<p>Although research has shown that gratitude has mostly beneficial consequences, less is known about its motivational antecedents. As goal orientations influence goals and behaviors, we considered how they also impact emotions. To that aim, we investigated the relation between work domain goal orientation and the experience of gratitude. Study 1 (<i>N</i> = 102) demonstrated that a learning goal orientation was positively correlated with gratitude but a performance goal orientation was not. Study 2 (<i>N</i> = 87) experimentally demonstrated that participants experienced more gratitude when learning goals rather than performance goals were valued at work. In Study 3 (<i>N</i> = 157), work prosocial motivation cross-sectionally mediated the impact of a learning goal orientation on gratitude. Preregistered Study 4 (<i>N</i> = 257) replicated Study 2 and 3’s findings through an experiment and categorical mediation. Our results suggest that goal orientation influences gratitude, and that prosocial motivation can serve an explanatory function for its relationship with gratitude at work.</p>