How to be happy at work
In his December blog for Training Journal, Martin Addison says happiness could be the secret to greater competitive advantage.
Whenever I see someone smile, it makes me want to smile too. The same copycat impulse kicks in if I see someone yawn. Not surprisingly, there's a name for this reaction. It's called the ripple effect and it works just as well with emotions. For example, if you put three people into a room, two of them will leave with the emotions of the one who was the most expressive. This is why negativity can spread like wildfire in a company. However, it appears, so too can positivity.
Shawn Achor, who lectured on positive psychology for 12 years at Harvard University, claims that organisations can create a positive ripple effect, thereby helping people to become happier at work.
Managers can help to initiate this positive ripple effect by giving praise, thanks or positive feedback to others, so that people know when they've done a good job. According to Achor, this makes the recipients feel more positive and their positivity starts to spread across the organisation.
Achor's research also shows that people who are in a positive state are more productive and more resilient at work. He calls this the Happiness Advantage. The upshot is that organisations can effectively gain greater competitive advantage by practising positivity.
I should imagine many people will be sceptical about this. Can we really learn to become happier at work? Achor argues that it is possible to imprint the brain with a positive pattern by creating a series of habits and mindset changes. As an L&D practitioner, if you could encourage employees in your organisation to change the way they think about work, it may be possible to help them increase their happiness.
In a video training resource on the Happiness Advantage, Achor claims that in a three-week period, we could all develop new habits that would train our brains to be happier at work. If you'd like to try this, the four habits he recommends are:
Gratitude - Write down three new things each day that you're grateful for. Make these things specific. If you spend two minutes a day doing this, your brain becomes slightly happier. Try doing it for 21 consecutive days. The more you think of things you're grateful for, the less time you have for thinking about hassles and complaints.
Exercise - Many people know that exercise releases positive endorphins and that when you exercise; you' re more likely to eat healthier. If you exercise daily for 21 days in a row, the benefits would cascade into other areas of your life.
Reduce multitasking - Our brains like to do one thing at a time. When we attempt to multitask, we decrease our success rate on those tasks. To be happier and more productive at work, get into the habit of doing one thing at a time.
Perform conscious acts of kindness - Altruism is a great way to feel good about yourself. Thinking of how you can help someone else changes how you see the world - from how is the world affecting me to how can I affect the world? It may seem a small change but this is very important. Over the next 21 days, try to find positive things to do for - or say to - other people.
Would you feel more positive if you did these things on a daily basis? I suppose there's only one way to find out...
