In today’s high-speed era, finding moments of genuine connection and appreciation may be tough, especially in high-pressure industries like healthcare IT. What if a small act of appreciation could elevate not only your personal well-being but also your professional relationships? Enter the gratitude visit, an evidence-based exercise from the field of positive psychology (Cunha et al., 2019) shown to boost happiness and decrease stress while nurturing bonds. This blog discusses gratitude, its benefits, and how healthcare IT professionals can find purpose and connectedness again in their work from in a hypothetical case study.
What Is a Gratitude Visit?
More than just writing a thank-you note, it asks an individual to take some time to reflect upon somebody in their life, write a detailed letter showing their appreciation, and read the same in front of them. Gratitude visit is an invitation for exposing vulnerability and deepening emotions among people, mostly turning it to last and bring about profound change to their relationship.
The benefits of gratitude extends a wide range of scientifically proven health benefits, both on mental and physical health. According to research by leading psychologists such as Robert Emmons and Martin Seligman (Seligman, 2011), practices in gratitude-such as journaling or writing letters-have been shown to enhance happiness, reduce stress, and even decrease inflammation. These benefits extend beyond the individual, fostering prosocial behaviours and strengthening relationships. Gratitude has also been linked to improved sleep, greater resilience, and reduced burnout (Redwine et al., 2016). Despite some mixed findings, the consensus emphasizes gratitude’s powerful role in enhancing life satisfaction, workplace morale, and even physical health outcomes.
Why Gratitude Matters at Work
Gratitude, though one of the ingredients that can help create a high-performing culture, is seldom shown, especially in the workplace. In work environments that are as stressful as in healthcare IT, showing appreciation boosts morale among employees, mental health (Wong et al., 2018) , cohesiveness, and eventually job satisfaction. When an individual feels valued, one is more engaged and will be motivated to perform better or reduce burnout.
Hypothetical case study: Rajiv’s Story – A Gratitude Visit at Cerner
Rajiv, project manager at Cerner – the leading healthcare IT organization in the world-was exhausted from his highly demanding role. Having been responsible for several projects with a direct impact on patients’ lives, Rajiv usually worked under tight schedules with high expectations. Although successfully on paper, Rajiv had lost connection with the job and his team.
The first time Rajiv heard about the gratitude visit exercise was during a positive psychology workshop at his workplace. Reflecting on his career, he immediately thought of Sarah, his former mentor who had been instrumental in shaping his leadership style. Sarah had consistently encouraged Rajiv during challenging times and helped him develop the confidence to lead complex projects.
Rajiv wrote her a letter in which he informed her of those specific moments when her advice helped him and influenced his personal and professional life. Over coffee, he read the letter out loud, with both sharing a very emotional encounter. Sarah said that it surprised her to this day, along with her appreciation for Rajiv’s words.
The gratitude visit was a game-changer for Rajiv. It reminded him that people, and relationships, matter, and it provided him with a renewed sense of direction and meaning. Drawing on this experience, Rajiv began incorporating practices of gratitude into his team, such as recognizing each other in meetings and writing thank-you notes. Long term, he found that the team’s morale and productivity noticeably improved.
How to Do a Gratitude Visit
Here is how you can do your own gratitude visit:
Identify Someone: Identify a person who has impacted your life or career beyond measure.
How to Write a Thoughtful Letter: Be specific-concrete-about what they did, how it helped you, and why it mattered.
In-person Meeting: Meet in person, or have a video call if needed.
Read the Letter Aloud: Share your words directly for most impact.
Professor Martin Seligman, the founder of Positive Psychology, focused on enhancing well-being and mitigating depression with two paradigm-shifting exercises, among others discussed in the book. The first one is the “Gratitude Visit,” where one writes and delivers a heartfelt letter to someone who has made a positive impact on their life-a great emotional and relational booster. The second, the “What-Went-Well Exercise” or “Three Blessings,” encourages daily reflection on three positive events and their causes, countering our natural tendency to dwell on negativity. Both practices are rooted in Seligman’s extensive research, promising lasting improvements in happiness and a reduction in anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Gratitude (Wood et al., 2010) is not just a feel-good exercise; it has a ripple effect that can change the dynamics of relationships and workplaces. In industries like health IT, where collaboration and innovation are paramount, nurturing a sense of appreciation (Wood et al., 2008)can lead to more engaged and resilient workers. Take time today and reflect on anyone who has made a difference in your life. One simple act of gratitude can unlock deeper connections and renewed motivation.
References
- Cunha, L.F., Pellanda, L.C., Reppold, C.T., 2019. Positive Psychology and Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Front. Psychol. 10, 584. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00584
- Redwine, L.S., Henry, B.L., Pung, M.A., Wilson, K., Chinh, K., Knight, B., Jain, S., Rutledge, T., Greenberg, B., Maisel, A., Mills, P.J., 2016. Pilot Randomized Study of a Gratitude Journaling Intervention on Heart Rate Variability and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Patients With Stage B Heart Failure. Psychosom. Med. 78, 667–676. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000316
- Seligman, M.E.P., 2011. Flourish: a new understanding of happiness and well-being, and how to achieve them, 1. publ. ed. Brealey, London.
- Wong, Y.J., Owen, J., Gabana, N.T., Brown, J.W., McInnis, S., Toth, P., Gilman, L., 2018. Does gratitude writing improve the mental health of psychotherapy clients? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Psychother. Res. 28, 192–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2016.1169332
- Wood, A.M., Froh, J.J., Geraghty, A.W.A., 2010. Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 30, 890–905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.005
- Wood, A.M., Maltby, J., Gillett, R., Linley, P.A., Joseph, S., 2008. The role of gratitude in the development of social support, stress, and depression: Two longitudinal studies. J. Res. Personal. 42, 854–871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2007.11.003