WELL-BEING TOOLKIT: GRATITUDE
Gratitude is appreciation for what you have and the goodness in your life. It is often tied to an emotional response from an event or situation that was meaningful, but it also includes recognizing and appreciating small things.
Benefits of Gratitude
Gratitude Activities
Are you looking to infuse mental health and well-being into the day-to-day culture of your department? Use the suggested activities and instructions below to encourage conversations and practice skills for gratitude. These activities can be led by your department’s Wellness Ambassador or anyone who is interested in facilitating an activity for your department. If you have questions, liveWELL is here to help.
Mindful Moments (5 minutes)
Mindful moments are quick activities that are 5 minutes or less and are perfect for when you only have a few minutes as a team to connect on a well-being topic. You can incorporate these into the start of a team meeting or huddle.
• As a team, watch a video on gratitude:
o What good is gratitude?
o Brené Brown on the relationship between joy and gratitude
• Gratitude huddle: At the beginning of a regular staff meeting, invite attendees to share what they are grateful for
• Practice a gratitude meditation.
Contact liveWELL at 319-353-2973
livewell@uiowa.edu
The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact Office of Institutional Equity, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705, oie-ui@uiowa.edu
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or visit our website at hr.uiowa.edu/employee-well-being/livewell 1
Skill Boosters (15 minutes)
Skill Boosters are a step above mindful moments and usually last about 10-15 minutes. These activities provide opportunities for participants to practice enhancing skills for the well-being topic.
• Thank you, card activity: Purchase thank you cards for your department and encourage employees to use them to practice gratitude. Provide the following prompt. Who is someone that influenced you the most in your life or career? Take 5-10 minutes and write them a letter of gratitude. Mail the card to the person.
o Send an e-card
o Printable and digital thank you cards from UI Health Care
• Kudo board Activity: Start with a large blank poster board. Hand out sticky notes of different colors to each team member and invite them to write down a quick “kudo” for each of their colleagues and put the sticky notes on the poster board. Hang the poster board in a common area in the workspace.
• Discuss recognition opportunities at the University of Iowa
o liveWELL Wellness Heroes
o Daisy Awards (UIHC Nursing Staff)
o Create your own recognition program for your department
Conversation Starters (20-30 minutes)
Conversation starters are for when you have more time carved out to engage with the topic such as 20-30 minutes. Include this topic as a main agenda item in one of your upcoming team meetings, huddles, or staff retreats. These activities are designed to help foster discussion and connection on the well-being topic.
• Journal Prompt and Discussion: Take 5-10 minutes to write and respond to a gratitude journal prompt
o How many of your basic needs do you not have to worry about today?
o Who is someone who really listens to you when you talk?
o What about today has been better than yesterday?
• Find more journal prompts at 20 Thought Provoking Questions about Gratitude
• Group discussion: How does expressing gratitude through journaling make you feel? What are ways you can add more gratitude to your life?
Department Challenges (2-4 weeks)
Do you want to do more with the well-being topic? Consider implementing a department wide challenge that lasts anywhere from 2-4 weeks on the well-being topic. liveWELL has several challenge programs that you can implement with your department anytime throughout the year that are complete with communications and materials.
• Implement a gratitude challenge (Gratitude Calendar)
RESOURCES
View several resources and articles on gratitude at University of Iowa’s Grateful Hawks Gratitude Resource Guide. Utilize the Daily Gratitude Worksheet for a simple activity with effective prompts.
The
Contact liveWELL at 319-353-2973 or livewell@uiowa.edu or
University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact Office of Institutional Equity, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA
319-335-0705,
52242-1316,
oie-ui@uiowa.edu
2
visit our website at hr.uiowa.edu/employee-well-being/livewell