The Better Business Bureau’s “Thank a Business Month” is already more than half over, and if you’re not participating, I encourage you to start expressing your gratitude to the employees of the businesses you patronize.

The mayors of Omaha, Lincoln, Overland Park, Kan., and Sioux Falls,  S.D., recently issued proclamations designating November 2024 as “Thank a Business Month.” We’re thrilled to receive such marvelous support for this important initiative, and I hope this project results in individuals receiving appreciation for doing what might often feel like thankless work.

We frequently walk right past a store’s shelf stocker without it ever occurring to us to thank the employee for that service. Police officers and security guards help to keep us safe, farm and factory workers provide products and produce for us to purchase and consume, haulers deliver goods to our doors, and waste handlers whisk away our garbage every week. We have a tendency to take most of these services for granted, and it would be wonderful if “Thank a Business Month” would help us all cultivate gratitude — not just in November, but all year round.

So thank the plumber who dislodged that clog, thank the person who repaired your car and the person who created the art you enjoy. Thank your religious leaders, your tree trimmers and whoever brewed the coffee you’re drinking. Thank those who maintain our technology and those who care for us when we’re injured or ill.  It lifts workers’ spirits when they feel appreciated, but you benefit, too, from a thankful heart.

Gratitude increases our feelings of happiness and soothes our nervous systems. It can improve our physical health by helping us sleep better and it even bolsters the human immune system. Practicing the discipline of gratitude can foster emotional health, too, by reducing stress and anxiety, and it strengthens our relationships with others when we voice our sincere appreciation.

We at the BBB are extraordinarily thankful to be headquartered in the amazing city of Omaha, where our efforts to advance marketplace trust have been enthusiastically supported for over a century, and where nearly 12,000 businesses have committed deeply to ethical business practices by pledging to adhere to our Standards of Trust.

So thank you to all the local businesses that provide essential goods and services, create jobs and contribute to the vibrancy and economic health of our community, and please join me this month (and every month) in reminding those employees how much we appreciate them and the jobs they do.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/11/20/have-you-thanked-a-worker-this-month/

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