2308: Diving Deep and Expanding Wide: Fresh Perspectives on Gratitude and Appreciation at Work (20552)

Organizer(s)

• MK

  Meghan Kane

  U. of Central Florida, United States
• SS

  Sharon Sheridan

  College of Business, Clemson U., United States

Presenter(s)

• AY

  Ayana Younge

  U. of Virginia, Darden School of Business, United States
• RF

  Ryan Fehr

  U. of Washington, Seattle, United States
• SS

  Sharon Sheridan

  College of Business, Clemson U., United States
• MK

  Meghan Kane

  U. of Central Florida, United States
• SH

  SungHyoun Hong

  Georgia State U., J. Mack Robinson College of Business, United States

Gratitude at work is associated with a number of benefits and recent research has begun to explore the other side of gratitude–feeling appreciated at work (Sheridan & Ambrose, 2022). What is becoming clear is that gratitude and appreciation are key ingredients for developing high quality connections in the workplace. To ensure that management research on gratitude and appreciation is poised to keep up with the complexity and turbulence organizations and leaders face today, researchers must ask new questions and adopt new perspectives. While there are many benefits of gratitude and appreciation for both individuals and employers, there are still unexplored nuances to understanding these emotions at work. This symposium explores the complex nature of gratitude and appreciation at work and how we, as a field, can take research on these social emotions into the future. The studies in this symposium are diverse in methods (e.g., field study, team, time-lagged survey design, experimental design), theory (e.g., optimal distinctiveness theory, social learning theory, person perception, expectancy violations theory, social comparison theory), and focus (e.g., outcomes, antecedents, appreciation meta-accuracy, relational implications), and as such, offer an innovative and complimentary view on gratitude and appreciation at work. Our symposium (1) rethinks the conventional ways of looking at gratitude and appreciation at work, (2) offers novel insights into how to effectively manage and lead organizations, and (3) propels the gratitude and appreciation literature forward into new directions, all with a focus on two simple words: thank you.

Presentations:

• 15:00 – 16:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  2308: Creating an Optimal Workplace: How Gratitude and Appreciation Enhance Employee’s Sense of Belonging (20552)
  

  Author: Ayana N. Younge – U. of Virginia, Darden School of Business
• 15:00 – 16:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  2308: Learning to Say Thanks: A Trickle-Down Model of Leader Gratitude Expression (20552)
  

  Author: Ryan Fehr – U. of Washington, Seattle

  Author: Jack Ting-Ju Chiang – Guanghua School of Management, Peking U.

  Author: Haiyang Liu – Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological U., Singapore

  Author: Zheng Wang – School of management, Zhejiang U.

  Author: Satoshi Akutsu – Hitotsubashi U.

  Author: Emi Osono – -

  Author: Ayana N. Younge – U. of Virginia, Darden School of Business
• 15:00 – 16:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  2308: Do You See What I See? The Modesty Curse for Subordinates' Meta-Appreciation Accuracy at Work (20552)
  

  Author: Sharon Sheridan – College of Business, Clemson U.

  Author: Lauren Rachel Locklear – Texas Tech U.

  Author: Dejun “Tony” Kong – U. of Colorado, Boulder
• 15:00 – 16:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  2308: I (Actually) Can’t Thank You Enough: How Expectations for Gratitude Expressions Impact Relationships (20552)
  

  Author: Meghan Kane – U. of Central Florida

  Author: Lauren Rachel Locklear – Texas Tech U.

  Author: Mark G. Ehrhart – U. of Central Florida
• 15:00 – 16:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  2308: The Dark Side of Gratitude Expression: A Third-Party, Social Comparison Perspective (20552)
  

  Author: SungHyoun Hong – Georgia State U., J. Mack Robinson College of Business