{"id":989,"date":"2017-11-10T19:28:36","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T18:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hpbbnieuws.nl\/?p=989"},"modified":"2017-11-10T19:28:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T18:28:36","slug":"why-every-workplace-needs-a-culture-of-positive-feedback-and-5-great-ways-to-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hpbbnieuws.nl\/?p=989","title":{"rendered":"Why every workplace needs a culture of positive feedback \u2013 and 5 great ways to do it"},"content":{"rendered":"

We hebben een aantal wereldwijde experts op het gebied van Happiness at Work gevraagd naar hun top 5 tips, boeken, posts of filmpjes over Happiness at Work. In deze post deelt Alexander Kjerulf, Chief Happiness Officer en CEO van\u00a0WooHoo inc<\/a>\u00a0zijn 5 tips voor het cre\u00ebren van een cultuur van positieve feedback in organisaties.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why every workplace needs a culture of positive feedback \u2013 and 5 great ways to do it<\/h2>\n

Positive feedback\u00a0not only feels great \u2013 it also makes us more effective.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet another study<\/a>\u00a0(this one from Harvard Business School) confirms what we all know: Receiving\u00a0positive feedback makes us\u00a0happier at work, less stressed and more productive. From the study:<\/p>\n

In the study, participants\u2026 were asked to solve problems. Just before that, approximately half of the participants received\u00a0an email from a coworker or friend that described a time when the participant was at his or her best.<\/p>\n

Overwhelmingly, those who read positive statements about their past actions were more creative in their approach, more successful at problem-solving and less stressed out than their counterparts.<\/p>\n

For instance, participants had three minutes to complete Duncker\u2019s candle problem. Fifty-one percent who had read emails prior to the task were able to successfully complete it; only 19% of those who did not receive \u201cbest-self activation\u201d emails were able to solve it.<\/p>\n

Those who received praise were also significantly less stressed than the control group.<\/p>\n

(source<\/a>).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s significantly better performance from the group that had just received positive feedback. Why would that be?<\/p>\n

Side note: We use praise as a common term for all positive interpersonal communication\u00a0at work.<\/p>\n

Why praise\u00a0makes us happier and more productive<\/h3>\n

My best bet for what is going on is this: Praise causes positive emotions and as we know from research in positive psychology,\u00a0positive emotions have what\u2019s called a broaden-and-build effect<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions suggests that positive emotions broaden one\u2019s awareness and encourage novel, varied, and exploratory thoughts and actions. Over time, this broadened behavioral repertoire builds skills and resources.<\/p>\n

Essentially we now know that\u00a0when you experience positive emotions, your mind functions in a broader and more open way. This is also confirmed by\u00a0the research performed by Teresa Amabile<\/a>\u00a0who found that:<\/p>\n

If people are in a good mood on a given day, they\u2019re more likely to have creative ideas that day, as well as the next day, even if we take into account their mood that next day.<\/p>\n

There seems to be a cognitive process that gets set up when people are feeling good that leads to more flexible, fluent, and original thinking, and there\u2019s actually a carryover, an incubation effect, to the next day.<\/p>\n

This is crucial. It shows that\u00a0being happy is not just about feeling good \u2013 it has a large measurable effect on our work performance in many different way. Creative thinking is just one \u2013 happy people are also more productive, more resilient, more empathetic and\u00a0make better decisions\u00a0\u2013 just to mention a few effects.<\/p>\n

Praise is rare in the workplace<\/h3>\n

Giving positive feedback is an interesting way to create more happiness at work for two reasons: It\u2019s incredibly effective (as the Harvard study showed) but it\u2019s also sorely lacking from most workplaces.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0our recent study of what makes people unhappy at work<\/a>, a lack of praise and recognition was one of the major causes. 37% of participants in our survey mentioned it as something that made them\u00a0unhappy at work.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0top 3 single factors that cause bad days at work\u00a0according to our study<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A lack of help and support from my boss\u00a0(40%)<\/li>\n
  2. Negative coworkers (39%)<\/li>\n
  3. Lack of praise or recognition for the work I do (37%)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Not only is a\u00a0lack of praise and recognition a major cause of unhappiness at work,\u00a0the\u00a0top two might even be lessened if people felt more appreciated<\/p>\n

    Why praise matters: Results AND Relationships<\/h3>\n

    \"ThumbsOur model of what makes us happy at work says that it comes from two main factors: Results and Relationships. Or to put it another way doing great work together with great people.\u00a0Here\u2019s a video on that<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    We\u2019ve always said that praise at work is important because it shows people that they do good work, make a difference and get\u00a0results<\/em>. This gives us a feeling of pride that\u00a0makes us very happy at work.\u00a0Praise also motivates us for future tasks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    But lately we\u2019ve realized that there is more to positive feedback: It\u2019s also about\u00a0strengthening\u00a0relationships<\/em>\u00a0in the workplace. When you praise someone else, it shows that you actually pay attention to them\u00a0and are able to see their good work and positive qualities.<\/p>\n

    One of our most fundamental psychological needs is the need for others to see and recognize the good in us. Some sociologists argue that how others see us\u00a0is in fact one of the major factors that shape our identity. And we know that people who are never seen, or only seen for the bad they do,\u00a0have a much higher risk of developing mental problems over time.<\/p>\n

    Resistance to praise<\/h3>\n

    We\u2019re not saying it\u2019s easy \u2013 far from it. In many workplaces there is no tradition\u00a0of positive feedback. Many managers in particular have developed a notion that praise is trivial or ineffective \u2013\u00a0they\u2019re completely wrong, of course<\/a>. I\u2019ve even heard managers argue that \u201cwe shouldn\u2019t praise employees \u2013 they\u2019re just doing their jobs.\u201d How incredibly narrow-minded.<\/p>\n

    Some workplaces even have a strong culture of negative feedback, so that good performance is met with silence but even the slightest mistakes are punished harshly.<\/p>\n

    Not only does the current absence of praise\u00a0in the workplace make it harder, it might even mean that praise is initially met with scorn or suspicion. \u00a0Over time, people will come to realize that the praise is genuine and not just an attempt to butter them up for something else\u00a0?<\/p>\n

    Some people are so out of practice with positive feedback that they even find it hard to receive praise.\u00a0Here\u2019s our best tip on\u00a0how to receive praise<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Fortunately, there are many companies and leaders who do get it. One example is\u00a0Richard Branson who has a tremendous focus on celebrating and praising his people<\/a>. He wrote that:<\/p>\n

    I have always believed that the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers, and that people flourish if they\u2019re praised.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    What is good praise<\/h3>\n

    Good praise is:<\/p>\n