How do you get, or become, an engaged employee? Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their jobs and organizations; they go the extra mile. Peer-reviewed data suggests that organizations with high engagement enjoy much greater financial success than organizations with low engagement.
Letting yourself become cynical may be hazardous for your health! Optimism on the other hand, is associated with higher levels of happiness and health. To counteract cynicism, scientists recommend being “actively optimistic”. Read more to learn how.
Science tells us that how we cope with stress has a huge effect on our well-being. For most of us it’s difficult to be stressed and happy at the same time. Our naturalfight, flight, or freeze response is not usually the most helpful reaction at work. What do you typically do under stress? How much read more…
Self-determination Theory suggests that Autonomy, Relatedness, and Mastery are vital human motivators, whether we are talking about working in the office or playing a video game. Every brain in the world is different, but for most of us most of the time, we would rather play games with others than alone. As the title of a just-published study puts it, “Fun is more fun when others are involved”. Science confirms, time and again, that relatedness–connecting to others and feeling something in common–is a key internal motivator.
In the Science of Being Happy and Productive at Work I teach that warm relationships may fuel happiness more than any other single factor science has found. When you invest time and attention in your relationships, they improve, and that improves your happiness. You also improve your coping ability because you have more social support. read more…
Do you find yourself playing the same scenario over and over again in your head? Do you find yourself fretting about a situation–hypothetical or not– that hasn’t even happened yet? Are ruminations from the work day impacting your home life? Learn the key steps to turn this pattern around.
If you have ever experienced being in the “the zone”, when everything is clicking and time seems to disappear, you have likely been in ‘flow’. Flow is that almost-magical-state-of-mind during which you become completely absorbed in a task or activity that is challenging, but possible. When you are in flow you make less mistakes, you are more read more…
When a deadline is approaching or you’ve got a ton of work to do, do you take a break to help you move farther toward your goal? For most of us, the answer to this question is “no.” But that’s not what science is supporting. Just as athletes take active rest days to recoup their read more…
I first thought that my game design background and using brain science to thrive at work had little to do with each other; wow was I wrong! It turns out, leaders have a lot to learn from game designers. When I left my career in game development to found Happy Brain Science so I could read more…
First, I want to be direct: I am thrilled to announce that TODAY (March 16, 2016) Happy Brain Science is launching Choose Happiness @ Work, our card game that teaches the science of thriving. Please watch the video below of people playing the game and talking about it.