What does being happy have to do with your health?

Being happy isn’t just about turning lemons into lemonade or ‘always looking on the bright side of life’ like ~ Pollyanna syndrome if you will ~ it is more than that. Being more positive and optimistic can actually have a huge impact on your physical health. Want to know more…check out the Positive Acorn recent blog reviewing some of the latest research of health and happiness:

 

Health and Happiness

By Robert Biswas-Diener of Positive Acorn

www.positiveacorn.com

  

Just the other day I had the opportunity to read an as-yet unpublished report on happiness that will be presented to the United Nations next month. This presentation is part of a trend for policy makers to take happiness seriously as a focus of development. One of the most important aspects of substantiating happiness as a worthwhile concern is to outline the wide body of research showing that happiness does not just feel good, it is actually beneficial.

Of all the myriad aspects of happiness the most compelling evidence for its benefits comes from the area of health. In 2005 researchers published a paper that presented initial evidence that happiness is not only related to health, but is causally related to it. In the 7 years since that publication the research case linking health and happiness has grown. Here are some highlights:

Point 1: Pathways

There are two separate paths by which happiness affects health. First, happiness acts as a buffer against stress which, in turn, affects overall health through hormonal activity and health practices. That is, people who experience prolonged stress are more likely to suffer the ill effects of cortisol (think heart disease) and have unfavorable health practices (lower incidence of wearing seat belts and higher likelihood of drinking alcohol in excess). The other path is the direct link between positive emotion and immune and cardiovascular functioning. It is hear that researchers have found that happiness is causally related to boosted immune systems and less severe symptoms of minor illnesses such as the common cold.

Point 2: Specific health outcomes

We are well beyond some vague notion of "mind-body connection" where happiness is concerned. Researchers have looked at a variety of specific health indicators and found that higher happiness is associated with:

 

-- healthier rates of heart rate variability

-- lower risk of heart disease

-- better healing after injury

-- lower rates of obesity in adolescents

-- better diet and exercise habits

-- lower incidence of eating buttered popcorn (seriously!)

-- lower neuro-endocrine problems in middle-aged people

-- longer lives (as assessed by the use of positive words in the auto-biographies of psychologists!)

Where your own life is concerned this is good news. Happiness is not a selfish pursuit but one that is heavily implicated in a healthier and longer life. This has benefit to you and also to those people who care about you, to your workplace, and to the society in which you live. To learn more about the research on happiness and health you can read the recent review article by Ed Diener here: http://tinyurl.com/3k8eq5y

 Please share your thoughts and questions with us on our Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/PositiveAcorn  We love to hear from you!

Use your Strengths

In case I wasn't convincing enough throughout my blog, here is even more evidence to support the theory of using your strengths!  Everyone is worried about stress - but using your strengths can actually improve your mood and lower your stress!!! Check it out:

 

 

 

 

September 27, 2012

When Americans Use Their Strengths More, They Stress Less

But most do not use their strengths enough to maximize mood benefits

by Jim Asplund

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The more hours per day Americans get to use their strengths to do what they do best, the less likely they are to report experiencing worry, stress, anger, sadness, or physical pain "yesterday." Fifty-two percent of Americans who use their strengths for zero to three hours a day are stressed, but this falls to 36% for Americans who use their strengths for 10 hours per day or more.

Twenty-one percent of Americans use their strengths for three hours or fewer per day and are, therefore, carrying a much heavier emotional burden than adults are who use their strengths throughout the day. About one in four adults use their strengths for 10 hours or more per day -- meaning that three in four adults are not using their strengths enough hours daily to achieve the maximum emotional benefit.

These findings are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews with 5,049 American adults on Aug. 23-27, 2012. Respondents were asked, "About how many hours out of the day yesterday were you able to use your strengths to do what you do best?"
Gallup has spent more than a half-century studying human strengths and more than 7.8 million people have taken Gallup's Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment -- which tests for 34 specific, unique strengths -- since its inception in 1998.

Americans also gain a boost in positive emotions the more they use their strengths. The more hours per day adults believe they use their strengths, the more likely they are to report having ample energy, feeling well-rested, being happy, smiling or laughing a lot, learning something interesting, and being treated with respect.

Particularly important for workplaces is the added energy adults report when they get to use their strengths frequently during the day. Adults who use their strengths for 10 hours or more per day are 22 percentage points more likely to say they have enough energy to get things done than are those who use their strengths for three hours or less.

The Additive Effect of Strengths
For certain emotions -- particularly happiness and anger -- only a few hours of strengths usage are needed to maximize one's chance of having a good day. By contrast, stress and worry decrease, and respect increases with each additional hour of reported strengths usage. For each of these emotional experiences, every additional hour of strengths usage adds as much benefit as the first hour. One reason why these emotions - stress, worry, and respect -- differ from some of the others may be that laughter and anger tend to be fleeting, momentary experiences. By comparison, respect is an attitude that forms over time.

Strengths usage is often associated with feelings of accomplishment and timelessness. Energizing experiences are often evidence of strengths at work and can help inoculate adults against experiencing stress. Being engaged in an activity at a deep, natural level can result in a lack of the sense of passing time, and indicate a level of engrossment that is consistent with strengths usage. So, apparently, time not only flies when we're having fun, but also when we are using our strengths -- both act to reduce a person's chances of feeling stressed or worried about the present or future, and make life feel meaningful and productive.

Helping employees feel a more personal and meaningful connection with their work is more lucrative than many leaders realize. Gallup data show that employees who simply learn their own strengths are 7.8% more productive. Developing those strengths motivates employees to learn how to best apply themselves and makes them far more likely to care whether their activities are profitable. Being aware of and applying strengths on a daily basis is something everyone can learn to do better.

Survey MethodsResults are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking Aug. 23-27, 2012, with a random sample of 5,049 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±1.2 percentage points.
The margin of sampling error for any given demographic group is larger, but is typically no greater than ±4 percentage points.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample includes a minimum quota of 400 cell phone respondents and 600 landline respondents per 1,000 nation adults with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents by region. Landline telephone numbers are chosen at random among listed telephone numbers. Cell phones numbers are selected using random digit dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.
Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, adults in the household, and phone status (cell phone-only/landline only/both, cell phone mostly, and having an unlisted landline number). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2011 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
For more details on Gallup's polling methodology, visit http://www.gallup.com/.

Leadership

Preventing Fireworks and Creating Sparklers: A Positive Approach to Remedial Management

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 06:57 AM PST

Posted by: Sue Harrington & Emma Trenier

It’s a telling coincidence that the number one reported reason that people leave their jobs is problems with their manager – and the number one issue that managers dread dealing with is problems with their people. Many managers would rather deal with angry customers or chase challenging sales targets than manage people problems.

One particular area where an escalating vicious cycle of fireworks often exists is managing underperformance and the responsibility for managing this typically falls at the feet of managers.

Research with managers, human resources practitioners and employees has shown that:

• Dealing with underperformance can be a lengthy and time-consuming process, and managers often feel that it conflicts with their ability to deliver their business objectives.
• Managers often feel ‘dumped on’ – they feel that they lack the training to handle complex personal issues, and feel ill prepared to tackle the difficult conversations around underperformance necessary for effective performance management.
• Feeling a lack of confidence or willingness to tackle underperformance can result in managers feeling isolated and unsupported in their roles.
• Communication around underperformance tends to be reactive and too late – conflict has already occurred between the employee and their manager, and these clashing perspectives can cause fireworks: the manager’s, sometimes bungled, attempts to manage underperformance can feel like bullying to the employee, which can then worsen any underperformance.
• Consequently, many grievance and disciplinary issues arise from performance management situations, often from the miscommunication associated with these situations. The worry of this happening can often stop managers from dealing with performance issues early and openly.

So what are the dangerous fireworks to look out for?

• First spark- Cases of underperformance can often be traced back to a specific incident, or a series of incidents that were not addressed at the time – perhaps the manager was too busy, perhaps they didn’t feel comfortable tackling the issue, or perhaps there had never been an on-going process of providing feedback, both good and bad – and it’s hard to start with the bad.
• The slow-burning fizzle – These unresolved issues can then fester, like a Roman Candle – never quite coming to a head like a Rocket, but creating an undercurrent of conflict and miscommunication.
• Big Bang – The longer it is left, the harder the issue is to confront. Conflict can often escalate in these situations, clouding the perceptions of both parties – both the manager and the employee are expecting the other to behave negatively, so that’s what they see. The manager becomes frustrated and angry, the employee feels harassed and may withdraw effort – it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and one that is very hard to break.

Here are Capp’s 5 steps to creating sparklers and avoiding those fireworks:

• First of all, understand your own strengths – how do they help you deliver timely feedback to your team? How do they help you to tackle more difficult conversations?
• Develop your strengths spotting skills: know what makes each of your team tick, what motivates them, and where their strengths lie. Use this understanding to help your employees recognise and maximize their own strengths.
• Set each individual clear and measureable goals that are aligned to their strengths, goals that will help to unleash potential and maximize performance
• Have regular performance conversations with each of your team. Provide proactive feedback on their performance – give each person examples of what they are doing well.
• Catch any issues early – be honest and clear about areas of potential underperformance and help individuals to think about how they can use their strengths to address any areas of weakness – and always provide examples.

When managers understand their own strengths and weaknesses, and those of their employees, they are better able to flex and personalise their management approach to proactively prevent performance-related conflicts. Capp’s 8-step Performance Manager Programme enables managers to do just this – equipping managers with the skills to manage through strengths, delivering enhanced performance through their people.

Download Capp’s Performance Manager White Paper to find out more about what people want from their managers.