Rather than just fix what's disturbing you, positive psychology looks to actively improve individual and organizational well-being. Here's how Havas Worldwide is working to build a happier, more energetic- and ultimately more creative workforce.
"There is a strong relationship between employee happiness and a workforce that is productive, creative, and flourishing." he says, pointing 10 lab studies designed to test creativity after participants have been made more and less happy, which shows creative levels improve when people are happier.
It is an approach based on a relatively new branch of psychology called "positive psychology" which, in recent years, has been adopted as a management tool by a number of Fortune 500 companies.
“Positive psychology' is about playing to strengths- enhancing positive emotions, rather than the old approach of using psychology to fix problems." Frude explains. “How we are using it is to demonstrate skills that help boost an individual's sense of well-being- for example, ways of building resilience (复原力)，or becoming more positive, or better managing your emotions in a positive direction by understanding what boosts or rewards you can give yourself to cause a positive emotional uplift.
Build happiness and well-being among staff and in an organization will benefit from a more emotionally intelligent workforce: people who not only understand their own and other people's emotions but can manage their own and other people's emotions in a more effective way, too, which is what inspired Russ Lidstone, CEO of creative agency Havas Worldwide London whose clients include Credit Suisse, Santander, and Durex—to ask Frude and his company, the Happiness Consultancy, to help boost levels of happiness, well-being, and resilience in his agency's 240-strong workforce.
"The notion that 40% of your brain can be trained to adapt is an interesting one. Another selling point for me is that a freed mind in a more confident and secure individual is more likely to feel free to express itself in different, innovative, and ultimately more creative ways."
What all this means in practice is that, between now and the end of the year, every member of the 240-member staff based at Havas Worldwide's offices in London and Manchester will undertake a four-week course in positive psychology run by Frude.
Each two-hour session is designed to share techniques, approaches, and interventions participants can then put into practice in the workplace. Then participants report back the following week.
"This isn't about "fixing' a specific problem but making the organization work even better."
Professor Frude insists "It's about helping individuals to get more out of their lives and enabling mangers 10 recognize the potential positive (and negative) impact that can come from putting people with a particular outlook into a team."
Though these are early days, Lidstone says the experience has already affected his approach as CEO. Frude adds:" Lerning to manage your emotional wellbeing is like teaching a man to fish skill that will keep you going for a lifetime."
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Happiness Means . |
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of positive psychology |
Many companies have adopted positive psychology as a management tool. the old approach, it is aimed at playing to strengths and ” an individual's sense of well-being. Those who can understand and more manage their own and other people's emotions can improve their well-being. Therefore, they have more confidence and , thus making them become more creative. |
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The training on and managers |
Russ Lidstone has to Frude and his company to help boost his workers' levels of happiness. The course four-week is intended to help the organization work even better. Though these are early days, Lidstone says that the experience has made a to his approach as CEO. |
