Who Else Wants Long Lasting Happiness, to Use Any Dissatisfaction Optimally for the Best Change, and to Know How to Use What Most Affects Happiness?

Who Else Wants Long Lasting Happiness, to Use Any Dissatisfaction Optimally for the Best Change, and to Know How to Use What Most Affects Happiness?

Culture, Featured

What Does Lasting Happiness Depend On? Neither Rising Prosperity nor Severe Misfortune Permanently Affect Happiness Research implies that neither rising prosperity nor severe misfortune permanently affect happiness. After a period of adjustment, individuals return to their baseline levels of well-being, leaving humanity on a ‘‘hedonic treadmill’’ (Brickman & Campbell, 1981; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999; Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwartz, & Stone, 2004). Similarly, as entire countries become richer, relative gains and losses neutralize each other across populations, bringing no overall increase in the happiness of their citizens (Easterlin, 1974; Kenny, 2004).   Neither Individual Efforts nor Social Policy Can Bring Lasting Changes in Happiness Insofar as this set point is biologically determined, neither individual efforts nor social policy can bring lasting changes in happiness.   Happiness Depends on Popularly Accepted Social Norms Another explanation for the apparent stability of the aggregate happiness of nations is social comparison theory (Easterlin, 1974, 2003). According to this account, happiness stays the same in the face of rising income because of a shift in reference. If happiness is shaped by one’s relative position in a society, then even if a nation’s overall economy grows, only those with above-average gains will experience rising happiness, and these increases will be offset by decreases among those with below-average gains. –Ronald Inglehart, Roberto Foa, Christopher Peterson, and Christian Welzel,  “Development, Freedom, and Rising Happiness A Global Perspective” (1981–2007).     The Functions of Happiness and Dissatisfaction Happiness Is Functional and Generally Leads to Success Recent research indicates that happiness is functional and generally leads to success.   All Organisms are Motivated to Approach Things that Bring...
12 Ways Positive Social Connections in the Workplace Increases Business Success

12 Ways Positive Social Connections in the Workplace Increases Business Success

Economy, Featured, Home

1) More Positive Emotions = More Productivity & Creativity Whether we looked at entrepreneurial startups or large, established enterprises, the same holds true: People are more productive and creative when they have more positive emotions. –Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, 2011.   2) Negative Emotions Have the Opposite Effect We find that human happiness has large and positive causal effects on productivity. Positive emotions appear to invigorate human beings, while negative emotions have the opposite effect. –Economist Team led by Andrew Oswald, Warwick Business School, July 2010, in “A New Happiness Equation: Worker + Happiness = Improved Productivity.”   3) Positive Workplace Interactions = Improved Employee Health Positive social interactions at work have been shown to boost employee health, e.g. by lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and by strengthening the immune system. Happy employees also make for a more congenial workplace and improved customer service. Employees in positive moods are more willing to help peers and to provide customer service on their own accord. What’s more, compassionate, friendly, and supportive co-workers tend to build higher-quality relationships with others at work. In doing so, they boost co-workers’ productivity levels and increase coworkers’ feeling of social connection, as well as their commitment to the workplace and their levels of engagement with their job. –Emma Seppala, “Why Compassion in Business Makes Sense,” Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, April 2013.   4) Business Success Depends on Empathetic Leaders Business success depends on empathetic leaders who are able to adapt, build on the strengths around them, and...
15 Reasons Why More Positive Social Connections are Good for Your Health

15 Reasons Why More Positive Social Connections are Good for Your Health

Featured, Science

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. —The World Health Organization’s Definition of Health   1) The Problem of Overseeing the Importance of Social Connection We often do not recognize the importance of social connection. Our culture values hard work, success, and wealth, so it’s no surprise some of us do not set aside enough time for social ties when we think security lies in material things rather than other people.¹   2) The Problem of Loneliness Olds and Schwartz (Associate Clinical Professors of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School) argue in The Lonely American that loneliness is often mistaken for depression. Instead of connecting with others, we consume a pill. Being lonely is outside of our individualistic world view so we don’t even see it as a problem. ¹   3) More Social Connection = More Active Democracy Harvard’s Robert Putnam writes about social capital in his book, Bowling Alone, and shows how social ties are not only important for personal well-being, but also for our democracy. To paraphrase Putnam, “the culture in which people talk to each other over the back fence is the culture in which people vote.” Apparently, when you feel part of a group, you’re more likely to contribute to it — such as by voting. ¹   4) Social Connection Is Central to Progressive Social Change UC Berkeley’s George Lakoff has said that we can only bring about progressive social change by evoking empathy. You can’t get people to change by loading them up with facts or shaking your finger at them. You...