Positive psychology focuses on exploring and expanding on what makes life worthwhile, productive and fulfilling, in all its complexity. Factors that contribute to positive psychology include maximising positive emotions, having higher levels of engagement, finding a sense of meaning and purpose in life, having positive relationships and forming positive goals.
Findings by leading positive psychologists Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King and Ed Diener, found that happiness leads to success in nearly every life domain, from health and longevity to workplace performance, creativity and relationships. It was found that happier people – those with higher levels of wellbeing – are healthier, less accident prone, more successful, more productive, more creative, more socially engaged and live longer, to name a few.
The business impact of positive psychology is beneficial. At work, people who feel happy, valued and satisfied typically do far better than those who do not. Compared to their less satisfied peers, happy employees are more engaged and likely to go beyond their job requirements to give their best effort, work harder and are more productive and collaborative. This leads to greater organisational productivity, better business performance and financial results that are sustainable over time.
3 TIPS ON HOW TO EMBRACE POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR WORKPLACE
- Encourage positive emotions. A positive mood uses and activates more of our brain and therefore increases our level of performance, surging creativity and innovation.
- Foster a positive workplace. Nurturing a positive workplace climate helps to ensure a positive culture, in turn leading to greater productivity.
- Create career development plans around cultivating peoples’ strengths, rather than trying to improve weaknesses. Performance in areas of both strengths and weaknesses can be improved upon by having strength-focused conversations instead of weakness-based conversations.
To find out more about positive psychology visit the Langely Group website
