Company mandates weekly 15-minute "gratitude circles": 'I told my manager privately that I think the whole thing is counterproductive'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Aug 8, 2026 12:00 PM EDT

Should you have to express your thanks at every hour?

Gratitude is an important concept. If you don't remember what you're grateful for every now and again, then you might wonder what it's all for. It's a good practice to stop and take stock of all the things that are going right in your life. It's too often that we focus on the things that are going wrong, and we lose sight of the things that matter the most. This is a good practice to do in your personal and private life. It's definitely not something that your employer should mandate that you do. There's no quicker way to erase any feeling of gratitude than to be forced to express it. Especially if it's in a workplace where you feel like you're already being undervalued. This is the kind of gesture that bosses may think helps improve morale, but it actually kills it instantly. The employee in this story was learning that, and had a lot to say about it. Sometimes your employer makes a decision that you don't abide by. You have to take it and stride and pretend like you're enjoying it, or else face the consequences. But if you respect and trust the people that you work with, then it behooves you to speak up when you feel like something is going wrong. Feedback can go both ways. 

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  • A group of people in an office have a meeting in a conference room
    via Campaign Creators

    The people in this photo are models

    A group of people in an office have a meeting in a conference room

  • My company is making us do "gratitude circles" every Monday morning.

    so a few weeks ago our department head announced that we're starting every monday with a 15 minute "gratitude circle" where each person has to share something they're grateful for about work. this is mandatory. not optional. 15 minutes every monday before we start actually working.
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  • first week people were just awkward about it and said generic stuff like "I'm grateful for my team" or "I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow." fine whatever. by week 3 people are visibly annoyed and just staring at the table trying to think of something to say. one guy said "I'm grateful it's only 15 minutes" and our manager did not find it funny at all.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • the thing is we're all salaried and understaffed. most of us are working late at least two or three days a week. people have been asking for more headcount for months and getting nowhere. instead of addressing any of that we got a feelings circle where we have to perform happiness every monday morning at 9am.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • I told my manager privately that I think the whole thing is counterproductive and she said "the data shows gratitude practices increase workplace satisfaction" and then sent me a harvard business review article. I didn't respond to the email.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • the funniest part is our department head who started this whole thing called in s ck last monday and nobody ran the circle so we just sat there for a minute then went back to our desks. nobody said a word about it.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • am I being unreasonable for not wanting to participate in mandatory feelings hour? it's not even that it takes long it's just the principle of being told to be thankful while they won't hire anyone to help us
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  • That's what this employee tried to do, but quickly found that it wasn't going to be honored. They ended up in an awkward situation where they had already expressed their dislike for a certain practice, but had to keep doing it anyway. It's a good idea to give your managers and employers feedback on what you do and don't appreciate about the way they run their business. But sometimes when you do, you face pushback for your opinions. That's what happened to the employee in this story. Keep scrolling to find out what happened here and decide what you would've done in this situation.

  • A group of people sit around a table in an office
    via Dylan Gillis

    A group of people sit around a table in an office

  • MadamePoule Montreal Lie. "I'm grateful that our headcount issues have been fixed." "I'm grateful that nobody had to work late unpaid last week." "I'm grateful my manager listens so well to my concerns."
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • Anything that went wrong last week. announce that you're grateful it didn't go wrong. Especially if it went. spectacularly wrong.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • Background_Radish238 Again some BS from the Business Schools. Everyone can just say grateful for having a job and the managers are not 100% morons.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • aeraen I would find something I was able to accomplish the past week and say something to the tune of "I'm grateful I was able to find a solution to (particular problem) that satisfied our customer." Even if I have to make it up. This gives me a chance to sound productive and valuable to my bosses.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • Would I like it? Of course not, but better to turn it to my advantage than fight with management.
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  • Sitcom_kid I would love to see the article and the study. Because I think the whole thing is ridiculous.
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  • No_Bend_2902 Just start making up random things that obviously don't apply to your workplace to be grateful for. Play dumb if they try to correct you.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • thatburghfan I would always frame it as being about a co-worker. "I'm grateful for Tammy who [trained me | helped me | showed me | whatever] when I asked her to [do the thing]. " Or "saw I could use a hand" or the like.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • Humble_Pen_7216 Start making your gratitude more about your accomplishments and less about the corporation. "I'm grateful I was able to complete X despite the current staffing challenges"
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  • MonikerSchmoniker "I would be grateful IF...."' we had more team members so our team wouldn't feel overwhelmed ... we didn't have to substitute these 15 minutes of fake gratitude for actual help from management
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • ... I didn't feel like a puppet to make management feel better about their choices ... I could use these 15 minutes to complete a task Get everyone on board to speak their truth. In a grateful manner, of course.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • Illustrious-Fun-6841 we had something similar except ours was a daily "check in" where you had to rate your mood from 1-10 and if you said anything below a 7 your manager would follow up with you privately after. lasted about two months before enough people complained to HR and they k led it
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • Jtraiano This stuff is out of control. We have safety moments instead Did you know you should wear sun screen in summer? My god man.
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649
  • Embarrassed_Wrap8421 Jeez. You have my sympathy. You could try something like "I'm grateful that I have a job that pays me just enough to keep me from living in a cardboard box under a highway overpass."
    via Reasonable-Fan-8649

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