The Happiness Performance

When interviewed about requirements pertaining to new hires, an executive in the Human Resources Division of Men’s Wearhouse responded,

“We don’t look for people with specific levels of education and experience. We look for one criterion for hiring: optimism. We look for passion, excitement, energy. We want people who enjoy life.” (Lyubomirsky, et al., 2012, p. 133-146).

Positive psychologist Martin Seligman (2018) has shown over multiple research studies that those with a positive mind-set are able to overcome set-backs and are ultimately far more successful than those with a less positive mindset. This is why experienced workplace psychologist Shawn Achor says that employers are now looking for candidates that have the “happiness advantage,” because they are more likely to bring success to the company than those either more serious or more negative (Achor nd).

These findings are supported by Lyubomirsky and colleagues who found that those with a positive mindset were more able to handle managerial jobs better when promoted. Interestingly, those who are positive and in managerial positions are more resilient to stress and have fewer recorded cases of  job burnout (Lyubomirsky, et al., 2005, p. 822). Seligman says that due to these psychologically resilient traits and promotable abilities positive people earn more salary than those with less positive outlook. The outcomes of developing positive organizational potential may, in fact, become a pivotal determinant of corporate advantage through positive human capital (Lyubomirsky, et al., 2012). Individuals with positive emotions enhance personal wellbeing; this, in turn, improves resilience in dealing with problems, increases positive emotions, and fosters empathy as well as respect. This positivity can spread among colleagues in the organization as well as with clients and customers, thus changing culture and creating a more productive organization (Achor nd). Just as positive psychology research in organizations demonstrates that those who exhibit positive affect experience greater success, students in the college setting also benefit from a positive disposition.

Connecting Positivity and Productivity

Martin Seligman (2018) suggests many ways to begin to foster positivity organisationally. Below is a set of useful questions that have proven to help organisations operationalise positivity into a coherent action plan to increase positivity and productivity:

• How could positivity impact the credibility of the employee who provided the encouragement?
• In what ways will your team utilize positivity to increase productivity?
• What results do you anticipate will come from increasing positivity for your team?
• What results do you anticipate will come from increasing positivity for you as an individual?

The above are suggestions from leading psychologists in workplace. What could your organisation do to increase positivity? A starting place could be to look at what your company does well to be positive and work back from there. Once we understand what we are doing well we can focus on doing more of that.

John Earls – Director Goodfoot

References

Achor, S., n.d. The happiness advantage.

Lyubomirsky, S., Martin-Krumm, C. and Nelson, S. (2012) Psychologie positive et modèle de l’adaptation hédonique. Pratiques Psychologiques, 18(2), pp.133-146.

Seligman, M. (2018) The Hoffman report, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the defense of the nation: A personal view. Health Psychology Open, 5(2), p.205510291879619.