I recently heard an interview with Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage
He talked about some exciting research on happiness.
Happy people are more productive
I’m not talking about the “rose-colored glasses” kind of happiness, I’m talking about happiness based on facts. It seems that happier people are more productive – a LOT more productive.
Our brain can find itself in a state of happiness, neutral, negativity, or stress. It turns out that the research tells us that when your brain is in a state of happiness you will outperform every other state.
In one study doctors who are happy were able to diagnose problems 50% faster with 3 times the intellectual flexibility.
That kind of result translates to significant increases in productivity and profitability.
Achor talks about a study where managers made a new habit – they praised just one person per day, 21 days in a row. What this study showed was that six months later those teams had a 31% higher level of productivity. This is not pollyanna or pie in the sky stuff – this is about hard business results!
What if I’m just not a “happy person”?
The really exciting part of this is that you can re-train your brain, and you can do it in just a few seconds a day. Achor has found that if you can add a small habit to your routine, you can “prime” your brain to move from negative, neutral or stressed to happy. This small change moves you to the zone where you perform your best.
What is this powerful and simple tactic? Achor listed two options:
- When you open your email in the morning, write an email – no longer than TWO SENTENCES – which recognizes or praises a team member for their performance or contribution. OR
- As you start your day (or kick off a meeting) take a few seconds to call out 3 things for which you are thankful.
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