Let’s Get Practical!

I had a surprising volume of feedback and questions on my previous post “The Happiness Decision”, and of the questions, the most common was to describe in a pragmatic way things that companies and individuals can do to improve positivity and happiness at work. So, here are some practical ideas that I have seen work well:

What companies can do
Clearly define your contribution to the world!: Most companies, large and small, place a lot of attention on achieving sales and revenue targets and other performance metrics related to profitability. Companies less often focus attention on what they contribute to make the world a better place – even when they DO indeed make a significant positive impact. For example, Intel Corp announced in 2013 that they would eliminate “conflict minerals” from their supply chain. When this was announced, I saw employees cheer and tear up with pride. Subsequently when the CEO reported good earnings for the quarter, employees clapped and smiled, but there was not close to the joy, pride and emotion exhibited for the conflict minerals announcement. Money is important, but making a difference in the world is what deeply motivates people. Most companies tend to under-emphasize the importance of creating purpose and meaning to enhance positivity at work.
Socialization: People are deeply social creatures, and find joy in working with others towards a positive goal or objective. Some of my most enduring relationships are those with people I connected with on project teams. Leaders should create opportunities for team members to get to know each other on a personal level and develop strong, engaged teams that know and trust each other. In a banking group I worked with some years ago, one senior leader developed such strong team engagement that team members would help out others when they were sick by offering to take kids to school, or doing gardening when a spouse was ill. Another leader I worked with encouraged team members to share stories and anecdotes about their national cultures (this was a global company) and family traditions. This sharing allowed people to get to know each other more deeply at a personal level, and this had a positive impact on happiness and positivity.
Make employees feel special and important: The best example of making people feel important was my experience working with Chevron, where their focus on safety influenced everything that employees thought about and did every day. This focus and commitment extended from the chairman to frontline employees around the world in a remarkably authentic way. From projects with the Procurement team in San Ramon to working on a project in Kazakhstan, the focus was the same. The emphasis during discussion forums with senior leaders was less about profits and much more about employees being safe at work and getting home safely to their families. Chevron also encouraged daily exercise and stretching breaks so that people would be healthier and less stressed. These stretch breaks also had a social dimension as people chatted and got to know each other better.
Opportunities for volunteering: Companies like Levi Strauss provide extensive opportunities for employees to invest a percentage of work time in volunteering in the local community. Not only does this foster the notion of contributing to the world, but also nurtures socialization as teams work together for various important causes, versus simply helping the company to be profitable.
Eliminate individual performance incentives that involve money: I am not referring to incentive bonuses paid to all employees based on company profitability; I am referring to individual performance rewards of money. For example, in a recent project I led with a marketing group, my analysis showed that they had the highest use of the organization's recognition system in the entire company, and the highest dollar amount paid to employees, but the lowest employee satisfaction scores in the organization. This is an extensive topic, too substantial to describe here, but basically money paid to employees as a motivator most often achieves exactly the opposite.
Watch out for chronically toxic people: As I described in my previous post, one chronically negative person can do substantial damage to a positive and happy work environment – particularly when these people are in leadership positions. As researchers of positivity and happiness such as Ed Diener, Barbara Fredrickson and Martin Seligman, amongst others, have described, about 50% of our perspective on happiness is genetic, and some individuals will find it difficult to leverage the other 50% (context and actions) to become more positive. When these people become chronic obstacles to a positive work environment, there is no other alternative but to move them out.

What individuals can do!
Find purpose in work, even when it’s difficult to find: The story of Larry the Shoe-Shine man in San Francisco is a bitter-sweet one. The positive side of Larry’s story is that he found his purpose in simple work by making his customers lives a little bit better by shining their shoes on the walk to work. He found his purpose and meaning! Like Studs Terkel (from my previous post), I like to talk to people on the job; someone like the bagger at Whole Foods the other day who was smiling and courteous while doing what I thought was a fairly mundane job. When I asked him what made him smile so much, he said he gets joy from helping people carry their heavy bags to their cars – they need the help and he loves the feeling of being able to help them. So, whether we are teachers, nurses and doctors, police or firefighters (most of whom don’t get rich doing what they do), or those making the big bucks, it is possible and important that we find and focus on the purpose and meaning in our work that can bring a sense of fulfilment.
What did I do today that was amazing?: I have developed a habit during the past thirteen years or so of taking a few minutes every day, after work, to briefly contemplate something that I did or experienced that was wonderful. I started doing this when I arrived in the United States with my new greencard in hand feeling so blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to become a US citizen. However difficult my work day may have been, I can always find some event or incident in which I can finish the day feeling good about what I have done. This simple habit requires some awareness during the workday to think about what you are doing and how it could add value to a colleague, a customer or the company. Sure, it can be difficult some days, but I like to think about this like the “Starfish story” I have referred to before – thousands of starfish lying on the beach, and throwing just one back into the ocean “makes a difference to that one”!
Socialize: I am somewhat of an introvert, and don’t naturally connect with people in the workplace. But I need to make an effort, and when I do, I always benefit. In one client company recently, a leader would organize a monthly “brown-bag” lunch meeting for all team members. This was always focused around a topic of discussion or presentation of interest, but the primary reason was for people to get to know each other better. It was simple, and very effective. This forum was particularly valuable for me when I started on the project, getting to know people and creating relationships. In a few cases, I am still friends with some of the people I met in these forums.
Form an informal “positivity” group: In a recent project, I was asked to do a presentation in the topic of happiness in the workplace to a group of marketing professionals. After the presentation, a number of people came up to me to ask how these ideas could be developed and sustained in their team. I recommended that they form an informal cohort amongst themselves to continue to learn and talk about positivity. I suggested that they include the following topics in their regular meetings:

• What are we reading and learning about happiness and positivity that is    interesting and valuable?
• What techniques can we use in our work environment to improve positivity?
• How can we help each other and others to be more positive?
• What has each of us done this past week to be more positive?
• When we experience something that destroys positivity, what can we do to rebound?

To my knowledge, this group has grown and continues to be active to this day.

Find a “buddy” or coach: Not all of us feel comfortable sharing personal stuff with a group of colleagues. But often, we just need to have someone to talk to that can provide guidance, a different perspective or some other form of help during tough times at work. It’s important that you trust this person implicitly, so an experienced coach – if they are available – can be very effective. If they are not available, find a trusted colleague. The focus of this “buddy” system should be on helping each other be positive in difficult work situations.

One plus one equals three!
The biggest impact of these two sets of approaches (what companies can do, and what individuals can do) is when BOTH the organization AND individuals and teams develop strategies to create a positive working culture together – when the one set of actions compliments the other. But, if your organization does little to nurture a positive work environment, there is much that we can do as an individual or as a team to find happiness and positivity in the work that you do: You just need to develop an effective plan based on a good understanding of what happiness is, implement the plan and invest time every day so that positivity become a habit.