HOW POSITIVITY CAN IMPROVE YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE
Happy Monday, March 25, 2024! Here are your positive stories for the week.
POSITIVE TREND: PEOPLE WANT GOOD NEWS
If it seems like the only news today is bad news, there might be a simple explanation. Readers tend to react more to negative news. Social psychologists call this a “negativity bias.” Most interesting is that although we tend to interact more with negative news, there is a growing trend toward searching out good news.
A recent study titled “The Increasing Viability of Good News” by university professors Stuart Soroka and Yanna Krupnikov suggests that “the prevalence of positive news is likely to increase.” This is based on data showing that readers prefer “novel” approaches to the news that cater to their preferences. Among these preferences are stories that showcase positive news.
This is our mission at Trillion Watts Publishing: to bring you the good news that you’re looking for, but which may be hard to find.
Read an article from Vox with the professors of the study here.
And find the study itself here.
POSITIVE ACTS: POSITIVE WORK CULTURES ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE
This one might seem like a no-brainer, but then we have to ask ourselves, “Why is there so much negativity in the workplace?”
Many work well under pressure. But there are costs. A Harvard Business Review article says it best.
Although there’s an assumption that stress and pressure push employees to perform more, better, and faster, what cutthroat organizations fail to recognize is the hidden costs incurred.
First, healthcare expenditures at high-pressure companies are nearly 50% greater than at other organizations. The American Psychological Association estimates that more than $500 billion is siphoned off from the U.S. economy because of workplace stress, and 550 million workdays are lost each year due to stress on the job. Sixty percent to 80% of workplace accidents are attributed to stress, and it’s estimated that more than 80% of doctor visits are due to stress. Workplace stress has been linked to health problems ranging from metabolic syndrome to cardiovascular disease and mortality.
Disengagement and turnover are listed as the second and third major costs associated with workplace stress after health.
So, that’s a lot of bad. What’s some of the good?
A Forbes article details three major advantages of positivity at work. A positive work culture:
Encourages Happier Employees
Promotes Collaboration, and
Inspires Creativity
All three come together to promote workplace productivity.
The Harvard Business Review article is behind a paywall, but most have access to three free articles. Give it a shot and read the full article here.
Read details of the Forbes article here.