Effects of the Collective Gratitude on Work Engagement: A Multilevel Cross-sectional Study.

Abstract

Work engagement is a key concept because of its positive association with physical/mental health, job performance, and well-being. This study aims to examine the relationship between organizational-level gratitude (collective gratitude) as a work climate and work engagement. Utrecht Work Engagement Scale measured work engagement. Gratitude at Work Scale measured individual-level gratitude, and collective gratitude was calculated by aggregating individual-level gratitude after confirming within-group agreement and the intraclass correlations. Multilevel analysis was conducted. A total of 1187 workers from 72 organizations were analyzed. The multilevel analysis showed a significant positive association between collective gratitude and work engagement while controlling for individual-level confounders. The findings indicated developing collective gratitude would improve work engagement in the workplace. It would be useful for managers and occupational health staff to consider collective gratitude initiatives.