The Happiness Decision

In my previous post, I discussed the importance of being positive and happy at work, and indicated that I would expand on this topic.

I cycle a lot, and a few weeks ago I was on a group ride in Marin County, and was surprised to hear two of my cycling buddies talking about how toxic and demotivating their work environment was. This conversation went on for some time (or at least until we hit our first big hill). At a short break, I queried the two on their conversation, and asked them what they proposed doing about the problem: It was clear that they had little idea on what could be done to improve the work environment. This is an almost universal finding – very capable business people most often have a solid understanding of how to solve a myriad of complex business problems, but when it comes to people, culture and a negative work environment, most don’t know where to start.

Where to start!
An important starting point is to approach the challenge of positivity like other business challenges. If your understanding is vague, you will likely take the wrong path. Consider the following:

• Understand the challenge – if you know what positivity actually is, then you can begin to understand how to shape and cultivate it. Most leaders don’t!
• Agree with your team that being happy at work is important: Be specific about the benefits it fosters in your work context (being positive is more important in some work environments than others. For example, highly creative jobs may benefit more from a happy and positive work environment than, say, highly detailed forensic accountants)
• Make a collective team decision to improve positivity levels
• Decide what factors and approaches are most pertinent for you and your team (individually and as a team). Identify a few key things that can be implemented, that are appropriate for your specific workplace
• Develop a plan and rigorously implement the plan (like any other business plan)
• Every team member should have a tangible role, contribution and accountability to implement the plan
• Set a goal and measure progress

A key reason why many organizations struggle to make progress with developing a positive work environment, is that they approach it in a vague manner – a positive culture (or any culture) can only be developed if the approach you take is as rigorous as any other business problem you deal with.

Understanding what positivity is! It’s not vague!
This question, if unclear or unanswered, may lead to people trying to adopt approaches designed to have everyone smiling, euphoric and joyful all the time. This “Pollyanna-ish” approach to creating a happy work environment can be unproductive. Indeed, struggle, periodic failures and really hard work are key components of a positive and happy work environment. This may seem counterintuitive to some, so let’s define what positivity is: While there are many definitions and descriptions, the one that is most meaningful to me is by Shawn Achor ("The Happiness Advantage") as follows (I’ve added some of my own nuances to his definition):

“… the experience of positive emotions, – pleasure combined with deeper feelings (and thoughts) of meaning and purpose in our lives. Happiness implies a positive mood in the present (as well as appreciating aspects of our past) and a positive outlook for the future… Happiness is the joy we feel striving after our potential (and making a positive contribution to the world)”

Here are the key elements of this definition:

• Being happy is a process, not a destination (like being promoted or achieving a goal in isolation of a higher purpose)
• Happiness must include challenge and struggle since no achievement can be savored if it’s always easy
• The process of striving for our potential is maximized when this process also makes a contribution to others or the world in some way
• Happiness is both a feeling (a number of emotions – certain researchers have identified about 10 specific emotions) as well as a cognitive element – how we think and ultimately how we behave and act
• On the cognitive/thinking side, the most important element is a decision, and subsequently taking action to develop specific habits that stimulate happiness and a positive outlook

Interestingly, there is compelling research that demonstrates that happiness needs to be accompanied by some negative thoughts and feelings – Barbara Fredrickson’s research suggests a 3:1 ratio of positive to negative is optimal. This is because life and work require a degree of skepticism, vigilance and caution. Research also shows that people that demonstrate excessive happiness manifest a “Pollyanna-ish” attitude that can lead to ignoring risks and threats, and interestingly are not as healthy and do not live as long as those with a more balanced happiness setpoint (take a look at Ed Diener's work on this topic.

Some factors to think about when developing your plan:

• Define what a positive work environment is for you and your team – what does “being positive” look like in terms of day-to-day behaviors (it is vital to be specific and clear)
• Develop awareness of your own emotional styles profile, and those of your team members (It is difficult to develop methods and techniques for you and your team if you don’t know what your emotional tendencies are). For example, Richard Davidson’s (the neuroscientist) Emotional Styles methodology is a wonderful tool for this purpose
• Get your team to identify situations where behaving differently would make a big impact on being more effective and at work (for example , its probably critical for nurses and doctors to manifest positive behaviors during surgery versus being nasty and angry with one another – I would hate to be “under the knife” without a positive environment). The more specific you are, the better
• Create specific forums to discuss the behaviors you have developed: Are you making progress or are you struggling in certain circumstances? These discussions are very important, but they can be difficult, so an objective facilitator may be valuable in the early stages
• Research and select specific techniques for developing greater positivity at work. Some of these techniques should involve the team as a whole and some should be those that individuals apply for themselves. These can be quite simple, but powerful. For example, my brother is an internationally accomplished Plein Air painter, and one of his techniques (which he calls the “Starfish” technique) is thinking about and sharing moments during the day where he has helped someone be a better Plein Air painter. However simple or sophisticated, these techniques should be pertinent to the group and each individual
• Daily practice is essential: This is where the power of brain plasticity comes into play. Like riding a bike, exercising the brain through new thinking techniques changes the brain in a structural manner. But it takes regular practice
• Sorry to have to tell you this, but we all know it! There are those of us that simply can’t get it, and never will – difficult and negative people, who despite help and support, simply cannot change. Eventually, these kinds of people may need to be moved out of the team before they bring the entire team down

After the bike ride with my two cycling buddies, we sat and chatted about their work situation over a cup of coffee. Their question to me was “the work itself is difficult enough, why is it that so many people make work life more difficult for themselves and others by not getting along”.

In my next blog, I will deal with these issues in more detail.