Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Dec 2025

Let’s Say Thanks: How Motivating Language Increases Engagement and Empowerment Through Follower Gratitude

Jacqueline Mayfield Texas A&M International University ; Milton Mayfield Texas A&M International University ; Doreen Hanke McNeese State University

Abstract

This study examines whether a leader’s motivating language use cultivates individual follower gratitude and ultimately, work engagement and empowerment in both the USA and India. It also seeks to discover if the proposed model shows significant differences between the two national contexts. We examined our model by distributing questionnaires to a wide range of full-time employees using MTurk. Results reveal that in both countries motivating language has positive relationships with an employee’s state-based gratitude, engagement, and psychological empowerment. As predicted, gratitude partially mediates the relationships between ML and the two outcomes. However, the strengths of these relationships differ between both samples.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2025-12-01
DOI
10.1177/23294906231216078
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