12 Ways Positive Social Connections in the Workplace Increases Business Success

12 Ways Positive Social Connections in the Workplace Increases Business Success

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

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...
Four Quotes from the Four Horsemen Documentary to Inspire Support, Love, Assistance & Cooperation

Four Quotes from the Four Horsemen Documentary to Inspire Support, Love, Assistance & Cooperation

1. We Can Be the Best Source of Support, Love, Assistance & Cooperation In any species, in almost any animal, there is always the potential for huge conflict, because with any species, all members of that species have the same needs. So they might fight each other for food, shelter, nest sites, territory, sexual partners, all those kinds of things. But human beings have always had the other possibility. We have the possibility to be the best source of support, love, assistance and cooperation, much more so than any other animal… and so other people can be the best or the worst. You can be my worst rival, or my best source of support. “Four Horsemen – Feature Documentary – Official Version.” 1:07:27 – 1:08:10 2. What Really Makes Us Happy? What’s really suffered is human relationships, family life, the things that really matter to us. In the end, the only thing that makes human beings happy isn’t money, it’s very clear that you only get marginal gains from wealth. What really makes us happy is other people. It’s our relationships with other people that are really being damaged by the last thirty years. We trust them less; we have less interaction with them; we bond less than ever before; we marry less and marriages are under more threat than ever before, and all the associations that represent permanent unconditional human affection are being eroded or damaged. That’s the real legacy of the last thirty years. In some sense, we’ve got to recover and rehumanize our lives, otherwise not only will they be nasty, brutish and short, but they’ll be...
Connecting With Others: A Prescription For Overcoming Social, Cultural, And Economic Differences

Connecting With Others: A Prescription For Overcoming Social, Cultural, And Economic Differences

We suspect — or at least we hope — that there are more and more things… where people have the opportunity to discover their commonality. These are things that can change the world, even if it’s by one person at a time.” – Gregory Stebbins, President of Insight University The Power Of Connection In Stebbins’ article for the Huffington Post, “Connection: The Heart of Our Humanity,” he writes about the power of connection, how it has the ability to bridge social, cultural, and economic gaps: I made friends and shared extremely touching experiences with them, [even though some] I barely talked to. I know not their personalities and everyday lives, but I know their core being. I also learned my core being; I saw myself in a way I have never seen before; full of love, laughter and beautiful qualities that I can appreciate in myself. Now I see myself as a person, someone to be loved and cared for, who deserves the respect I give everyone else. … Life … is an ebb and flow. [This program] taught me how to grow from the ebbs, remember the flows and to always continue to love myself, others and life.” – A young woman, “who had just completed a 4-day program for teens from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.” How Can You Know If You Are Placing Value In Connecting With Others? To test out whether there is value for you in connecting with others… here’s a simple suggestion. Try it and see if you notice a difference. Once a day, when you’re getting ready to text or email...
One Big Reason To Place New Emphasis On Your Connection With Others: Happiness Is Contagious

One Big Reason To Place New Emphasis On Your Connection With Others: Happiness Is Contagious

… when a person becomes happy, next door neighbors have a 34% increased chance of becoming happy. A friend living within one mile? A 25% increased chance. Siblings? 14%. And a spouse? An 8% chance.” – ABC, Good Morning America (citing research by Professor’s James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis, which they write about in their book, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives)  We studied a full social network and found that happiness spreads through it like a contagion. And so we really do think that happiness is contagious.” – James Fowler Image: “what happiness looks like” by AJC1 on...