Who is the most important person on a team? If you follow sports, you know commentators will often talk about the “glue guys” or “glue gals” who hold their teams together in the midst of challenge and are largely responsible for their triumphs. Sometimes it’s even the injured quarterback sitting on the sidelines. The same…
We love having options… chocolate or vanilla? Comedy or drama? Boxers or briefs? But would you believe the numerous choices we face every day deplete our stamina, focus and willpower? Researchers have shown that self-control is a limited resource, so our brains tend to default to the path of least resistance when we’re overwhelmed with…
Numerous studies have shown that stress can be unhealthy—the American Institute of Stress has linked it to the six leading causes of death. Unfortunately, knowing how bad it is makes us fear stress even more. But this is only half the story. The human brain actually works best in the presence of this tension. Stress can…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Most of us assume that success will lead to happiness. Shawn Achor, founder of the corporate strategy firm Good Think, argues that we’ve got it backward; in work he’s done with KPMG and Pfizer, and studies he’s conducted in concert with Yale’s psychology department, he has seen how happiness actually precedes success. Happy…
I was at a Starbucks in New York, completely minding my own business, when… Actually, in truth, I was at a Starbucks intentionally eavesdropping on the conversation of some people at the table next to me, when I overheard one slightly overweight woman say to her three fit friends, “I’ve tried 19 diets over the…
For you, which comes first: happiness or success? My guess is that you have already answered that question several times today. You answer it every time your brain says, “I’ll be happy when I find a job.” “I’ll be happy when I get a promotion.” “I’ll be happy when my dissertation is finished.” The formula is clear: Work harder,…
The greatest metric for predicting job satisfaction and engagement is the social support perceived by the employee. And job satisfaction and engagement directly correlate with productivity. So the best and fastest way to more connected and therefore more productive is to receive more social support from others at work, right? Not so fast. Some of the…
“I will be happy when…” This innocent comment is the very reason that happiness is so elusive for us in the modern world. We think: I will be happy when I have a successful relationship. I will be happy when I find a job. I will be happy when I’m out of this relationship. I’ll…
Nearly every company in the world gives lip service to the idea that “our people are our greatest asset.” Yet when the Conference Board Survey came out earlier this year, employees were the unhappiest they have been in their 22 years of tracking job satisfaction rates. Around the same time, CNNMoney reported a survey that…
If someone were to say to you: “You are not a good friend,” you would instantly list off a number of reasons why that person is wrong. How could they be right if, just this week, you surprised your co-worker with a get-well card, called your mom for her birthday, and talked with your best…