I set my foot in the corporate world in 1997, holding my phone (the size of my shoe), wearing my large lapelled, purple dress-suit with so much pride, enthusiasm and naivety. Since those heady days, I have seen more corporate trends come and go than mobile phones. Ok small exaggeration, but I feel you get me….
Happiness at Work???
This is part of our quick reads series; helping you stay informed without hogging your precious time. This post covers the peer-reviewed academic paper shown below. Happiness has fascinated philosophers and the rest of us since, like, forever. However mainstream science only jumped on the bandwagon recently with the birth of ‘positive psychology’. The good…
Workplace Wellbeing: Beyond the fruit bowl & off the yoga mat.
Wellness is the new black Workplace Wellbeing is big business worldwide and getting bigger. Here in New Zealand (and no doubt other places) there is ever increasing legislative imperatives for employers to take employee wellbeing seriously. Sadly, there are also stories of large investments with little benefit. There are even worse stories of alarming ethics…
Wellbeing at Work: A Case Study
But first This is part of our quick reads series; helping you stay informed without hogging your precious time. This post covers a wellbeing at work case study (in manufacturing) written up in Occupational Health in 2015. I’m sure you know when you are experiencing wellbeing and when you are not. However, this does not…
Are those plants on your desk helping you focus?
Yes, plants can help you perform better at certain tasks, maybe. A study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology asked 34 students to perform certain cognitive tasks. Half had four plants on their desk (including some flowers) the other half used the same room, performed the same task, but had no plants to keep them…
Wellbeing at Work: What Promotes it?
This is part of our quick reads series; helping you stay informed without hogging your precious time. This post summarises a presentation at the 2017 World Congress for the International Positive Psychology Association on what promotes wellbeing at work. Background The goods news is work (even with its inherent challenges and dramas) is good for…
Work life-integration matters for employees AND employers!
Since the 1960s the family dynamic has been changing, with women more involved in the workforce and men more involved in family life. This shift in balance is a shift in the right direction for equality. However, research demonstrates workplaces have not kept up with these trends, making work-life integration difficult (especially for families). Why…
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
Welcome to the conclusion of the science (or not) in the 7 habits of highly effective people. Habit 7 involves sharpening the saw. In this case, the saw is you. You will only effectively cut that metaphorical tree if you are sharp as … well … a saw. Covey’s opening parable drives this home. We…
Habit 6: Synergise
Welcome to habit 6 on the science (or not) in the 7 habits of highly effective people. Habit 6 Those following so far will know my larger conclusion is pointing to -> trying to find the ‘evidence base’ / scientific support for management gurus ideas, is a fool’s errand. That is me in the basket,…
Habit 5: Seek first to understand
“We’re filled with our own rightness, our own autobiography” Covey Welcome to part 5 of 7 looking at the science (or not) of Stephen Coveys ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. Those that joined me in Habit 4 will know I am starting to despair about the apparent mismatch (or lack of dialogue at least)…