In March, Zappos offered its employees an ultimatum: get behind their new organisation structure or leave in exchange for at least 3 months of redundancy (The Washington Post). As a result of the ‘ultimatum’, approximately 14% of the the 1,500 workforce took redundancy. Some may consider this relatively high, particularly as Zappos’ customer focused workforce … Continued
Priming is a phenomenon where being exposed to a certain stimuli makes a particular response to a second stimuli more likely to happen. Positive priming is a term which has come to mean using priming to our advantage. In my case, I use it to refer to ‘kick starts’. In their excellent book, Profit from … Continued
65% of workers report that in the past 12 months they received no recognition for good work during the prior year (Gallup). Appreciation can be used strategically by supervisors to boost employee morale. Appreciating the best qualities in those with whom we work can help give them a boost, motivating them to persevere even when … Continued
“Jobs that exist today were invented to fulfil particular industrial and commercial purposes. Employers want recruits who will fit into existing organisations and systems whereas the young are now being educated to develop and express their individual personalities and no longer just to obey and conform…. Work has not yet been reconceived as a … Continued
Went to an Action for Happiness talk by Tal Ben Shahar and he left us with a really useful set of messages: 1. Focus on what’s good 2. Ask questions that help us find solutions rather than focus on the negative 3. When you appreciate the good, the good appreciates – in other words, focusing … Continued
The most recent edition of People Management (March 2014) contains an article on an SME, Fittleworth, which highlights the importance of authenticity when creating a culture with meaning, purpose and compassion. Frittleworth’s business is not glamorous – it is a mail order delivery service of ostomy, continent and wound care products, which has managed to … Continued
Over the past three mornings I have been engaged in an exercise aimed at increasing my levels of joy. What I’ve found is that it has increased my levels of creativity. So much so that I’ve managed to build the outline of a 9 month development programme aimed at building meaning in work. Meaning is … Continued
I am embarking on a 3 day writing exercise to boost my levels of joy. The Best Possible Self (BPS) exercise is one originally used by Pennebaker to help trauma victims get over the trauma by writing about their experience.The writing acts as a therapeutic means of getting closure and it seems to work. The … Continued
This blog summarises major research that appeared throughout 2013 on the leader – follower relationship and appeared in the BPS Occupational Research Digest. It raises questions about the emotional expectations of workers today and the value, if any, of the transformational leader. There was plenty of research on the give and take between leader and … Continued
I love this article by Bridget-Grenville-Cleave which appeared in Positive Psychology news. It so neatly highlights not only the importance of playing to our strengths, but by doing so, it is possible to create a meaningful life. —- Earlier this month I got together with several of my colleagues to share ideas about … Continued
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