This study examines the impact of salary receipt on the expression of gratitude in the workplace. Drawing from the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, which posits that positive emotions expand attention and interpersonal connections, we hypothesize that receiving salary enhances employees’ gratitude expression towards their colleagues by boosting their positive emotions. Furthermore, employees are more likely to express appreciation to a wider range of organizational members following salary receipt, including those with whom they have less frequent interaction, such as employees outside supervisor-subordinate relationships or at different hierarchical levels. Empirical analysis of a unique archival data, consisting of human resource records and over ninety thousand gratitude messages exchanged within a large South Korean company's online gratitude expression system, provides supportive evidence for the main hypotheses. This study contributes to the literature on gratitude, compensation, and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.