An old school
LYS Principal shares:
SC,
I read two
articles today by Kim Marshall on his Marshall Memo (http://www.marshallmemo.com)
#417. I thought the articles were right in the LYS Nation’s “wheel-house”. Kim said he didn’t have a problem with
you reposting, just let the LYS Nation know he was the source.
Article 1:
How Important Is Happiness On and Off the Job?
In this
Harvard Business Review interview, Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert
talks with Gardiner Morse about his research on happiness. Some key points:
• Most people
do better work when they’re happy. Some managers think their employees will
work better if they’re a little uncomfortable, a bit anxious about their jobs,
and point to cranky artists and geniuses who do amazing work. For the vast
majority of people, that’s baloney, says Gilbert. “I know of no data showing
that anxious, fearful employees are more creative or productive.” Contented
people don’t sit around staring at a wall, he says. People hate being bored.
They are happiest when they’re working toward goals that are challenging but
attainable.
• Rewards
work better than threats and punishments. One boss might say, “If you don’t get
this to me by Friday, you’re fired.” The employee will get it done, but after
that, will never do more than what’s required and may even sabotage the
organization. A smarter boss would say, “I don’t think most people could get
this done by Friday. But I have full faith and confidence that you can. And
it’s hugely important to the entire team.”
• People are
more resilient than they think. “When bad things happen, we weep and whine for
a while and then pick ourselves up and get on with it,” says Gilbert. “One of
the most reliable findings of the happiness studies is that we do not have to
go running to a therapist every time our shoelaces break. We have a remarkable
ability to make the best of things.” We find silver linings, rationalize, and
adjust to the new realities. Pete Best, who was replaced by Ringo Starr as the
Beatles’ drummer in 1962 just before the band surged to international fame and
is now a session musician, said, “I’m happier than I would have been with the
Beatles.”
• Social
contact is central to happiness. “We are by far the most social species on
Earth,” says Gilbert. “If I wanted to predict your happiness, and I could know
only one thing about you, I wouldn’t want to know your gender, religion,
health, or income. I’d want to know about your social network – about your
friends and family and the strength of the bonds with them.”
• The
quantity of good experiences is more important than the quality. “Someone who
has a dozen mildly nice things happen each day is likely to be happier than
somebody who has a single truly amazing thing happen,” says Gilbert. “So wear
comfortable shoes, give your wife a big kiss, sneak a French fry. It sounds
like small stuff, but the small stuff matters… But you have to do them every
day…”
• There are
some basics to happiness. “The main thing is to commit to some simple
behaviors,” says Gilbert, “meditating, exercising, getting enough sleep – and
to practice altruism… And nurture your social connections. Twice a week, write
down three things you’re grateful for, and tell someone why. I know these sound
like homilies from your grandmother. Well, your grandmother was smart.”
• But
happiness is complicated. People who have children are typically less happy on
a moment-to-moment basis than people without children, but there are rewards.
“What kind of happiness should we want?” asks Gilbert. “Do we want lives free
of pain and heartache, or is there value in those experiences? Science will
soon be able to tell us how to live the lives we want, but it will never tell
us what kinds of lives we should want to live. That will be for us to decide.”
• Happiness
differs more from moment to moment than it does from person to person. “This
suggests that it’s not the stable conditions of our lives, such as where we
live or whether we’re married, that are the principal drivers of happiness,”
says researcher Matthew Killingsworth, who has tracked the happiness levels of
15,000 people in 83 countries via an iPhone app that asks them to say what
they’re doing and rate their happiness at random moments during the week. “It
could be the small, everyday things that count the most. It also suggests that
happiness on the job may depend more on our moment-to-moment experiences – our
routine interactions with coworkers, the projects we’re involved in, our daily
contributions – than on the stable conditions thought to promote happiness,
such as a high salary or a prestigious title.”
“The Science
Behind the Smile”, an interview with Daniel Gilbert by Gardiner Morse in
Harvard Business Review, January-February 2012 (Vol. 90, #1-2, p. 84-90), no
e-link available
Article 2:
Four Keys to a Thriving Workforce
In this
important Harvard Business Review article, business professors Gretchen
Spreitzer (University of Michigan) and Christine Porath (Georgetown University)
echo Gilbert’s contention (in the article above) that happy employees are a net
plus: “They routinely show up at work, they’re less likely to quit, they go
above and beyond the call of duty, and they attract people who are as committed
to the job,” they say. “Moreover, they’re not sprinters; they’re more like
marathon runners, in it for the long haul.”
But Spreitzer
and Porath take the concept of employee happiness a step further. It’s not
about contentment, they say – that has the connotation of complacency. A better
word to describe the ideal employee is thriving. These people are not just
satisfied and productive – they’re energized and engaged in creating the
future.
Studies of
people who meet this description reveal the following:
- Better
overall performance;
- Less
burnout;
- More
commitment to the organization;
- Greater job
satisfaction;
- Lower
absenteeism;
-
Significantly fewer doctors’ visits.
Spreitzer and
Porath have identified two components of thriving people: (a) vitality – the
sense of being alive, passionate, and excited, radiating contagious energy,
making a difference; and (b) learning – gaining new knowledge and skills and
creating a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement and belief in their
potential for further growth. These two qualities reinforce each other, with
passion driving the desire to learn and learning fueling passion.
So how can
organizations maximize the number of thriving employees? Spreitzer and Porath
say their research has uncovered four interconnected mechanisms:
• Providing
decision-making discretion – “Employees at every level are energized by the
ability to make decisions that affect their work,” say the authors. “Empowering
them in this way gives them a greater sense of control, more say in how things
get done, and more opportunities for learning.” The challenge for managers is
continuing to empower employees even after they make mistakes; in fact,
mistakes are one of the best opportunities for leaning.
• Sharing
information – “Doing your job in an information vacuum is tedious and
uninspiring,” say Spreitzer and Porath; “there’s no reason to look for
innovative solutions if you can’t see the larger impact. People can contribute
more effectively when they understand how their work fits with the
organization’s mission and strategy.” The business world is full of stories of
companies that have energized employees by sharing key information, having
frequent “huddles” to review interim data, and keeping score of progress.
• Minimizing
incivility – One boss said an employee had done “kindergarten work.” Another manager
said, “If I wanted to know what you thought, I’d ask you.” Studies have shown
that half of employees who have experienced uncivil behavior at work
intentionally decrease their efforts, a third decrease the quality of their
work, and two thirds waste time avoiding the aggressor. In short, incivility
keeps people from thriving, and leaders need to make civility a core value in
their management and hiring.
• Offering
feedback on performance – “Feedback creates opportunities for learning and the
energy so critical for a culture of thriving,” say Spreitzer and Porath. “By
resolving feelings of uncertainty, feedback keeps people’s work-related
activities focused on personal and organizational goals. The quicker and more
direct the feedback, the more useful it is.” If feedback takes place in a
culture of civility and respect, it is energizing and promotes learning and
growth.
Creating the
conditions that produce thriving employees requires concerted effort, conclude
Spreitzer and Porath, but it’s not expensive or time-consuming. Working on all
four levers is important, since they reinforce each other: people are more
likely to take the initiative and work at maximum capacity if they are
empowered to make decisions, know the big picture, are not afraid of being
ridiculed for making mistakes, and get constant feedback on how they are doing.
“Creating
Sustainable Performance” by Gretchen Spreitzer and Christine Porath in Harvard
Business Review, January-February 2012 (Vol. 90, #1-2, p. 92-99),
Think. Work. Achieve.
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