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Want to build greater job satisfaction and commitment in your team? Then you need to ensure everyone feels connected and engaged. These are just two of five factors that help people flourish at work. When this happens, the organisation blossoms and the people within it are engaged and motivated to succeed.  

So what is flourishing and how can you build an organisational culture in which everyone thrives? In positive psychology, flourishing refers to more than just increased happiness or well-being. It means finding fulfilment in life. This includes developing meaningful relationships and accomplishing worthwhile tasks.  

The concept of flourishing has been extensively researched by positive psychology researcher, Martin Seligman. He developed the PERMA model to help people flourish and thrive. This model is used by positive psychology trainers and educators across the world. PERMA stands for five factors which contribute to human wellbeing.  

• Positive emotions 
• Engagement 
• Relationships 
• Meaning 
• Accomplishments 

When the PERMA conditions are absent, people are more likely to languish than to thrive.  Languishing refers to a state where someone feels empty or hollow. Employees that languish may feel that their work has no purpose or direction. Although all their physical needs are met, they are not fully content. Those that flourish are very different. They feel a sense of purpose and engagement – they believe their work contributes to something important.  

Corey Keyes developed criteria for measuring and diagnosing the flourishing state in individuals. According to Keyes, to fully thrive, you need to have high emotional, psychological and social well-being. Psychologists also suggest that resilience, personal growth, self-determination, vitality, optimism, self-acceptance and purpose are also essential ingredients of a flourishing life.  

No matter how you define this state and the characteristics that lead to it, there are several ways to promote flourishing at work. Here are some behaviours that positive psychology trainers suggest you embed into your daily work habits.  

• Show appreciation for hard work and provide strength-focused feedback 
• Help develop people’s strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses 
• Build trust within a team by giving individuals more control over decisions 
• Cultivate a natural sense of curiosity and mindfulness within the team 
• Encourage employees to volunteer in their spare time  

Accomplishment is a major component of flourishing. To promote a flourishing state within an organisation, give individuals tasks they can reasonably accomplish. Work with a positive psychology trainer to design workplace systems that connect work to a higher purpose. Focus on building a positive organisational culture and you will soon start to notice an increase in team morale and happiness. 

About the author of this article: 

Eleanor Shakiba is trainer for professionals in high intellect fields. Her expertise is in using positive psychology to build high performing leaders and teams. Eleanor works with trainers and HR specialists to build exceptional organisations and people. She is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners. She also runs a range of retreats and workshops for trainers and facilitators. 

Want to mend a broken relationship or raise morale in your team? Then you need to boost the positivity ratio of every conversation you have. This is the ratio of positive to negative feelings your trigger in your conversation partner. According to relationship expert, John Gottman, the flourishing relationships have a ratio of 5:1. In other words, for every negative exchange, you need five positive ones.

So how can you do boost your positivity ratio? Luckily, small behaviours can make a huge difference.

1. Share positive moments to help you connect with people you have relationships with. For example, turn coffee breaks into opportunities to share success stories.
2. Reinforce positive emotions by using active constructive responses. In other words, when someone sounds happy, acknowledge it using a reflective statement.
3. Express gratitude for hard work with an email or a handwritten note.
4. Greet people with a smile and take the time to follow up on good news your colleagues have shared.
5. Celebrate achievements and milestones, making sure you recognise both individual and team efforts.
6. Keep track of your feedback ratio. Make sure you are giving enough complimentary and reinforcing feedback. Aim to keep your feedback ratio at least 3:1 in favour of positives.

By focusing on creating a 5:1 ratio you can build rich and resourceful relationships. These are rewarding in themselves – but they can provide ample benefits to your organisation, as well.

 About the author of this tip:

Eleanor Shakiba is a trusted coach and trainer to thousands of professionals in high intellect fields. Her expertise is in using positive psychology to build high performing leaders and teams. Eleanor works with trainers and HR specialists to build exceptional organisations and teams. She is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners. She also runs a range of retreats and workshops for trainers and facilitators.

 Want training on building effective work relationships? Call Eleanor Shakiba. 0433 126 841

“Happiness is more than simply an emotion…There is also a cognitive or thinking component to well-being”. This book explores both components, drawing on fascinating research into the mysteries of the human mind. Written by my favourite positive psychology researcher – Robert Biswas- Diener – Happiness is a constant source of inspiration in my facilitation and coaching work.

Happiness tackles many questions about what causes people to experience happiness. It gives new insights into questions such as if – or how – money makes people happy. However, the book looks at more than just physical and financial wealth. It takes an in-depth look at recent research findings on topics such as spirituality, engagement, well-being and social relationships.

Divided into four parts, the book explains the concept of psychological wealth. It also discusses why happy people function better overall. It ends with questions and surveys that allow you to measure your own psychological wealth. To me, the best feature of Happiness is the range of research snippets it contains. If you’re looking for evidence-based concepts to include in your well-being programs, you will find them in this accessible book.

About the author of this review

Eleanor Shakiba is a master trainer and coach. She works with talented professionals in highly technical fields. Her passion is teaching ‘positive deviants’ to think positively and communicate constructively. A specialist in the field of Positive Psychology, Eleanor is also qualified in Social Anthropology, Counselling, Coaching, Adult Education and Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Everyone wants to have constructive relationships. But what helps us do this? Well, it seems that it is more effective to reinforce positivity in a bunch of small ways, rather than in one big way. Studies by The Gottman Institute show that regular, small acknowledgements are essential for maintaining a healthy relationship dynamic.

The researchers shared this story. An employee felt neglected by her supervisor. Why? Because he didn’t respond when she greeted him each morning. It turned out this was not intentional. He was simply pre-occupied. The supervisor started responding to the employee’s cheery greetings. And guess what? The employee began to feel more positive about her job and her (already good) performance skyrocketed.

About the author of this fast fact:

Eleanor Shakiba is a specialist in positive psychology training. She works with people in high intellect professions – such as academia, education, project management, research and development and engineering. Her skills in interactive training make Eleanor a highly sought-after facilitator. Eleanor is author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners.

The Nun study is a well-known case study in positive psychology circles. It’s a great example, which is often used by positive psychology trainers and human resources professionals who want to show the practical implications of positive mindsets.

In a large research project on the brain and ageing, scientists studied the brains of more than 500 nuns. Whether you’re a positive psychology trainer, a HR business partner or a professional who wants to excel, you will find the results inspiring. The researchers analysed the letters the nuns had written when applying to join their orders. They discovered that the nuns who expressed more positive emotions in their writing lived much longer than those who were less cheerful. In fact, 60% of the unhappy nuns died by age 80. On the other hand, the positive sisters often lived to be past 90 years old.

This is an interesting indication that there could be a direct relationship between positivity and longevity. Whether that link is causal isn’t clear yet – but it is something to ponder. Looking to increase your own positive outlook? It’s easy to start. Positive psychologists recommend writing your thoughts down in a daily journal. Try focusing on the blessings you have received and how your positive experiences can lead you into a more positive future. This is a simple exercise in gratitude.

Looking for more examples of positive psychology in action? Follow Eleanor Shakiba on LinkedIn or Facebook today!

About the author of this article:

Eleanor Shakiba is passionate about helping talented people flourish professionally. She coaches and trains high performers who want to excel in business. Her core expertise is in positive psychology. Eleanor is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners. She also runs master practitioner level retreats and workshops for trainers and facilitators.

Research suggests that positivity influences cognitive function. When you’re happy, you perform better. Based on this idea, some positive psychologists believe that maintaining a higher positivity ratio is the key to success. If you maintain a greater balance of positive emotions compared to negative ones, you are more likely to flourish in life and work.

Barbara Fredrickson and Marcial Losada developed the “positivity ratio” by building on earlier research completed by Fredrickson. She created the “broaden and build” theory, which suggests that positive emotions help broaden your awareness and lead to greater self-awareness. Increased self-awareness allows you to build your strengths and develop more meaningful relationships.

A lot of the concepts used by Fredrickson originated with work completed by Alice Isen. Her early research involved studies using three types of tasks – typicality rating, sorting and word association. In a 1984 study, Isen found that those who receive positive emotions categorised stimuli more inclusively.

Basically, the experiments explored the idea that happiness can increase performance when completing tasks that require creativity or ingenuity. The subjects watched a few minutes of a comedy film and then completed a task. Those who watched the comedy film performed better compared to those who didn’t.

Isen and other researchers found that people are better at categorisation when in a positive emotional state. It becomes easier to see the interconnectedness in things and ideas, helping people process information in a more flexible way. Further research also suggests that positive emotions increase attention and engagement, which are also useful in the business world.

Watching a comedy may not transform the productivity and morale of an entire workforce.

However, this research does suggest that promoting a more positive work environment can lead to greater results.

About the author of this article:

Eleanor Shakiba is a master trainer and coach. Her passion is teaching ‘positive deviants’ to think positively and communicate constructively. A specialist the field of Positive Psychology, Eleanor is author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners. She also provides coaching and training for trainers and facilitators.

Sharing a laugh improves team dynamics more than any other behaviour. Studies show that sharing an amusing moment immediately before performing a task, improves performance of that task when it is done by a team. This dynamic is called ‘elegant social coordination’. It’s a powerful tool that can be used in any business or organisation.

Here’s an example of elegant social coordination put to use. Researchers asked a pair of strangers to perform a task involving cards. They had to work together to complete the task. Some pairs were simply given their tasks. Some were prompted to laugh together before starting. The study showed that strangers sharing a positive emotional moment beforehand, worked better together to finish the task.

Think about how this small fact might be applied in your workplace. Shared dynamics like laughter can improve team focus and coordination – so it makes sense to laugh more often.

About the author of this fun fact:

Eleanor Shakiba is a positive psychology trainer. She teaches smart professionals to build positive thinking, communication and leadership habits. Eleanor is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners. She is an expert in experiential training and delivers dynamic and engaging training for corporate clients.

Low morale is a plague that can quickly spread through an organisation, significantly decreasing productivity and performance. It turns out that positivity is also contagious. And leaders can use their ‘positivity ratios’ to create contagion. By working with positive psychology trainers and coaches, you can successfully shift your behaviour and become an inspiring leader.

So what, exactly, is a positivity ratio? It’s the ratio of positive to negative feelings someone experiences in a specific timeframe. That timeframe could be the length of a conversation between a team member and their leader. This is why great leaders focus on their own communication patterns.

Smiling at a team member may be enough to shift their perception of you and lift their positivity ratio. According to the well known expert in relationships, John Gottman, the minimum positivity ratio for a flourishing relationship is 5:1. For every negative interaction you have with a direct report, you need to have 5 positive exchanges.

Leaders can also directly influence the behaviour of subordinates, to shift the positivity ratios of entire teams. Here are five tips positive psychology trainers recommend using to improve your positivity ratio in the workplace.

• Express gratitude for hard work via an email or thank you note
• Greet people with a smile and say hello as you pass co-workers
• Take the time to celebrate workplace milestones or achievements
• Always take a deep breath before responding when you’re feeling negative
• Actively listen to suggestions and feedback from everyone on the team
• Set achievable goals instead of setting the bar too high

Do not overlook the power of positive communication in the workplace. To combat low morale, focus on increasing positivity ratios across the board. Work with your Human Resources or training department to build a thriving culture. If necessary, call on the expertise of positive psychology trainers from outside your business.  Staying positive and engaging in positive social exchanges helps foster a happier work environment. And with happier workers comes greater results for everyone.

About the author of this article:

Eleanor Shakiba is a positive psychology trainer. She has helped over 50,000 people to build confidence, presence and impact at work. Her passion is working with the ‘positive deviants’ in organisations – equipping them to think creatively and produce exceptional results. Eleanor is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners. She also runs a range of retreats and workshops for trainers and facilitators.

Positive deviance is constructive aberration from the norm. People who deviate in this way solve problems in ways others don’t even consider. The Power of Positive Deviance argues that positive deviance can be a formidable force for social change. It explores techniques for noticing and learning from positive deviants in groups and communities.  

The book focuses on why it is important to foster and connect with positive deviants in your business. It’s an excellent resource for anyone who wants to identify and learn from the deviant thinkers in their team or organisation. This is what makes The Power of Positive Deviance a great resource for leaders, trainers and Human Resources experts. 

My favourite part of this book is the chapter on how experts in positive deviance used their model to solve the problem of childhood malnutrition in regional Vietnam. Not only is this a great case study, it ties back to theoretical concepts beautifully. Trainers, in particular, will find this a great story to add to their toolkits.  

About the author of this review 

Eleanor Shakiba specialises in teaching positive thinking and communication techniques to people in mind-based professions. Her clients work in academia, education, IT, engineering, finance and health. Eleanor is qualified in Social Anthropology, Positive Psychology, Counselling, Coaching, Adult Education and Neuro Linguistic Programming.