Happiness at Work: A Guide to Boosting Employee Well-being and Productivity
Ever since our earliest days, positivity has been at the basis of our Wysers; by providing our listeners with motivational insights, acknowledging their effort to learn and by cultivating the overall idea that growth, and therefore learning, is fun.
We often hear from our listeners how much they appreciate it:
Was really nice to use and learn with, really liked the repetition (but liked the little motivational pep talks in between even better 😅)
The reason to use such a positive tone in our Wysers however goes beyond feedback and a gut feeling. In fact, it is based on a whole branch of psychology, named positive psychology. It stems from the idea that ever since WWII, psychology has mostly been focussed on reducing negative aspects, which caused it to relatively neglect its positive aspects. To fill this gap, positive psychology researches themes such as improving happiness, optimism, strengths, and capabilities. Over the last two decades, positive psychology has gained immense popularity and has been integrated into various fields, including work.
The workplace is a place where we spend a significant portion of our lives, and it is essential to cultivate a positive and healthy work environment to improve employee health, job satisfaction, and performance. Therefore, we have gathered some ways to apply positive psychology at work.
Adopt a strengths-based approach:
Focusing on employees' strengths and providing opportunities for them to use their strengths can improve job satisfaction and performance. So instead of mostly focusing on improvements during feedback, make sure to focus on strengths and achievements as well! According to Harvard, you should aim for a 6:1 ratio of positive to negative feedback.
Foster positivity:
A positive work environment is crucial for employee well-being and performance. Encourage employees to adopt positive attitudes and behaviours, and promote positivity through regular positive reinforcement.
This could be as simple as sending a personalised email to acknowledge a job well done, or as elaborate as organising a team-wide celebration for a significant accomplishment.Promote gratitude:
Gratitude is another much-researched topic of social psychology. Encouraging employees to express gratitude towards their colleagues, superiors, and the work they do can help improve work relationships and overall job satisfaction.
Mindfulness:
Mindfulness has been shown to have numerous benefits, including reducing stress and improving well-being. Encourage employees to incorporate mindfulness practices into their daily routines, or maybe even plan them during a working-day, to improve their overall life and work experience.
Cultivate a growth mindset:
Encouraging employees to adopt a growth mindset can help them become more resilient and proactive in their work. A growth mindset encourages individuals to see challenges as opportunities for growth and development.
A growth mindset is the belief that one's abilities, intelligence and skills can be developed and improved through effort, learning, and persistence. People with a growth mindset view challenges as opportunities for growth and embrace mistakes as part of the learning process. So to cultivate a growth mindset, it is important to create a work-environment that encourages life-long learning and development, where employees know they can grow, and where mistakes are seen as a part of the learning process.
In conclusion, applying positive psychology principles in the workplace can lead to improved well-being, job satisfaction and performance among employees. By creating a positive work environment, employers can foster a culture of happiness and success, which can ultimately lead to a more productive and profitable organisation.
Anywyse - February 3rd, 2023
