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In this edition:
Happiness at Work: Can you Teach Employees to be
Happier & Does it Matter?
5 Tips from "CFO's" Chief Happiness Officers for a Positive Workplace
Art and Soul in Costa Rica
It's a Workplace Dream:
You have a Positive, Productive and Happy Workplace! You have happy employees and happier customers. Can you really teach employees to be happier and why is it important anyway? Some Business Owners and CEO's who have suffered in today's economy might well be thinking, "Happy? My employees should be happy they have a job to begin with."
An article recently published in the Wall Street Journal recently weighed in on the subject with a few bottom line reasons why investing in the happiness of your employees may be worthwhile.
"Employee satisfaction has hit the lowest level in the 22-year history of the Conference Board's annual survey on the topic. Only 45% of U.S. workers are satisfied with their jobs, down from 52% in 2005 and 61% in 1987, says this 5,000-household study...
Research shows that employees' positive attitudes can be good for business, too. A 2004 study of 60 business teams in the journal "American Behavioral Scientist" found teams with buoyant moods who encouraged each other earned higher profit and better customer-satisfaction ratings. A 2001 study at the University of Michigan says people who are experiencing joy or contentment are able to think more broadly and creatively, accepting a wider variety of possible actions, than people with negative emotions. And a 2005 research survey in the Psychological Bulletin shows happier people miss work less often and receive more positive evaluations from bosses.
Happiness coaching is seeping into the workplace. A growing number of employers, including UBS, American Express, KPMG and the law firm Goodwin Procter, have hired trainers who draw on psychological research, ancient religious traditions or both to inspire workers to take a more positive attitude-or at least a neutral one. Happiness-at-work coaching is the theme of a crop of new business books and a growing number of MBA-school courses.
5 Tips from "CFO's" Chief Happiness Officers for a Positive Workplace
1. YouTube Video Project: This year we've added the creation of Team YouTube Videos to our Team Development Programs. Using theme songs like Brianna's Under My Umbrella or like this incredible project in which a hospital team links their YouTube to a community cause.
YouTube Dancing energy gets all employees involved.
If you do not see the video player in this box, and if you use outlook, click HERE for instructions on how to set your outlook to view video players.(read the top article on 'Using Internet Explorer Security Zone to Disable Active Content') -
If you use another email prgram, then just click HERE for a link to the YouTube Video.
2. Inspiration Boards: Add more to your employee lunch rooms than legal compliance signs. Add an area for employees to share inspirational words, cartoons and a creative communications area.
3. Morning Power-Up: The first 15 minutes of the workday are the most important for setting employee energy for the day. Have employees take turns at facilitating a 2 minute morning energizer and/or play an inspired video on flat screens/monitors.
4. The Toy Surprise Inside the Cracker Jack Box: Motivation becomes de-motivational when it becomes routine and expected. Occasionally, surprise employees with an unexpected treat for the 3:00 energy slump. (A Fragrant Flower delivered to each employee with your thanks for their service to customers, a masseuse brought in for 5 minute chair massages, learn and teach employees a magic trick (from my friend Dr. Bruce Baum), themed days like crazy socks day for Knock Your Socks Off Customer Service, etc...etc..
5. Laughter Yoga! It's a Killer Energizer. We include laughter yoga in all of our training sessions as an afternoon energizer using the expertise of our certified laughter leaders on the Now to WOW! Faculty.
The Now to WOW! Positive Workplace Campaign and Training is all about Happiness. So can you teach employees to be happy? "While you can't change another person's attitude, you can give employees tools and techniques to get and keep positive emotions and manage their emotions under pressure." We use humor and stress management techniques including Aikido, Survival Skills and Native American Traditions to hit home with employees, along with a hard hitting dose of personal responsibility. We're not there to just give a short-lived happy day. We teach employees to be Solution Oriented, Not Problem Focused, To act and not react and to take responsibility for their happiness at work and at home.
Outcomes of the Now to WOW! Positive Team Development Program include adopted rules of team behavior and personal contracts signed by each employee.
We've expanded our workplace and team training in 2010 to reach employees at a very real and personal level through the use of NBI Whole Brain Profiles. Each employee completes a confidential on-line assessment of their Whole Brain Thinking Preferences to help them better understand their individual thinking and communication preferences. "It's hard to stop employees from calling home with the results of NBI Whole Brain Profile and sharing the result and their contract with family members...They want to improve their relationships at work and at home and they have made a contract with themselves to practice techniques that generate positive emotions." "I once heard you can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. Like learning to surf, to be happy, there is a degree of skill and practice involved.
Heart Fact
Positive Emotions and Living Longer: Research on Positive Emotions tell us that increasing positive emotions can lengthen our life span by 10 Years
"Art and Soul in Costa Rica!"
We will be moving to our new home and personal retreat center on Costa Rica's Central Pacific Coast next month. "Art and Soul" is located in the nesting area of Costa Rica's breathtaking Scarlett Macaws overlooking Carara National Park and the Pacific Ocean-55 minutes from the capital of San Jose and the International Airport on our brand new highway. We picked Art and Soul for the breathtaking views and proximity to both beach and rainforest adventures. Live Life on the Wild Side and visit us soon.
Our Mission at Now to WOW Learning Adventures: The design and delivery of world-class training and coaching that touches the hearts, minds, and souls of the organization and human condition. We do this through Workshops, Training, Retreats and On-Site Business Consultations in Creativity, Leadership, Customer Service and Team Building and Certified Professional and Relationship Coaching using NBI Whole Brain Science and Assessments.
Training and Personal Coaching Programs at 
Whole Brain Profiles. Each employee completes a confidential on-line assessment of their Whole Brain Thinking Preferences to help them better understand their individual thinking and communication preferences. "It's hard to stop employees from calling home with the results of NBI
Heart Fact
"Art and Soul in Costa Rica!"
We will be moving to our new home and personal retreat center on Costa Rica's Central Pacific Coast next month. "Art and Soul" is located in the nesting area of Costa Rica's breathtaking Scarlett Macaws overlooking Carara National Park and the Pacific Ocean-55 minutes from the capital of San Jose and the International Airport on our brand new highway. We picked Art and Soul for the breathtaking views and proximity to both beach and rainforest adventures. Live Life on the Wild Side and visit us soon.
Whole Brain Science and Assessments.