Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/274327 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity [ISSN:] 2199-8531 [Volume:] 8 [Issue:] 1 [Article No.:] 22 [Year:] 2022 [Pages:] 1-33
Publisher: 
MDPI, Basel
Abstract: 
Employee engagement has become a critical issue in Japanese companies. One way to develop it is to improve the relationship among employees through gratitude expressions. In the post-COVID-19 remote work environment, digital devices are essential. This paper confirms that expressions of gratitude delivered via digital devices enhance the relationship between employees. We experimented in a small-town government office where participants (n = 88) were asked to (1) use the Thanks App, an app we developed to express gratitude, for two months and (2) respond to an engagement survey we developed before and after the experimental period. Through cross-analysis of the data from the app and questionnaire, we found that the "trust in colleagues" factor had a strong correlation (r = 0.80, p < 0.001) with our new index computed by the app's data. The results suggest that the use of the Thanks App may help visualize the trust relationship among teams. This study has a practical value in providing a new team management tool for visualizing team trust. In addition, it provides a new research method for emotional and social psychology using digital devices.
Subjects: 
employee engagement
gratitude
smartphone application
trust
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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