Are You Reaching For Gratitude At Work? with Robert Emmons

Today we’re talking to Robert Emmons, who’s a professor of psychology at the University of California. Bob’s research focuses on the Psychology of Gratitude and joy as they relate to human flourishing and wellbeing. Bob has authored over 200 original publications in peer-reviewed journals or chapters written or edited eight books, including The Psychology of Gratitude. He is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and public events and has his groundbreaking work on gratitude featured in dozens of popular media outlets all over the world. Bob is also the founding editor and editor in chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology. In this week’s episode, we explore how the practice of gratitude can help us care for wellbeing in workplaces and the practical things leaders and teams can do to practice affirmation and recognition of each other. Connect with Robert Emmons: https://emmons.faculty.ucdavis.edu/ You’ll Learn: [02:30] - Bob defines gratitude for us. [04:27] - Bob shares some of the common misunderstandings people have about gratitude when it comes to improving wellbeing. [07:14] - Bob explains the bottom-line benefits for prioritizing gratitude in workplaces. [09:45] - Bob shares what recent studies have found in terms of how gratitude works neurologically. [13:17] - Bob explains how the practice of gratitude can help leaders and teams feel psychologically safe. [15:10] - Bob offers some tips for how the best ways to express gratitude in workplaces. [17:43] - Bob offers some advice to ensure our expressions of gratitude are authentic. [21:17] - Bob shares what the research is finding in terms of the most effective forms of expressing gratitude. [26:00] - Bob enters the lightning round. Your Resources: MPPW Podcast on Facebook Group The Book of Joy Thanks for listening!  Thanks so much for joining me again this week.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review of the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.  And don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care!  Thank you, Bob!