What is positive psychology?
bringing joy to work
Positive psychology is devoted to studying the conditions under which people flourish.
It is built on the idea that people want to live meaningful and fulfilling lives in which they are able to use their strengths and feel connection with others. Research has found that people who have a sense of purpose and inspiration have a greater sense of well-being, and achieve greater performance in a variety of areas, including their work.
At Silver Lining Psychology, our goal is to bring joy to work. Quite simply, when people are fully engaged and passionate about their work, they work harder and smarter, and are more resilient. When work teams have great relationships in a positive environment, they get more done, instead of wasting time attending to battling egos and other dysfunctional dynamics. We help leaders to use positive psychology to achieve better business outcomes.
Curious about the benefits of leveraging positive psychology in your business?
HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ORGANIZATION?
In his book, “The Advantage,” Patrick Lencioni highlights the importance of focusing on organizational health by distinguishing between “smart” organizations and “healthy” organizations. Smart organizations are ones that place a primary focus on the traditional aspects of business such as strategy, finance, technology and marketing, whereas healthy organizations focus on morale, productivity, minimizing politics, and fostering collaboration. While an ideal organization should be both smart and healthy, Lencioni argues that health is the more important of these two factors, because without it, companies under-perform and waste precious time dealing with interpersonal issues. Thus, even if an organization has the best and the brightest talent, if their people cannot work together effectively, they won’t achieve their best results. Meanwhile, their industry peers who are focusing on making themselves healthy, give themselves a competitive advantage. Besides being healthy in a metaphorical sense, businesses will be more successful if employees are healthy in the physical sense. Healthy employees are more productive, as they are less likely to miss work due to illness. Further, when they are at work, they have greater energy. Research has shown that positive psychology techniques are associated with improved physical health, which in turn, can benefit the organization with lower health insurance premiums.
PEOPLE CRAVE MEANINGFUL WORK
The days in which people looked for a company in which they could work for 40 years, regardless of the conditions of the environment, and be rewarded at the end with a gold watch are long gone. Today’s employees want a work life that provides them with meaning, purpose, and balance. By using positive psychology techniques, leaders are able to create a motivational work environment that supports the well-being, engagement, and growth of their employees.
This is done by applying interventions designed to:
In a nutshell, Positive Psychology helps businesses achieve greater performance outcomes by creating an environment in which people are inspired to do their best work.
THE BUSINESS CASE
THE SCIENCE OF POSITIVITY
Although some task-oriented leaders may view a focus on culture as an unnecessary proposition that takes time and does not contribute to measurable results, the reality is that there is an extensive and compelling literature that builds a strong business case for applying positive psychology in the workplace.
In 2005, Lyubormirsky, King, and Diener conducted a review of 225 papers, composed of 295 samples and over 275,000 participants to examine the relationship between positive emotion and success. Through their meta-analysis, they concluded not only that positive emotions are associated with success, but that the cultivation of positive emotions actually contributes to more successful work outcomes, health outcomes, and life outcomes. See some of their findings below:
Organizational Outcomes
Takeaway: To achieve the best results, organizations should leverage the science of positive psychology in their work force. There are empirically proven ways to increase positive emotions and optimism in employees. We can help you achieve that.
HEALTH outcomes:
Takeaway: Given the challenge for companies to control health costs, a focus on employee wellness is critical. In addition to achieving better productivity, positive psychology will also improve the health of the work force. There are empirically proven ways to increase positive emotions and optimism in employees. We can help you achieve that.