New book unveils the psychological secrets of what works at work
Creating truly effective workplaces is a task that has exercised leading psychologists for decades. In The Best Place to Work (Perrigree Books) – a new tome that has been taking the US by storm – Ron Friedman mines their work to draw some surprising conclusions. People Management picks five of the most interesting:
1 Happiness doesn’t matter
When a group of psychologists studied the emotional well-being of more than 100,000 people, they found the happiest were often those who lagged behind in income and education. Friedman concludes that a carefully calibrated amount of dissatisfaction gives us something to strive for and stops us being complacent. Promoting happiness, by contrast, may be counter-productive.
2 We need friends
Being able to form meaningful relationships is proven to make us more productive and keep us more loyal. As Friedman puts it: “When colleagues are close, a poor effort means more than an unhappy customer or manager. It means letting down your friend.” By contrast, studies have shown that lonely employees stop caring and stop producing. But friendships can be engineered: Friedman highlights a recruitment firm that uses a survey about personal interests to aid introductions among new recruits.
3 Design is primal
We often ignore our most basic needs when it comes to workplace layout. First up, we need to feel safe: sitting with our backs to others makes us feel exposed. Second, we need to feel connected to the world, to awaken our hunter-gatherer instincts. That makes windows a must. Finally, we need to meet up: research shows that without space for serendipitous interactions, employees have only half as many work friends.
4 Use leaders wisely
When a successful person tries a new behaviour, others follow suit. Friedman points to tennis ace Monica Seles, whose trademark grunt was seen as the source of her power: today, 80 per cent of top players are noticeably noisy on court. Leaders should use emotion and effort to direct attention to key priorities – it makes others view them as important – and be careful who they publicly reward, ensuring they are worthy role models.
5 Shake things up
We don’t like surprise at work, notes Friedman: it normally means we’ve got bad news to deliver. Instead, he says: “By leveraging positive surprises in the workplace, organisations can get a bigger emotional bang for their buck.” Hiring a masseur or taking staff out for an unexpected expedition will deliver far more than you pay out.