Paying gratitude forward at work: How work-specific gratitude can affect burnout through interpersonal helping behavior

Since workers are increasingly suffering from burnout, there is a need for insights into how burnout can be decreased to improve subjective well-being. The broaden-and-build theory proposes that gratitude increases well-being through an upward spiral. Few studies have examined whether gratitude decreases burnout and what mediating behaviors explain this relationship. Using an international sample of employees (N = 353), this study examines whether work-specific gratitude negatively relates to exhaustion and disengagement. Additionally, since gratitude stimulates helping through upstream reciprocity, this study investigates whether interpersonal helping behavior (IHB) mediates these relationships. Our study showed a negative effect of work-specific gratitude on disengagement and exhaustion and a negative relationship between work-specific gratitude and disengagement, mediated by IHB, suggesting that gratitude stimulates IHB, thereby alleviating disengagement.