The Gratitude Attitude
in Long Term Care and Senior Housing
By using fun and laughter as tools to promote positive attitudes throughout the work environment, the Gratitude Attitude can enhance long term care and senior housing. Remember, although we have to take our work in long term care and senior housing seriously, that does not mean we always have to be serious.
There have been many studies conducted that have proven the benefits of laughter and the advantages of fun work environments. Based on those studies, we believe the Gratitude Attitude tools will improve your retention by enhancing your work environment.
What Does the Tool Kit Include?
In a nutshell, The Gratitude Attitude is an impressive package. It includes the themes, ideas, information, posters and activities you will need to implement twelve months of fun throughout your organization. The program is based on twelve monthly themes:
Celebrate You!
- Take Care of Yourself!
- The Value of Others!
- Rise and Shine!
- Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff!
- Make a Difference!
- Don’t Be a Grouch!
- Have Fun!
- Make the Best of Everything!
- Discover New Oceans!
- Enjoy Life!
- Create Something You Love!
The tool kit includes three posters depicting each of these themes (36 posters in all) as well as an activity guidebook. This guidebook details more than 85 employee activities promoting the twelve monthly themes. Most of these activities can be geared to include residents and family members. The book also includes more than 200 motivational quotations and inspiring thoughts for you to use in any way you deem appropriate - to fill an empty corner in your employee newsletter, to post in your employee lounge, to create a morale-building poster, to develop a payroll stuffer, or to write in a note to a co-worker.
The kit also includes 13 camera-ready newsletters on practical suggestions and fun ideas to share with your employees. The themes of these newsletters are:
- What We Would Like Family Members to Know
- Whose Cat Are You Kicking?
- Tips for Reducing Stress
- Dater’s Bill of Rights
- Family Responsibilities Made Easier
- Stop Being Abused!
- Good Things to Ponder/Things I Wish I Had Known Earlier
- Protect Your Latchkey Children
- I Believe
- Protecting Your Wallet
- The Natural Highs of Life
- Through a Rapist’s Eyes
-
Protect Yourself Against Carbon Monoxide
The Gratitude Attitude is not a whimsical little idea; rather, it is serious work with monumental goals.
Getting Started
The first step in implementing the Gratitude Attitude is to establish an interdepartmental employee task force that is assigned the role of making your work environment fun. This is not a task that can be accomplished by a single individual nor is it a task that can simply be delegated to your activity department. It requires buy-in and effort from each and every department. Be brave - make it mandatory for every employee to participate.
The second step to implementing a Gratitude Attitude throughout your organization is our recommendation that you purchase WAHSA’s Gratitude Attitude tool kit. The WAHSA member price for the tool kit, which includes the posters, activity guidebook, and newsletters as detailed above, is $80 ($100 for non-members). That is less than $7.00 per month for more activities than you’ll know what to do with. The idea is not that you implement every activity, but rather that you’ll select those activities best suited for your employees and your facility. To download a copy of the Gratitude Attitude order form, click here.
Step three is introducing the Gratitude Attitude program to your staff at a mandatory inservice. Share some ideas and motivations from the Gratitude Attitude guidebook. Instruct all your employees to get busy having fun.
For more information about the Gratitude Attitude, please contact WAHSA at .
WAHSA 204 South Hamilton Street Madison, WI 53703
Telephone: (608)255-7060 FAX:(608)255-7064