How and When Service Beneficiaries' Gratitude Enriches Employees' Daily Lives

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Tang, Pok Man; Ilies, Remus; Aw, Sherry S. Y.; Lin, Katrina Jia; Lee, Randy; Trombini, Chiara
• 署名单位: Texas A&M University System; Texas A&M University College Station; Mays Business School; Bocconi University; National University of Singapore; James Cook University; Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Lingnan University; INSEAD Business School
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/apl0000975
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 987-1008
• 关键词: perceived gratitude; relational energy; OCCUPATIONAL IDENTITY; work-family spillover

摘要

Conventional research on gratitude has focused on the benefits of expressing or experiencing gratitude for the individual. However, recent theory and research have highlighted that there may too be benefits associated with receiving others' gratitude. Grounded in the Work-Home Resources model, we develop a conceptual model to understand whether, how, and for whom service providers (i.e., healthcare professionals) benefit from receiving service beneficiaries' (i.e., patients) gratitude in their daily work. We hypothesize that perceived gratitude from service beneficiaries enhances service providers' relational energy at work, which spills over to benefit their family lives later in the day. In addition, we hypothesize that the effect of gratitude on relational energy and its subsequent spillover effect to the family are contingent on employees' occupational identity. Two experience sampling studies with data collected from healthcare professionals and their spouses for two consecutive weeks (each) provided support for our hypothesized model. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our work.