The Role of Gratitude in Gender-Diverse Workplaces:

The Effects of Collective Gratitude on Affective Commitment

Abstract

This research focuses on gratitude as positive communication among members in workplaces. Specifically, we aim to examine the effect of “collective gratitude,” an experience of gratitude shared by the members of workplaces, on affective commitment of the members. The research also investigates whether workplace gender diversity moderates the positive effects of collective gratitude. We conducted an employee survey at a group of Japanese companies. As a result of hierarchical linear modeling, we found the positive effect of the experience of gratitude on employees’ affective commitment, both at individual and collective levels. We also found that the positive effect of collective gratitude was significantly stronger at the workplaces with a high level of gender diversity.