The Happiness Advantage
“When I get promoted, then I’ll be happy.” Success first then happiness second is the way people often think but positive psychology research shows that the reverse is equally true. Happiness leads to success and the higher your wellbeing the better you perform. Happy employees are more motivated, engaged, resilient and successful. Investing in wellbeing gives organisations a competitive edge. You don’t get productivity and performance without wellbeing.
This programme puts positive psychology to work equipping you with the knowledge and tools to develop workplace wellbeing. We design a Happiness Advantage programme with the content that best suits your organisational needs or you can use the PERMA model of flourishing as the framework with the option of a session on Resilience.
Positive Emotions don’t only feel good, they do us good too with benefits such as creativity, job satisfaction, greater wellbeing and a positive team culture. Positivity broadens our thinking so that we can generate new ideas and solutions. Even though positive emotions are fleeting, they accumulate to form psychological resources and help us into an upwards spiral, transforming life for the better.
Engagement has two sides. Flow is a state of complete absorption, when you’re ‘in the zone’. It’s a route to peak performance and a sign that your strengths are in play. Strengths are you at your best. Knowing your strengths gives you your greatest potential for growth. Leveraging your strengths leads to higher levels of motivation, engagement, performance and job satisfaction.
Relationships. Who’s on your team? Having a sense of connection and belonging is one of the fundamental ingredients of wellbeing. This session explores how to encourage high quality connections and build your networks. People who have a best friend at work experience 7 x higher levels of engagement with higher levels of job and life satisfaction according to the Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement Survey. Tom Rath, author of Vital Friends identifies 8 vital friendship roles at work. Who is your builder, champion, collaborator, companion, connector, energiser, mind-opener and navigator?
Resilience is the capacity to cope with adversity, make the best of things and recover from setbacks. Neuroscience shows that we can develop greater resilience with practice. This session explores three major forms of resilience, positive coping, avoiding thinking traps and the optimism practices that act as psychological self-defence and protect mental health.
Meaning. A meaningful life is using your strengths in the service of something beyond the self. Meaningful work is aligned with your core values and is about making a difference in the world. The more meaning there is in your work, the greater the intrinsic motivation to make a success of it. Finding meaning in your work lowers stress and depression levels. This session helps you discover a sense of purpose and craft your work for greater meaning.
Achievement. Having a Growth Mindset and Grit are gold standard for achievement. The Growth Mindset encourages us to step out of our comfort zone and experiment with the new. Someone in a fixed mindset is less resilient when things go wrong whereas someone in a growth mindset understands that it’s feedback rather than failure. Grit is a special blend of passion and perseverance that helps us succeed when the going gets tough. Effort is the key to both.
Check out The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor to find out more about the research on the benefits of applying positive psychology at work.
“We worked with Miriam to create a series of virtual sessions on wellbeing and happiness, underpinned by the PERMA model. The sessions were engaging, inspiring, thought-provoking and we got lots of unsolicited positive feedback from the team after every session. As a global team (c. 35 people in about 9 locations around the world) going through the global pandemic, this was a wonderful way to come together, collectively learn and focus on our wellbeing. Miriam has been a complete joy to work with – she’s knowledgeable, creative, collaborative and is a true expert in her field. Nothing was too much trouble and she really shaped the sessions bearing in mind the needs of the team. We highly recommend her.”
Veronica Scotti – Chairperson, Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re. Amy Brand, HR Partner, Swiss Re.
“We have worked with Miriam on several occasions in both face-to-face and online workshops helping our team to understand the benefits of positive psychology. In a fast-paced, high-performance work environment and uncertain personal circumstances stress and anxiety levels can appear unmanageable in the moment and understanding how our minds work is an essential part of ensuring ongoing mental health. Miriam is certainly an expert in her field as she not only manages to explain the scientific side in layman’s terms but also provides useful tools for everyday application. I highly recommend Miriam and look forward to the next workshops.”
Freddy Holder, Managing Director, Einhell UK.
“We were lucky enough to have the Happiness Advantage training in my workplace. It really has changed the way that I approach life and made me reassess old habits. The training was packed full of helpful tips and insightful information that definitely DOES increase your happiness and wellbeing in every aspect of your life. From approaching your role within the workplace to helping you find what you love, what your strengths are and letting the positivity flow. Miriam is an amazing teacher – extremely thoughtful and thoroughly engaging – the sessions just flew by. There were lots of ‘A Ha’ moments throughout the journey (and it is a journey) and ultimately I feel that it’s given me the tools to thrive – what’s really brilliant is that once you start implementing some of the techniques in your life, you bring positivity to all those around you too.”
Kylie Featherstone, Marketing and Communications Manager, The School of Natural Skincare
