As the season of gratitude arrives, a recent University of Central Florida (UCF) study reveals that showing appreciation to your boss can energize leaders and foster optimism. This uplift benefits employees and drives better business outcomes.
“Theory suggested that feeling valued signals you're seen positively, sparking high energy and strength,” explains Maureen Ambrose, Gordon J. Barnett Professor of Business Ethics and UCF Pegasus Professor. “With more energy, leaders maintain positive outlooks and behaviors. Low energy leads to issues like abusive supervision, harming workplaces.”
Ambrose teamed with Clemson professor and UCF alumna Susan Sheridan to examine upward appreciation's impact. Past research focused on leaders' influence on employees; this flips the script.
“We found employee appreciation boosts supervisors' energy, enhancing their psychological well-being and resilience to stress,” Ambrose notes.
Supervisors surveyed twice daily for 10 business days reported feelings of value from subordinates, energy levels, optimism, life satisfaction, and job satisfaction.
“Days with more appreciation meant higher energy, optimism, life and job satisfaction, and helpfulness,” says Sheridan, PhD from UCF and Clemson's assistant professor of leadership. “This links appreciation to energy upward, shifting focus from leaders to employees.”
The effect was strongest for leaders needing external validation.
Ambrose and Sheridan aim to spur research on gratitude's role and employee influence on leaders.
“Leaders know subordinate relationships matter. This upward view clarifies their experiences and actions,” Ambrose says.
