Personal Development 101

The Science of Happiness!

For the past several months, I have been helping a variety of small businesses in their HR practices.  There is no doubt that the single biggest concern every client has is in terms of finding the right talent and this this will be a key focus for organizations as we all move into 2022.

What to look for?

When helping client make key decisions on who to hire, I often use scientific research to help support the direction on how to move forward in hiring the right individuals and most importantly keeping them engaged once they are hired.

Based on scientific evidence, if any organization wants to make successful hiring decision then focus on one specific strategy.  Happiness and positivity!

With happiness, your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy level rises and every single business outcome improves. As per Shawn Achor’s research, he shows that your brain at positive is 31 percent more productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed. You’re 37 percent better at sales. Doctors are 19 percent faster, more accurate at coming up with the correct diagnosis when positive instead of negative, neutral or stressed.

In essence, to achieve success you should work at being happy.

In diving deep into the science of happiness, there are many strategies to increase your daily levels of happiness, but one strategy in particular has a profound impact – VOLUNTEERING!

The Science of Volunteering:

According to research within the field of positive psychology and happiness, the following are some of the key reasons as to why volunteering can increase not only your levels of happiness but your overall wellbeing:

1. Intrinsically rewarding – Research clearly shows that when we give to others, we experience a larger boost in our happiness. In addition, researchers have shown that the effect of happiness when giving to others lasts a lot longer than if someone splurged on themselves.
2. Helps with social connection – it turns out that those of us who are more social connected to friends, family or the community are happier, healthier and tend to live longer. Volunteering within your community will help you make new friendships and will aid in improving social connections within the community.
3. Improvement in mental well being – A study from the University of Pittsburgh showed that volunteering had significant improvements in mental health, along with other socioemotional benefits ranging from a greater feeling of productivity to increased social activity to an overall sense that life had improved. Specific studies also identify that volunteering can help reduce stress.  In one study, 60 per cent of those who had volunteered showed lower levels of cortisol which is often associated with being stressed.
4. Increases longevity – Controlling for things such as marital status, religiosity, or social connections, volunteering reduces mortality by 22 to 44 per cent.
5. Improved health outcomes – According to the book “Growing Young,” volunteers may have 29 per cent lower risk of high blood glucose, 17 per cent lower risk of high inflammation levels and spend 38 few nights in hospitals than do people who from involvement in charities.

Rules of Engagement:

• Volunteer for a cause you truly believe in – research shows that people who volunteer for self-oriented reasons, like college applications, don’t get the longevity boost from their good deeds. Looking for causes that motivate you on a higher level.
• Try to choose something where you can easily see the results of your actions through active participation. For example, if you decide to collect food for a local food bank, try to deliver the donation in person to those in need.  This will have a larger boost in the emotional benefits of volunteering. 
• Be specific in terms of your goals for volunteering – the more you are able to track your progress and see the results (help 2 kids a month in a after school program versus donating a sum of money to the same charity) and results are what boosts well-being.
• Stay away from monetary rewards for volunteering – research clearly shows that volunteers who are paid for their assistance don’t’ get the happiness boost as others who are not compensated. For example, kids who are rewarded for volunteering are more eager at first, but once the carrot is out of sight, their enthusiasm dies down much more than that of children who were never rewarded. 

Conclusion:

 Human beings are wired to care and nature has equipped us with systems that encourage giving.  When we give back to our community, we are activating our internal reward system that aid in boosting our happiness and overall well-being.  Helping others reduces our stress, making it easier to offer care and in the process helps improve our own health by reducing blood pressure, lowering inflammation and allowing us to live longer lives. 

Be sure to ask your next candidate if they currently are a volunteer and ask why they volunteer.  If they are a volunteer, they likley have higher happiness levels than other non-volunteer candidates (all else being equal).  If they are happier, they will be more productive,creative and thus more engaged at the workplace!

If our expertise in human resources and coaching can be of any service to you, your teams or your community, please do not hesitate in reaching out.  It would be our sincere pleasure to assist in any way possible!

Until next time,

Be well,

Coach Mumdoo

604-861-4288

[email protected]