Happiness Fuels Success
Do you have 12 minutes? No, scratch that. MAKE 12 minutes this week to watch my favorite TED Talk, The Happy Secret To Better Work. It’s not just my favorite, it’s one of the 20 most popular TED Talks, in fact. Shawn Achor, a Waco, Texas native, Harvard graduate, and happiness fanatic, will entertain you and educate you on why happiness is the key to your success. I’ve watched the Talk about 37 times this past year, and it made me hungry to know more!
I picked up a copy of Achor’s The Happiness Advantage; in it he explains the fallacy of the age old idea that if we are more successful, if we accomplish that goal, if we get the new job, THEN we’ll be happy. In the relatively new field of positive psychology, research shows that this is backward. You don’t become more happy once you achieve your goals, as you may have believed you would be. Happiness fuels success.
It’s really not backward when you think about it. Choosing a positive attitude allows you to see things in a better light, and it opens your mind to greater opportunities. It also makes you more attractive – now just go with me on this. If you are negative, pessimistic, grumpy even, do people want to be around you? If you are cheerful, you smile, and you say kind things, you’re someone I’d want to be around. Now, I prefer authenticity, which means it’s not all hearts and rainbows all the time! But largely, being positive draws people and opportunities to you. Hiring managers, think about it this way: Would you hire someone who frowned or was stoic during most of the interview or complained about his or her past workplace? Or would you give preference to the candidate who comfortably smiled and spoke of the hope for future employment with you, while answering your tough interview questions? Supervisors, do you find yourself spending more time speaking to those who drag you down with their lamentations? And who do you prefer to delegate those important projects to? The grumbling negative Nelly? Or the Susie Q who says, “Thank you for the opportunity to grow!” Logic follows that having a happy disposition gets you hired and accelerates growth and development opportunities, which can result in promotions and higher salaries. And there’s science to back that up.
Next time, we’ll delve more into Shawn Achor’s research on how happiness can bring you success. #choosehappiness
Written by:
Heather Harrison
Development Manager
governmentresource.com
Strategies for Employee Engagement
Today I’d like to take a closer look at Gallup’s State of the Workplace Report for you – so you don’t have to! Continuing from last week’s post, engaged employees are described by the report as rare:
“Engaged workers stand apart from their not-engaged and actively disengaged counterparts because of the discretionary effort they consistently bring to their roles. These employees willingly go the extra mile, work with passion, and feel a profound connection to their company. They are the people who will drive innovation and move your business forward.”
Why we should want engaged employees, aside from the obvious:
- 71% of engaged employees recommend their community as opposed to 53% of actively disengaged employees. Please ponder the customer service implications of this statement for a moment.
- Engaged employees report their overall life satisfaction as higher than those who are actively disengaged. Remember though, positive psychology tells us that it’s likely that those engaged folks were happy BEFORE they were engaged, and thus, successful at work due to that happiness!
- Engaged employees are four times as likely as those who are actively disengaged to say they like what they do each day.
- Engaged employees are more than three times as likely to be “Thriving” than actively disengaged employees. This has a critical connection to surviving and managing change, either at work or personally.
- Engaged employees have more positive daily interactions; almost all engaged employees (95%) report being treated with respect the previous day.
More recent data from Gallup shows that employee engagement is on the rise and is at its highest since 2000 when the firm began tracking employee engagement, yet the majority of American workers are still not actively engaged. Overall, among the 142 countries included in the current Gallup study, 13% of employees are engaged in their jobs, while 63% are not engaged and 24% are actively disengaged. However, these results vary substantially among different global regions. Actively disengaged employees continue to outnumber engaged employees by nearly 2-to-1. This is a call to action, managers!
Fortunately, the report also provided an outline of strategies to increase employee engagement:
- Select the Right People – most importantly, the right managers. Once the right managers are in place, hiring the right employees is easier.
- Develop Employees’ Strengths – beyond placing people in the right seats on your bus, the report says you must invest in your employees’ greatest talents to optimize their performance. “People who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged on the job.” (Tweet This)
- Enhance Employees’ Well-Being – Engaged employees have lower health costs, use less sick leave, have better health overall and better health habits (Tweet This). Making your number one assets’ well-being a priority – making it an organizational goal or strategy, communicating it regularly – embedding activities and positive choices into daily work and holding managers accountable for making those things available are all steps toward achieving increased well-being, organization-wide.
For you Star Trek fans,
Enjoy.
Written by:
Heather Harrison
Development Manager
governmentresource.com
Measuring Employee Engagement
Last week we read that employee engagement correlates to the level of commitment, involvement, and
productivity displayed by an employee and by a workforce overall. An employee who is highly engaged or actively engaged would have high involvement, better retention and greater productivity. Gallup describes actively engaged employees as rare: “Engaged workers stand apart from their not-engaged and actively disengaged counterparts because of the discretionary effort they consistently bring to their roles. These employees willingly go the extra mile, work with passion, and feel a profound connection to their company. They are the people who will drive innovation and move your business forward.”
“Contrast this with actively disengaged employees, who are more or less out to damage your company. Not only are they unhappy at work, but they are intent on acting out their unhappiness. They monopolize managers’ time and drive away customers. Whatever engaged employees do — such as solve problems, innovate, and create new customers — actively disengaged employees will work to undermine.”
There are a multitude of ways to define and measure employee engagement, but for now we’ll continue to explore Gallup’s findings as reported in their State of the Workplace Report 2013. Since 2000, Gallup has asked millions of employees across the globe 12 questions designed to determine employee job satisfaction and its correlation to engagement, known as their Q12. Gallup declares that these are “the best predictors of employee and workgroup performance.” Once analyzed, employees are categorized into 3 distinctions, actively engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged.
They are:
I know what is expected of me at work.
I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
In the past seven days, I have received recognition or praise for good work.
My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
There is someone at work who encourages my development.
At work, my opinions seem to count.
The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
I have a best friend at work.
In the past six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
In the past year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
Ideally, employees always check “true” but the “false” answers are more revealing. How do you – and your employees – stack up to these simple 12 questions? What else do you think would measure employee engagement? Is there a better way to assess engagement in your specific workplace? In the coming weeks, we’ll dig in more to employee engagement and look at what drives engagement, what barriers your workplace may have, and several other factors that affect engagement in the workplace. I’m looking forward to exploring this critical topic with you! For more insight on employee engagement, from more of a front line employee perspective, please read Muriel Call’s blogs on the 16 Percent.
Written by:
Heather Harrison
Development Manager
governmentresource.com
Employee Engagement and the Positive Approach
Together, we previously looked into the field of positive psychology, a field of study that focuses on the positive in life. Psychologists declare that happiness precedes success for individuals, both at work and at home, so let us pose this question: does happiness at work drive greater productivity? (Tweet This) Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report, which looks at employee engagement data from 2009 to 2012 at workplaces across the world, categorizes workers into three areas: engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged. Gallup describes engaged employees as pretty happy people who “work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organization forward.”
Gallup’s CEO and Chairman Jim Clifton puts the good stuff in the report up front. The findings show what good managers have known for decades: “Trying to get employees to fix their weaknesses doesn’t work. Weaknesses can’t be developed much at all — but employees’ strengths can be developed infinitely. The problem is, too many companies focus on fixing weaknesses, and this only breeds non-engagement or, worse, active disengagement. No company or country will win the economic World Cup with this approach. Great managers build development plans around every employee’s strengths. (Tweet This) When employees work from strengths, nothing motivates them to achieve more — not money, not love, not vacations, not good benefits, not company volleyball games, not motivational speakers. And employees working from their strengths do win new customers.”
This is huge, managers. Employee engagement – which correlates to involvement, commitment and productivity – relies on your positive approach to your employees. We’ll unpack this more in coming weeks.
Other research states that “happy” people get more work done. And it’s of better quality. Managers, please listen: your employees will be more successful in their goals and assignments from you if they are happy. We know that You cannot make your employees “happy,” so they must choose and pursue that for themselves! But there are some things you can do.
First, be an example yourself. How are you perceived by your employees and co-workers? Consider asking one who you trust. Prepare yourself to be humbled.
Next, take stock of the “happy” in your workplace environment. Do you greet each of your employees, each day? Are professionally appropriate personal relationships evident (sharing of each other’s lives)? Are people smiling? Do you feel like you know your employees? What is the tone during your staff meetings? What does customer service look like, both internally and externally? (if you say, “Ha! Schmustomer Smervice, please contact SGR’s Krisa Delacruz to set up some customer service classes!) When there are changes, budget cuts, deadlines, is it the end of the world? What is sick leave and vacation usage like? (By the way, happier and more productive people adapt to change more easily, use less sick leave, and they take vacations.)
After your assessment of your personal state of the workplace, imagine what you’d like your home away from home to be like. For you, what would the ideal workplace look like, sound like, and feel like? (Tweet This) If it’s within your power, make those changes! Knock down walls, literally and figuratively!
Lastly, don’t give up on pursuing a happier workplace when things don’t turn around immediately or obstacles are met. I hear all too often, “yeah, if Upper Management/Council/my Boss would do xyz, then we’d be able to be happier.” Lead from where You are. You’ll have more impact than you know.
Written by:
Heather Harrison
Development Manager
governmentresource.com
Happiness Primer, Part 2
This week we’ll wrap up Shawn Achor’s seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance at work in his book, The Happiness Advantage. Last week, we reviewed the first three. To catch up, read here.
Falling Up – Perhaps my favorite of the seven, this principle proves that resilience is paramount to happiness. No matter how many times you’re knocked down, getting up and what you make of it is what matters. There is a field of study of Post Traumatic Growth, proving the adage “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” In these studies, people report increased personal strength and self-confidence after facing a variety of personal traumas. Furthermore, successful people see opportunities to become better when they are faced with obstacles (Tweet This). Where do you fall on the optimist-pessimist spectrum?
The Zorro Circle – Limiting your focus to achievable yet increasingly more difficult goals over time can transform you into a legend, like Zorro. Really! No money back, guaranteed! I’d venture to say that one of the biggest issues many of us face is stress and anxiety about our workload, which seems to continue to increase, while resources and budgets either stay the same, or even shrink. Staying in control – or actually – thinking you have control – of what you can most definitely manage here and now, will have a directly positive result. Highly linked to emotional intelligence, this principle suggests that you take the time to write out your stresses, identifying what you have immediate control of, and then narrowing your focus on that one thing, then another (larger) thing, ever increasing to legen-wait for it-dary status. (don’t get the Barney Stinson reference? My apologies…)
The 20-Second Rule – We are creatures of habit. An interesting observation by Achor, “…if we had to make a conscious choice about every little thing we did all day, we would likely be overwhelmed by breakfast.” This principle is about choosing good habits over 
bad ones – and maintaining them. The kicker is, this takes work, largely because inactivity and staying the same is easier! So you must do the hard work. And sometimes the hard work takes only 20 seconds to lace up those running shoes, to fill up a glass of water instead of grabbing a bag of munchies, or in Achor’s case, simply walking to the closet where his guitar waited for him. So, even better than enduring those 20 seconds, find ways to make these good habits easier to choose. Achor bought a $2 guitar stand and set it up in the living room, instead of putting his guitar away in the closet after practicing, making his likelihood of practicing increase, therefore accomplishing his goal of playing daily. He also suggests that making your “bad” habits less convenient makes choosing the “good” habits easier. I love this, a reverse 20 second rule: He took the batteries out of his television remote, walked them 20 seconds away from his couch, and placed them in a drawer. What good habits can you make more convenient for yourself? Prepackaging healthy lunches and snacks for work? Sleeping in your gym clothes? Following this rule will add incredible value to your days and weeks, with a mere 20 second expense.
Social Investment – The final principle is potentially the most potent: relationships are our greatest asset. In the 
midst of crises, difficulties, challenges, stress, both at work and at home, “nothing is more crucial to our success than holding onto the people around us.” Unfortunately, many of us isolate ourselves when we feel stressed. Positive psychology studies show us that the more social support you have, the happier you are (Tweet This). And the happier you are, FIRST, the more successful you can be.
In the coming weeks, we’ll continue to #choosehappiness and explore how happiness affects employee engagement and workplace productivity. And in case you missed it the other night, please enjoy Pharrell Williams’ bizarre yet fun Grammy performance of “Happy!”
Written by:
Heather Harrison
Development Manager
governmentresource.com
Happiness Primer, Part 1
If you’ll recall, we’ve been looking at how choosing happiness sets the stage for your success. This is contrary to traditional thinking, where for many years, we have believed that once we accomplish our goals, THEN we will be happy. Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, outlines the science behind the relatively new field of positive psychology. He also claims that through many research studies, we often sacrifice happiness in order to pursue success. This is completely the opposite of what we should do!
In Achor’s book, he identified seven “specific, actionable, and proven patterns that predict success and achievement.” Since sharing this information with Harvard and the world, these principles have helped tens of thousands of people retrain their brains, change habits, and become more productive and successful. Below are three of the seven.
The Happiness Advantage – Being happy just before tackling a project or a problem by taking a brief moment to gain a quick boost of positive emotion will increase dopamine and serotonin in our brains, even increase our vision, literally making us able to see the world better. Studies show that even receiving – not even eating – receiving a piece of candy can elicit happiness! It can truly be the small things at times. We’re all different in what triggers those happy emotions. If you’re like me, talking with a loved one, clearing the sink of dirty dishes, drinking a yummy cup of coffee, or doing a few pull-ups makes me happy. Specific things Achor lists that we can do: meditate, find something to look forward to, commit conscious acts of kindness, infuse positivity into your surroundings, exercise, spend money (but not on stuff), and exercise a signature strength (think character, not just skill). Remember, before making that call or sitting down to work on that presentation, get happy, first. You’ll be much more successful.
The Fulcrum and the Lever – This is all about your perspective. With the right mindset (fulcrum), you take the power (lever) to affect your actions as well as your reality. Basically, there’s truth to the Placebo Effect – which is that simply believing that you’ve taken a drug causes the symptom to disappear more than half of the time. Additionally, there is science behind what sounds like advice from your mom, “You can do ANYthing you set your mind to!” Our belief in our own abilities is a better predictor of job performance than the actual level of skill or training. Not only can you alter your future, you can influence the performance of others by expressing your faith in their ability. In case you haven’t heard me say this before, “I believe in you.”
The Tetris Effect – Named after a study where people were paid to play Tetris for several hours for 3 days, this principle claims that what you “train” your brain to see, it will look for those things. One test subject reported that he could see in his mind nothing but Tetris brick gaps in the cereal aisle at the grocery store, and how he could flip cereal boxes to fill those gaps following the test. Put in simple terms, our brains process patterns very efficiently, and if you focus on the negative over and over, it becomes a habit that is extremely difficult to break. One exercise proven to create a Positive Tetris Effect is to write down three good things that happened to you that day, for at least a week. This leads to an increased positive outlook on your environment, gratitude, and lasting happiness, even after the exercise is stopped.
Next week, we’ll finish looking at the last four of the seven principles. In the meantime, #choosehappiness!
As an aside: For those of you who enjoyed the Super Bowl commercials last night, I hope you spotted the positive psychology messages behind Coca Cola’s #MakeItHappy and McDonald’s “Pay with Lovin” campaigns?
Written by:
Heather Harrison
Development Manager
governmentresource.com
Happiness Fuels Success
Do you have 12 minutes? No, scratch that. MAKE 12 minutes this week to watch my favorite TED Talk, The Happy Secret To Better Work. It’s not just my favorite, it’s one of the 20 most popular TED Talks, in fact. Shawn Achor, a Waco, Texas native, Harvard graduate, and happiness fanatic, will entertain you and educate you on why happiness is the key to your success. I’ve watched the Talk about 37 times this past year, and it made me hungry to know more!
I picked up a copy of Achor’s The Happiness Advantage; in it he explains the fallacy of the age old idea that if we are more successful, if we accomplish that goal, if we get the new job, THEN we’ll be happy. In the relatively new field of positive psychology, research shows that this is backward. You don’t become more happy once you achieve your goals, as you may have believed you would be. Happiness fuels success.
It’s really not backward when you think about it. Choosing a positive attitude allows you to see things in a better light, and it opens your mind to greater opportunities. It also makes you more attractive – now just go with me on this. If you are negative, pessimistic, grumpy even, do people want to be around you? If you are cheerful, you smile, and you say kind things, you’re someone I’d want to be around. Now, I prefer authenticity, which means it’s not all hearts and rainbows all the time! But largely, being positive draws people and opportunities to you. Hiring managers, think about it this way: Would you hire someone who frowned or was stoic during most of the interview or complained about his or her past workplace? Or would you give preference to the candidate who comfortably smiled and spoke of the hope for future employment with you, while answering your tough interview questions? Supervisors, do you find yourself spending more time speaking to those who drag you down with their lamentations? And who do you prefer to delegate those important projects to? The grumbling negative Nelly? Or the Susie Q who says, “Thank you for the opportunity to grow!” Logic follows that having a happy disposition gets you hired and accelerates growth and development opportunities, which can result in promotions and higher salaries. And there’s science to back that up.
Next time, we’ll delve more into Shawn Achor’s research on how happiness can bring you success. #choosehappiness
Written by:
Heather Harrison
Development Manager
governmentresource.com
Choosing Happiness
Allow us to introduce to you The 16 Percent’s newest blogger—SGR’s own Heather Harrison. Heather Harrison joined SGR in December 2011 as a Training Facilitator and is currently the Development Manager. She has more than 10 years of experience working in state and local government. Her great passion for public service is apparent in everything she does. Her experience in a variety of public sector fields allows her to relate well to audiences of all types. A proud Texas A&M University graduate, Heather enjoys hearing and telling Aggie jokes and watching Aggie football. In her time at Texas A&M, Heather studied Geology, Geography and Political Science.
As a working mom, the best privilege of my working life so far has been taking my sons with me on a work trip to visit the Seattle area this past summer. Years ago, I read the short book about the Fish! Philosophy, and have attempted to live my life according to its instruction: Choose Your Attitude, Play, Be There, and Make Their Day. If you’ve attended any of my customer service level classes, you’ve likely heard me bring these tenets up. They’re so simple and practical!
Naturally, on our trip, I dragged my boys, aged 7 and 9, to visit the Pike Place Fish Market, where we stood in a huge crowd waiting for someone else to buy fish so we could watch the employees play. We enjoyed their carefree fish slinging and singing, their generosity and kindness. Spencer even got a taste of his favorite food, crab.
After years of listening to co-workers and students complain about their insensitive bosses and unhappy work environments, it made more sense to me that the first Fish! Philosophy tenet is listed first. Choose Your Attitude. Your attitude (and behavior) is the only thing YOU can control, I tell those I coach. If you’re in an unhappy workplace, perhaps the reason you’re unhappy is you. Look within yourself for the solution, instead of looking outwardly for assigning blame for your unhappiness. Some other advice I’ve given (to myself included): stop gossiping, complaining, and whining. Just quit it! The more you talk about a “problem,” the bigger the problem becomes. Try not complaining for a full day, then a full week. See what it does in your life. If you’re around a person or a group who is negative, pull yourself away from them. If you cannot physically separate yourself from them—let’s say it’s co-workers who complain during meetings or a family member—then politely and professionally “listen” and think happy thoughts instead. Seriously, it works.
Another thing I advise is to “find the joy” in every day. Even in the worst situations, there is good. Got a boss who won’t stop micro-managing or a coworker who took credit for your work? Revel in that next customer interaction, and remember why you chose public service. Finally, limit the amount of news you watch every day; look for other sources of news. The nightly news and cable news are full of negativity, designed to get you to watch more. I’ve lived without cable (and thus, without constant news), and I’m happier and less bogged down with troubles that have nothing to do with me. There could also be benefit to limiting social media usage. Studies show that there is a link between higher Facebook usage and depression!
Revel in that next customer interaction, and remember why you chose public service.
Like Voltaire, I believe that the most important decision you make in your life—daily, hourly, in the moment, while facing adversity—is to be in a good mood. This takes the power and sting out of a situation, and returns the control, largely, to you. Choosing a good attitude allows for you to respond with better customer service and as a better supervisor or manager. Most importantly, though, it keeps your heart and mind healthy. It can even have physical effects on your body!
To me, there’s no other choice.
Next time, we’ll look at why choosing happiness is the key to your success. #choosehappiness
The 16% 