In his recent book, The Happiness Advantage, author Shawn Achor makes that case that workers who are happy are 31% more productive that those who are not. He presents a case study from accounting firm KPMG, where employees and managers were trained to increase their level of happiness and job satisfaction.
Here are some of the exercises they used:
- Write down three new things you are grateful for each day;
- Write for 2 minutes a day describing one positive experience you had over the past 24 hours;
- Exercise for 10 minutes a day;
- Meditate for 2 minutes, focusing on your breath going in and out;
- Write one, quick email first thing in the morning thanking or praising a member on your team.
What do you think the impact of regularly doing these activities would be on your workplace? What techniques do you use to keep your employees happy and engaged? Does it make a difference in their performance (or yours)? Tell me in the comments.