Volume 7, Article 12
The relationship between gratitude and work engagement: examining the mediating role of employee resilience
Allison Hoehn and Ayşe Burçin Başkurt
Citation: Hoehn, A., & Başkurt, A. B. (2023). The relationship between gratitude and work engagement: examining the mediating role of employee resilience. European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 7, 12, 1-13. https://www.nationalwellbeingservice.org/volumes/volume-7-2023/volume-7-article-12
Processing dates: Submitted 23 March 2023; Resubmitted 13 July 2022; Accepted 8 August 2023; Published 12 December 2023
Abstract
Background: Work engagement as a concept is becoming increasingly sought after, not only in
organisations but in the growing literature of Positive Organisational Behaviour (POB), an emerging
field of organisational studies. While gratitude and employee resilience have both been found
to predict work engagement, there is limited research on how these variables interact with one
another. This paper explores employee resilience, and how it shapes the relationship between
gratitude and work engagement.
Methods: This study was a cross-sectional correlational design based on survey data from 456
people who were employees of various industries. Quantitative analyses were used and included
methods such as multiple hierarchical regression and mediation analysis to explore the relationship
between gratitude, employee resilience, and work engagement.
Results: Results showed that both gratitude and employee resilience had a significant relationship
with work engagement. The mediation analysis showed that when controlling for resilience,
gratitude was no longer positively associated with work engagement, indicating that resilience fully
mediated the relationship.
Discussions: The findings of this study add to the literature on predictors of work engagement. The
present study showed that employee resilience shapes the relation between gratitude and work
engagement fully, suggesting that without a sense of resilience, grateful employees will not be more
engaged in the job.
Conclusions: The results of this research emphasize the importance of integrating both gratitude
and resilience to enhance workplace engagement. Cultivating both variables can keep employees
engaged, benefiting not only their mental health but the organization as a whole.
Keywords: Gratitude, employee resilience, work engagement
Biographies
Allison Hoehn is with the School of Psychology, Department of Professional Psychology, Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology (MAPPCP), University of East London,
London, UK.
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6324-1736
Ayşe Burçin Başkurt is with the School of Psychology, Department of Professional Psychology, Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology (MAPPCP), University of East London, London, UK.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5123-1568