Spirituality, Organizational Gratefulness, and Well-Being Among Polish Workers

The relationship between spirituality at work and occupational and subjective well-being is not a well-recognized area of research. Many studies have indicated the beneficial effects of spiritual activities on employees' flourishing, but the mechanisms of this influence are still not sufficiently explained. This study aimed to verify the proposed mechanisms that underlie employees' spirituality, stress at work, and life satisfaction, and the role of gratitude toward the organization in these relationships. It was assumed that employees' spirituality is indirectly related to stress at work via gratitude toward the organization. In turn, gratitude toward the organization is directly and indirectly related to life satisfaction through stress at work. The study encompassed 754 individuals working in different companies in Poland. In a sample of women, both spirituality dimensions were indirectly related to stress at work and life satisfaction. Among men, only the secular dimension of spirituality, such as attitude toward coworkers, was indirectly related to stress at work and life satisfaction. Gratitude toward the organization was negatively directly related to stress at work and, through this variable, indirectly positively related to life satisfaction. The benefits of employees' spirituality for their well-being were confirmed, emphasizing a grateful attitude toward the organization as a significant factor in this relationship.

Influence of distributive justice on organizational citizenship behaviors: The mediating role of gratitude

Distributive justice is known to have important emotional and affective outcomes. The present study explores the role of distributive justice as an antecedent to feelings of gratitude toward the organization. Borrowing from social exchange theory, we investigate the mediating role of gratitude in the relationship between “perceived fairness in distributive justice” and “employees’ organization citizenship behaviors (OCB).” Time-lagged, multi-source data was collected from 185 employees and their supervisors employed in a large manufacturing organization based in East India. Two significant findings emerge. First, the results indicate that feelings of gratitude signal fair distribution of benefits such that the employees go beyond the call of the duty to invest in OCB. Second, engagement in such acts seems to nullify their social debts highlighted in the social exchange perspective. Thus, a strong moral emotion, gratitude is a powerful vehicle that drives employees to act in the organization’s interests because doing is desirable and rightful. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.