue can actually generate the matrix for increased streams of revenue.

How easy is it to bestow the valuable gift of gratitude throughout the year and how might the rewards play out in an American workplace today?

Kelly Meerbott, founder and president of Meerbott Marketing in Virginia Beach, cited author Steve Harrison's "very strong argument" for the expression of gratitude throughout chapters of "The Manager's Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies."

"Small gestures, such as expressing thanks to an employee for a job well done, go a long way toward creating a loyal staff," Meerbott said. And Harrison states that "a loyal staff equals a productive staff and a productive staff equals a successful business," she said.

"The need for a loyal and engaged staff becomes especially critical as we look ahead to the predicted 'brain drain', as the 76 million baby boomers in our country are preparing for retirement," Meerbott said. This increase, she said, could translate into a high percentage of managers and key employees retiring by 2015.

"This creates even greater urgency to have people feel valued and appreciated at work," Meerbott said. "If companies are to retain these key individuals in any capacity, even if part-time or transitionally, along with their wealth of talent, accumulated knowledge and wisdom, they must demonstrate their success" in expressing such appreciation.

"If they do not," she said, "they will risk losing these people too quickly, as they take their essential skills with them either to full retirement or to what they perceive to be a more rewarding work role elsewhere."

In fact, the negative effects of feeling unappreciated within the workplace were partly what eventually repelled Meerbott from unproductive environments and fueled her move to create her own company. Now she's their competition rather than their strongest resource.

Mike Nishnick, a Virginia Beach-based Realtor and entrepreneur who helps to promote positivity on his Facebook page People Wanting to Make a Difference in Others' Lives, said he believes that "people deserve to hear that they've helped someone" and that today, "not enough courtesy and 'thank you' goes around."

Nishnick said that the expression of gratitude translates to "value" in his personal and professional lives, so he emphasizes it often and directly.

"I believe that an appreciative environment can be nothing other than a positive place to visit," Nishnick, 39, said. "I feel that people should be around more positive than negative things in order to function at their highest level. I also believe that positive surroundings create happier people."

The dollar-amount he'd place on this? "Priceless," he said. "There is no price you can put on a person's happiness; there are a lot of miserable rich people out in the world."

Jon S. Wheeler, president and CEO of Wheeler Interests in Virginia Beach, a real estate acquisition firm that Men's Fitness magazine ranked in the top 15 "most fit" American workplaces in 2008, stays mindful of letting his expressions of gratitude translate into acts of value for his staff. First of all, he said, he doesn't view his employees as subordinates.

"Everybody with me is an associate, a partner," Wheeler said. "I think a lot of people [elsewhere] feel that they're not respected and supported" and that can affect a person's ambition, productivity and even health.

"I work very hard on respect in the workplace," Wheeler said.

He trusts the intentions, abilities and initiatives of his staff so much that he grants them the freedoms to design their own schedules and to work out regularly in the health and fitness club downstairs. He often provides nutritious lunches and stocks snacks that promote good health.

If someone's not showing real strength in one area of the business, he "repositions" them to where they can shine in light of their talents and abilities. Nobody "hovers" over anyone and each pitches in to support the others as necessary, Wheeler said.

These practices can help alleviate stress and increase the overall wellness of staff and their relationships - other valuable attainments that money can't necessarily buy.

"It really is a team effort," Wheeler said. "In our environment it works. The trickle-down is that if you're healthier, you're happier."

Wheeler's big on verbal acknowledgement, too.

"A generous e-mail or a thank-you card," or hearing one's name mentioned publicly can really boost morale, he said. "What's it cost you to acknowledge someone at a company meeting? Nothing," he said, and he does it monthly. "A lot of times, people just don't take the time," he said, but "look how far it goes."

Wheeler Interests takes gratitude the extra mile with the "pay it forward philosophy" behind charitable initiatives like the annual Wheeler Benefit dodge ball tournament, which, last year, raised some $30,000 for local charities.

"The associates like it because they can contribute of themselves," Wheeler said, and "it's not just business, business, business; it's fun."

In the case of nonprofits, it's often a deep sense of gratitude on behalf of their founders that fuels the movements with enough power to launch and stay the course.

William Giermak, CEO of St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children, a Norfolk-based pediatric long-term care residential facility serving youth from newborn to 21 who have severe to profound physical and intellectual disabilities, observes a sense of gratitude among staff that he said he believes adds great value.

The environment of appreciation keeps turnover rates down, translating into significant budgetary savings, and extends to the children in the forms of compassion, cooperative dedication and the outpouring of such human resources as emotional, mental and physical energy to spend on the needs of the children and their families.

"I think it adds a lot to job satisfaction" and their willingness to "do something extra," Giermak said of the effects of gratitude throughout St. Mary's. "Every child here has kind of been adopted by five or six members of the staff" who go out of their way to nurture "over and above what their jobs are. It's part of the culture here.

"It also results in less turnover here than you might expect," Giermak said, citing a several-thousand-dollar cost to train, orient and manage each new employee from entry to fully operating status - money better spent on programs and fostering children's progress than on replacing a stream of unhappy staff.

"You'd think it would be a depressing [environment], but it's just the opposite" here.

In addition, "it's so rare that people [complain about] a lack of cooperation," Giermak said.

Boards can effectively focus on planning and ongoing care, program development, fundraising and community connectivity.

Citizens who want to give from their own sense of gratitude to such a life-changing cause but find their wallets strapped should inquire about other gifts of value, such as volunteering to help raise funds and awareness within the community. Giermak also pointed out the value to families in need of letting them know about St. Mary's services.

Some 59.3 percent of our survey respondents reported thinking daily about expressing gratitude for those who've played an important role in their lives, yet, only 26.9 percent reported acting daily on this sentiment.

Like other astute leaders, Giermak has noted the value of the act. When families express gratitude for how St. Mary's staff has positively impacted their lives, "I think folks then are just inclined to re-double their efforts," he said.

Nora Firestone is a Virginia Beach-based journalist and the founder of ThankingOfYou.com, a free Web-based forum for posting and receiving stories of gratitude. She can be reached via e-mail at nfirestone@verizon.net.