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Corporate Wellness: Is Yours Missing a Critical Ingredient?

August 28, 2014

Corporate wellness

The Current State of Corporate Wellness Programs

Workplace wellness programs are missing the key ingredient to true prevention. They focus on early diagnosis, symptom and lifestyle management while ignoring the elephant in the room–the one common factor at the root of everything.

While meeting with a representative of a large regional health system’s workplace wellness division, I asked him what their solution was for addressing stress. He mentioned their EAP (employee assistance program) offered counseling but said that was all they had. He also said many employers recognize that stress has both a negative effect on worker’s health and on their contributions at work. He was excited by our program but when he took the information back to his employer they said they had all the knowledge they needed in-house. If that is true, why are they excluding stress management skills training from their workplace wellness program?

The research about stress is clear. Workplace wellness programs tend to focus on the same areas and stress management skills would help improve the results in every one of them.

Smoking cessation.

Stress plays a role in the ability of individuals to quit smoking and maintain their status as non-smokers. Anxious individuals find it the most difficult to quit. Anxiety and smoking behavior are highly correlated.

Weight Management/Obesity/Anorexia/Bulimia

Researchers have demonstrated that the old paradigm of weight management is too simplistic because it ignores the impact of stress on the digestive system. The digestive system does not function as well when an individual is stressed and chronic stress contributes significantly to the development of diabetes. Stress also results in unhealthy food choices. Food is the number one anxiety drug.

Eating disorders often have their roots in low self-esteem. The design of our program leads to increases in self-esteem, which could provide relief for those who have eating disorders and prevent their development by those who are at risk of developing an eating disorder.

Diabetes Disease Management

The impact of stress on the digestive function has been linked to the development of diabetes. In 2007, the direct cost of diabetes in the United States was 174 billion. Indirect costs included 2.6 billion for absenteeism, 20 billion reduced productivity during work for the employed population, 7.9 billion unemployment from disease-related disability, and 26.9 billion lost productive capacity because of early mortality. Stress also has a direct impact on adherence to recommended treatments.

Physical Inactivity

Stress levels affect whether or not an individual will be active and choose to engage in physical activities. Highly stressed individuals who do not have an ingrained habit of physical activity are unlikely to develop the habit while they are stressed. Despite the fact that physical activity/exercise is often recommended as a dose dependent stress reduction method, such increases in physical activity do not consistently help stressed individuals because they do not feel sufficiently motivated.

Depression

By the time depression has developed, the individuals has typically been suffering from chronic stress for a sustained period of time. We need to educate employees (and the entire population) that tolerating stress is not the appropriate response. Coping until we’re depressed is a strategy that has made depression an epidemic with 10% of the US population suffering from it, according to the CDC.

Why are they not recommending early intervention to address stress? Because they think it requires expensive one-on-one treatment and because of the ridiculous stigma’s associated with mental health. Stress Management skills are simple to understand and implement. They are simple enough that kindergartners can understand the basics. Adults are a little more difficult and take a little longer to teach because they have developed a lot of false premises throughout their life that hinder their ability to adopt strategies that come quickly and easily to younger children. But it is still far from something that requires expensive one-on-one treatment. I can teach auditoriums full of people how to manage stress in meaningful ways that have a positive impact on their work and home lives right away and continue to increase as the techniques are applied.

Even individuals who suffered from repeated bouts of depression have now reported that they have been free of depressive episodes since learning these skills.

Poor Diet/Nutrition

Stress and happiness are opposite ends of the same continuum. Researchers have linked happiness with better food choices. Individuals in the top 25% of optimism scores ate more fresh vegetables, salads, berries, fruit and low fat cheese that other subjects in a research report comparing optimism to dietary habits. A meta-analysis done by researchers at Harvard and published in 2012 concluded that positivity and optimism led to better food choices and better choices about risky behaviors. Our stress management program increases happiness, positivity, and optimism.

Chronic Stress

The common recommendations for managing stress are all dose dependent. That would be fine if there wasn’t a better way, but there is. Dose dependent stress management is the same as taking a prescription pill to manage the symptoms–it does nothing to affect the underlying cause. Dose dependent means you have to do it in order to receive the positive results and if you don’t do it, you don’t get any results.

Because our program helps individuals change the root cause of the stress, it functions more like a cure. It does not prevent bad things from happening, but the response is more resilient, emotional intelligent, and less stressful than it would have been before they learned to use the skills we teach. The way the individual responds to the same stimulus that may have once made him or her highly stressed may not be at all stressful once the techniques have been applied for a while.

We all know that everyone reacts differently to circumstances. What stresses one person out may be fun to another person. I’ve studied what makes humans thrive for two decades and then developed programs that teach individuals how to develop the habits of thought that help them thrive.

The frequently recommended dose dependent stress reduction methods include exercise, going out in nature, helping someone else, petting your cat or dog, meditation, yoga, tai chi, and massage. While these methods are a good “pill,” they do not provide long-term benefits with the exception of a consistent meditation practice. But even consistent meditation does not address stress at the root cause.

Some recommendations can be counter-productive. One commonly recommended stress reduction method is to discuss the problem with a friend. The outcome of that discussion can go either way. I definitely have friends who would make it worse by focusing on the worse aspects of the situation and reminding me of other bad situations like the current one. I also have friends who would be beneficial to talk to but I’ve never seen this type of recommendation come with recommended parameters for the discussion.

Employee Engagement

This is not a typical focus of Corporate Wellness Programs although the hope is that the program will be perceived in a positive light. Our program also helps engagement in a variety of ways. The first is that it helps create a more inclusive and positively focused employee base. Working with people who are energetic, focused, and optimistic creates synergy and an environment that makes being at work enjoyable. The way any individual views his employer or any other aspect of his life reflects how he views everything in life. Someone who is generally dissatisfied with life is generally dissatisfied with her work. The reason for this is because our habits of thought play a tremendous role in the aspects we focus on in every area of our lives. If we focus on the aspects that we don’t like, we’re not engaged. If we focus on aspects that we find exciting, our engagement increases.

The inherent nature of our program increases the likelihood that employees will focus on aspects of their jobs and the company that they like.

Turnover/Retention

One of the most frequently cited reasons for turnover is not liking the people. A working environment where relationships are harmonious, where workplace conflict is unusual, where conversations are fruitful, and others are supportive would be very difficult to leave. The techniques I teach can accomplish this type of shift in corporate culture. Individuals who understand how to use the skills can even ignore outright attempts to upset their equilibrium without feeling stressed or a need to retaliate. The techniques provide individuals with tremendous stability and equilibrium in their chosen emotional stance.

There is a song by Pharrell Williams that describes the steady emotional state:

“Here come bad news talking this and that, yeah,Workplace Wellness: missing Ingredient
Well, give me all you got, and don’t hold it back, yeah,
Well, I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine, yeah,
No offense to you, don’t waste your time
Here’s why

Because I’m Happy”

I know, that to someone who is not generally happy the thought of being around a bunch of happy people is not very appealing but when everyone understands they can be happy and most are, the whole dynamic changes. Those who need a bit of help find it everywhere they look because one of the most natural and frequent behaviors those who learn to be happier demonstrate is a desire to help others do the same.

Research shows that positively focused people are kinder and demonstrate better corporate citizenship.

Cognitive Ability

Stress diminishes our cognitive abilities. The same person is smarter when happy than he is when stresssed. Do you want your employees to make better decisions? Teach them how to reduce the stress in their lives. You can keep the same employees and gain a smarter workforce.

Absenteeism

Immune function decreases as stress increases. Research has shown that the severity of colds and flu are directly tied to positivity, wth the most positively focused experiencing the fewest symptoms and duration of illness. The most positively focused have sometimes not developed an illness at all, even after being deliberately exposed to the virus. The symptoms are not just self-reports. One study in particular actually measured symptoms, going as far as to weigh used tissues so that the results would not be slanted by the more pessimistic attitude. The pessimists reported more symptoms but they also had more symptoms.

Productivity/Presenteeism

The level of productivity is important to employers. In all except the most mindless, repetitive occupations repeated research has shown that optimists produce more than pessimists.

Although you may believe optimism and pessimism are inborn traits, they aren’t. They are habits of thought and individuals can change their habits of thought to make their life feel better.

Optimists are more successful than pessimists in study after study.

Sales

There is very solid evidence that even less qualified optimists outperform more qualified pessimists based on traditional measures of qualification. If optimism is not one of the considerations for hiring your sales staff you are leaving a lot of untapped potential on the table. Teaching your sales staff our stress management techniques would improve sales.

Ethics/Morality

The research is very clear that ethical behavior improves as positivity increases. Think about it. When the economy dips, white collar crime increases. The same stress that reduces cognitive ability leads individuals to faulty conclusions that result in them deciding to commit a crime.

Education Components

There are a number of false premises that hinder individuals from becoming happier and less stressed. One of them is that they should just be strong when they are faced with stressful situations. But the advice, such as think positive and decrease the stress in your life, is worthless without teaching them how.

Stress adversely affects every system in the body fairly quickly. It is something that should be dealt with as soon after it is experienced as possible. I’ll give you an example. Jealousy creates stress in the body. I am almost never jealous of anyone about anything. I recognize that feeling jealous is my seeing someone else experience something that I want but am perceiving I can’t be, do, or have. Earlier today I learned a friend was at a lecture at Harvard on psychoneuroimmunology and I felt jealous. I told my partner to tell our friend I was jealous (he was going to see him before I did). But I manage my emotional state to a really good place. I had not felt jealousy in a very long time. It did not feel good. Within less than five minutes I realized what I was doing and said, “Why am I feeling jealous? Why do I think that is something I can’t do?” Very quickly my jealous was gone, replaced by an attitude of being delighted that I have friends who attend those types of lectures and can intelligently discuss such subjects. I also affirmed that there was no reason I could not also attend a lecture like that. My jealousy is completely gone and I am now excited about the next time I’ll see my friend. I’m looking forward to hearing what he learned and comparing ideas. I can even ramp my emotional state up even higher. I know this man’s heart wants to help a lot of people, especially those who are the last to receive help, whether here in the USA or abroad. I can think about what he might have learned that will help him do that and feel even more positive emotions. I’ll stop there but the process could keep going. I’ve already shifted from jealousy to a bit of a natural high just by changing my perception but I have not begun to tap the potential positive emotions I could milk from this situation.

Do, however, notice that the circumstances did not change. He is still the one who attended the lecture. The only thing that changed was the only thing I could change, my perspective about it. My emotions improved as I assumed a more empowered perspective. My body no longer feels stress from assuming an unhealthy perspective.

I’ve been using these methods for years but it is not much more difficult for a novice to shift perspective and gain similar advantages.

We need to change our tolerance of stress. We need to help everyone understand that they should do what they can as soon as they can. It makes all the difference.

There are other false premises that interfere with optimal health that our program identifies and changes.

Attracting Quality

Attracting quality employees is critical to the success of your business. The iconic work cultures of our era will not have anything on a company that has incorporated the techniques in our program. You’ll have your pick of the best of the best–provided you provide a healthy work environment with opportunities to advance. Our program won’t change what your company does, only how it does it. There is another benefit I have not yet mentioned, that can help create an irresistible work environment.

Creativity

Creativity is just like cognitive ability as it related to stress. Creativity increases as happiness increases and decreases as stress increases. Ideas flow more readily to individuals who are positively focused. There is a second advantage that comes from our program that relates to this area. Many good ideas are wasted because the person who thinks them is afraid of how others will perceive the idea. Our program increases self-confidence and also the ability to feel good even if someone does not agree with us. The impediments that cause many good ideas to die before they are born is eliminated.

Diversity

Even diversity is positively impacted by our program. Research shows that positively focused individuals are naturally more inclusive. We have the ability to take your diversity initiatives to a higher level.

Resilience

We spend a lot of time planning for business continuity in the event of problems from busted water lines to epidemics and wars. But we tend to ignore the fact that people are required to execute those plans. In the disaster planning milieu, we assume people who are not directly taken out by the disaster will be functioning in their assigned roles. We forget that different people respond to stress in different ways and that the stress of a disaster could take out people who are not affected by the direct cause.

The best disaster plan you can create is worthless if your employees lack the resilience to persist during a disaster. Can they fulfill their duties in the midst of so much uncertainty?

I would far rather have resilient people and a mediocre plan than a great plan and staff with mediocre resilience levels. The resilient individual will retain the ability to think in dire circumstances that will be lost to someone who is less resilient. The best planning cannot predict all the variables. The resilient individual will be able to respond in the moment–when it counts. Those hero’s we love to watch on TV, who come through when bullets and bombs are all around? They’re resilient. Whether you adore MacGyver or Jack, it is their resilience that makes them able to persevere. My Dad tells me, Jeanine you could fall into an outhouse and you’d come out with a diamond ring. He has seen me repeatedly respond to circumstances that would devastate less resilient individuals in ways that make the outcome better than if the adversity had never happened.

Our program increases individual resilience, the ability to bounce back will be improved. It won’t matter if the strife is at work or personal, it will not drag them down as long as it would have without our training.

Sleep

Stress can adversely affect the ability to get a good night’s sleep in a number of ways. Stress can cause individuals to stay awake worrying about problems and it can cause them to wake up too early and be unable to go back to sleep. The stress of too many competing priorities can result in individuals simply not giving themselves enough time for adequate rest.

This is a significant concern to employers. Sleep deprivation can lead to more mistakes, including accidents. Inadequate sleep increases the risk of an automobile accident by three times.

Stress management skills reduce stress, allowing individuals to benefit from a better night’s sleep.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Our program increases EQ in three of the four key areas because of the way the program is designed.

Final Question

Does your corporate wellness program offer a stress management solution that satisfies your needs? Does it address stress at the root cause? Why not?

Contact us today to learn more about how Happiness 1st Institute can help your company achieve a lot more of its potential.

corporate wellness

Benefits, Blogs, Business, Mental/Emotional Health

The Best Employee Engagement Solution

August 27, 2014

Employee engagement

The Best Solution for HR’s Biggest Problem: Employee Engagement

Or, more specifically, how to increase employee engagement and retention.

Low engagement can act like a virus, spreading discontent throughout your organization, reducing productivity and increasing undesired turnover. The success of an organization can be tied directly to the level of employee engagement–it affects every area of the business.

The number of employees who would like to leave their current employer was more than 1 in 5 according to a Career Builder survey earlier this year. With turnover costs for lower level employees over $5,000 and many times that for higher level employees, retention is of tremendous importance to the ability of an organization to succeed.

What leads to engagement?

Workers who are dissatisfied with their jobs. Let’s chat about that for a moment. Presumably, at one point the employee was satisfied unless they were desperate for a job, any job, when they accepted the one they have. What changed? Often the employee became dissatisfied with one or more aspects of the role or the company and focused on the negative aspects until the perception of the job matched the perspective about a few undesired areas.

In many cases, this is changeable. It’s a matter of tipping the scale back in your favor and we know how to do that.

Dissatisfaction with advancement opportunities is another reason good talent leaves. It depends on the business model, but this is something that increased creativity can sometimes solve. The techniques we teach facilitate changes that increase creativity. That’s worth talking about.

Being highly stressed is another reason employees look for greener pastures. The skills we teach address the root cause of stress, easing that burden without requiring a change in circumstances. That’s powerful.

54% of the employees who have no intention of leaving their current employer cite liking the people they work with as the number one reason they won’t leave. That’s huge.

What makes co-workers enjoyable to work with? Kindness, collaboration, inclusion are a few of the words that come to mind and our techniques increase everyone of them. Research shows that happier, less stressed people are kinder to one another–even to strangers. They also demonstrate better corporate citizenship. The techniques we teach hit interpersonal conflict head-on and create employees who are able to get along with a wide variety of people and enjoy one another more. That’s gold.

Because our strategy addresses the root cause of so many problems, it improves the entire system.

Talk to us. We can help.

 

Benefits, Blogs, Business

Self-Help with a Scientific Foundation; Suitable for Corporate Environments

August 27, 2014

Self-help with scientific foundation for companies

Helping to Create a Better World…

Until now, self-help and corporate environments have not been good friends. Happiness 1st Institute bridges the gap with scientifically supported stress reduction, optimism increasing skills that are both practical and effective.

The programs we offer are groundbreaking in numerous ways.

The tremendous benefits of decreasing stress and increasing optimism are great for employees, employers, and even customers. Employers benefit from increased engagement, reduced conflict, increased cognitive abilities, and increased emotional intelligence. Employees gain practical skills that make life feel more enjoyable without requiring circumstances to change. The skills improve their relationships at work and in their private lives. They also gain health benefits because stress decreases immune function which helps their bodies natural defenses keep them healthier. Customers prefer to deal with happy and positive employees so their level of satisfaction increases.

If you have salespeople, you may already know that optimistic sales people outsell even better qualified pessimists.

Our program checks all the boxes because the root cause of so many undesired things is the same — chronic stress.

Empowering employees with practical skills that enable them to reduce stress in every area of life, they become happier, more satisfied, healthier and smarter. Yes, smarter. Research is very clear that stress reduces cognitive function and optimism increases it.

Reducing stress has benefits that make many other things easier. Stressed bodies do not process food as well as bodies that are not stressed. Weight management is no longer defined as calories in–calories out. The new definition considers stress and mood, both of which impact how the body processes food and the food choices a person will make, with improved mood associated with healthier food choices.

Chronic stress is often the factor that leads to unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug abuse, risky lifestyle behaviors, and even makes quitting smoking more difficult.

Ignoring chronic stress, or wearing it as a badge of honor–a common unhealthy habit–can lead to depression and other negative health outcomes. It increases the risk of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes among other things. TRUE Prevention–Optimum Health: Remember Galileo. Wellness from the Root Cause for the 21st Century provides citations that support the statements in this post.

Our society is operating with inaccurate information about the effect of stress and about how much stress is healthy (or not terribly unhealthy, to be more accurate). The decrease in immune function happens quickly enough that researchers have been able to measure changes in very quickly after a stressor is introduced to research subjects. We now know that the negative impact to the immune function, cognitive function, and endocrine systems happen quickly. Stress is not something to “let go” for a while and deal with later. Good stress management requires us to be aware of the increase in stress level when it happens and make smart decisions to proactively apply the stress management skills.

The skills we teach are not the dose dependent techniques commonly recommended. While those do help stress levels, their dose dependent nature has a few pitfalls. The first is that they do not provide long-term benefits. The second is that those who need them the most are least likely to do them. The third is that they treat the symptom, not the root cause of stress. Exercise, helping other people, going outside, petting your cat or dog, and the other most frequently recommended methods are best for short-term relief. For long-term benefits, a skill based approach is best. Even meditation, which varies between dose dependent for those who do not have a consistent practice to providing some long term benefits to those who use it consistently, does not address the root cause of stress.

That is actually good news because that means the best we knew to do in the past has been improved upon, making the potential for good outcomes better than it’s ever been. We refer to our program as self-help with a scientific foundation because each individual is responsible for applying the skills to their own life. But the greatest thing about our program is that applying the skills provides positive emotional feedback each step of the way–creating intrinsic motivation that results in priceless benefits for everyone.

Ask us how we can address your businesses pressing concerns. We’re glad to help.

Benefits, Blogs, Business

Overcoming The Galileo Effect, Einstein, Geometry, and Eleven Dimensions

August 24, 2014

In TRUE Prevention–Optimum Health: Remember Galileo I describe The Galileo Effect as the tendency to cling to old ideas until the overwhelming weight of evidence pointing to the inability of old assumptions to provide adequate support in light of new information finally makes us change our prior assumptions.

A great deal of what most of us believe is based on assumptions. In school we are often taught that information based on assumptions is factual. The “factual” information I was taught in school that is now known to be wrong would fill several dictionary size books. Yet, we continue to cling to and argue for the truth of what we were taught without questioning the assumptions the “facts” were built upon.

Although this video is far more scientific and cerebral than I try to be in my classes and books, I love the way he explains how our perceptions and assumptions about the world change when we expand our concepts. Some of you may find the entire video interesting or even fascinating and exciting but I encourage everyone to watch the early part through where Thad describes changing how many dimensions we use to view the world. It is the best description I’ve seen of overcoming The Galileo Effect in a contemporary discussion.

It is the same type of shift that I encourage, in another arena, a shift that expands our perception of the root of things that make humans thrive. If you watch Thad’s TED-X talk through to the end where he describes all the mysteries the shift in perspective solves, that is the same type of clarity that is gained when we change our perceptions about the root cause of human thriving.

We live in such a magnificent time–a time when the body of knowledge that contributes to human thriving is increasing at an amazing rate of speed and the potential for greater thriving around the world has never been as great, yet tomorrow it will be even more.

Benefits, Blogs, Science, Video's

Decisions have Power: What are you Deciding?

August 16, 2014

Ideas that support your decisions come to you

Decisions Matter

What decisions have you made about life?
What decisions have you made about who you are?
What decisions have you made about who you could become?
Did you make those decisions after careful deliberation or did you just sort of fall into them–never realizing the impact they would have on the outcome of your life? 

What you decide matters. On the quantum level, they matter as much as anything else, if not more. They certainly matter more than actions on that level. If you’ve decided your destiny is a low one, things change on the quantum level until you are unable to perceive possibilities that would be better than what you’ve decided will be.

But…if you decide your life can be better, more of what you dream of it becoming, the way things change on the quantum level will surprise and delight you at every turn.

We do not have to fully understand the mechanisms behind this power in order to incorporate it into our lives and make it work for us. If you are not conscious about making decisions that support your highest good, these forces tend to work against you.

The greatest philosophers throughout history have understood the relationship between decisions and outcome. It is at the root of all the conversations in business about goals and planning.

Our students learn how to use this knowledge to their advantage in our Premier Programs. You can be one of the ones who thrives.

What would it be possible for you to do if you were thriving more? Who could you help? What could you accomplish? What are your dreams?

The German philosopher Johann von Goethe wrote:

 “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back; always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would come his way”

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Will you leave your dreams to chance? Will your efforts be in vain? Or will you learn to align yourself fully with success?

See our programs or read our founders books.

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Benefits, Books, Business

We Cannot See Reality

August 16, 2014

Does reality seem confusing?

Reality is fluid

We do not see reality. We see a filtered reality. Until this is understood, the rest of what we teach to help you thrive will not be accepted. We are taught that we see reality. We are taught that what we see is the same as what others see. Both of these are wrong. We each see our own unique reality. We merely assume others see the same reality we do.

If your response to this statement is disbelief, it would serve you well to loosen your belief that you perceive reality. This video will help you see that there are instances when you know your perception is not revealing the actual reality to you. The key is to realize that this is always true–it just is not usually as obvious.

Note: Despite the cover picture, this video is suitable for all audiences

After watching the video, ask yourself what other aspects of reality might not be as they seem. Ask yourself if you know the answer. Ask yourself if knowing the truth might help your life be more as you would like it to be.

There are filters that act below the level of conscious thought that greatly effect how your life plays out. They have immediate impacts on your health, relationships, success, and overall well-being. Your life can easily be much better than it is. Improvements come quickly when you learn how to adjust your filters, but they also build over time and continue even after your life is exceeding your current beliefs about what is possible for you. The better it gets, the better it gets.

If you would like information on our programs, please contact us for a list of upcoming programs or checkout the offerings or one of our founders books.

 

Blogs, Science

Benefits our Programs Can Help You Achieve: Human Thriving

August 14, 2014

Happiness 1st Institute – Summary of Benefits

At Happiness 1st Institute, the power of our programs comes from focusing on the root causes underlying the problems we solve. We give participants the skills and knowledge needed to make changes at the root rather than treating symptoms. By addressing systemic hindrances to thriving personally and professionally, we empower participants with everything needed to thrive more than they ever have.

We achieve maximum program effectiveness for participants by addressing prevalent obstacles to acceptance of new information before we make any attempt to obtain buy-in on new concepts and ideas. We have developed practical approaches to explain common barriers to acceptance of new perspectives that are not threatening. Our approach is more likely to generate responses that ask the question, “Why didn’t anyone ever explain this to me before?” The result is the opportunity to present life enhancing information while participants are in an open state of mind; sometimes more open than they have been in decades.

We vary delivery of our programs between instructor led in person, live and recorded online sessions, MP3’s, and practice assignments to suit the needs of our clients.

Some of the key objectives we help employers achieve:

Strategic Organization Management

  • Greater acceptance and buy-in for strategic changes
  • More effective cultural integration and/or modification
  • Improve trust in trustworthy people and organizations
  • Appreciative Inquiry (AI) synergy

High-level Strategic Workforce Management

  • Increase ability to think strategically
  • Increase potential of employees and managers
  • Increase Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
  • Develop self-mastery
  • Improve loyalty and retention; reduce turnover costs
  • Improve employee engagement
  • Increase focus on accomplishment goals not  protectionist goals

Everyday Workforce Management

  • Tools to improve hiring decisions
  • Improve employee productivity
  • Improve citizenship and altruism
  • Cultivating pro-active mindsets
  • Increase receptivity to feedback
  • Increase employee optimism and positivity
  • Increase team cohesion
  • Increase employee resilience, success and creativity
  • Increase willingness to offer suggestions and ideas
  • Increase willingness to take appropriate risks
  • Reduce complaints to HR and regulators from dissatisfied employees
  • Provide a unique recruiting advantage

Diversity Initiatives

  • Develop appreciation for diversity
  • Reduce racism
  • Reduce disparate outcomes

Customer-facing Workforce Management and Sales

  • Friendlier interactions with customers
  • Improve sales performance and results
  • Improve negotiation results
  • Improve patient centered care

Relationship Harmony

  • Improved relationships of all types—internal and external
  • Reducing conflict between co-workers
  • Reduce distractions from relationship discord

Wellness Programs

  • Amplify success of existing programs
  • Address root causes of many risk factors to improve results
  • Reduce absenteeism and health care expenses
  • Reduce employee fear, anger, depression, and stress
  • Improve immune function
  • Enhance motivation and energy to achieve professional goals

Social Programs

  • Share a path to inner and outer peace
  • Reduce stigma associated with mental/emotional health
  • Decrease bullying for schools and workplace
  • Decrease recidivism
  • Reduce relapse after rehabilitation for addictions
  • Address root cause of many dropouts, crime, and teen pregnancy

We look forward to answering any questions you may have and helping you and your organization thrive in exciting new ways.

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Blogs

Robin Williams Can Leave an even Greater Legacy: Eliminate Stigma

August 14, 2014

President Obama on the passing of Robin Williams:

“Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But, he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most – from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets. The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin’s family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams.”

I would add to this that Robin Williams will be an instrumental part of removing much of the stigma associated with mental health issues–opening the way for more to achieve greater mental and emotional health.

People will ridicule and stigmatize strangers but there are so many who love Robin Williams whose attitude about seeking help will change because they will understand that if society had been different, if we had deeper conversations with one another, if we understood more, Robin Williams might have received the right help at the right time.

This shift in the stigma associated with mental/emotional health may become Robin Williams’s greatest legacy. Let’s make it so.

He can’t do it alone but with the help of those who love him there has never been a better time.

We live in a world where people in emotional pain suffer in silence. Their pain affects everyone. Mental health affects physical health, behavior, relationships, and cognitive abilities.

The origin of the stigma came from fear about the cause of mental illness and the inability of healers to cure it. Today we know more and can do more. It is time for everyone to understand the mind-body connection and how to attain and sustain better emotional and mental health. We have the tools to accomplish this—now it is time to educate, to help everyone understand how much difference it makes and how simple it can be to feel better.

Think about what you would have wanted for Robin Williams if you had known the pain he was in. Make a decision that you’ll be supportive of eliminating any negative bias you may have toward mental and emotional health issues.

Make a decision to give a smile to those who have none and a hug to those who need one. Compliment more, criticize less. Be open to deeper conversations. Learn more about how to decrease stress and increase happiness–they are opposite ends of the same stick. 

This great man, with a great legacy, has the potential to become even greater.

Rest in peace Robin Wiilliams.

P.S. I ran across an excellent write-up about stigma by Dr. Lynn K. Jones. You can read it Dr. Lynn K. Jones Stigma write-up.

 

Blogs, Mental/Emotional Health

Thrive…Even if You Have Student Debt

August 7, 2014

A recent Gallup survey showed that students who had high student debt are not doing as well as their peers with lower debt based on findings from the Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index. The Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index is designed to measure well-being in five areas(1), including:

  • Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
  • Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life
  • Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
  • Community: liking where you live, feeling safe, and having pride in your community
  • Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily

At Happiness 1st Institute, we have studied what makes humans thrive for over two decades. What we know is that the debt is not what lowers the ability of individuals who have high student (or other) debt to thrive.

It is the way the individual thinks about their situation and prospects

that determines how well they do and how happy they can be.

 

While they may not be able to change their debt substantially in the next three months, they can change how they think about it. The reason we exist is that we love to help and this survey by Gallup, released today, has our wheels spinning. We want to put hope out there right now because news like this can lower thriving even more–because when a trusted organization like Gallup tells people that high debt makes them less likely to thrive they tend to believe it. Believing you won’t thrive makes it far more likely that you won’t thrive. As Henry Ford said so long ago, “Whether you believe  you can or you believe you can’t, either way you’re right.” He understood the power of belief.

Change your dynamic – help is here

 

Our first thoughts are to help with our programs but our usual programs are not inexpensive and we don’t want to add to the debt burden. Off the cuff, we’re thinking we could provide a 40-hour course over 12 weeks for $39.99 per customer. That should cover our costs while remaining affordable. By providing the course online we will avoid travel costs for the participants and the cost of renting a large hotel room and be able to provide flexibility in when the student watches by recording the live classes.

The earliest we can begin class, based on our current schedule, is October 15th.

Stress, specifically unmanaged stress, is at the root of almost all physical, emotional, mental, and social problems. All of our programs address the root cause of stress, which is mindset. We understand and explain in easy to understand language things about the way our brains work that everyone should know but that are not taught in school. Those things are critical because they have a direct impact on whether or not an individual thrives in every area of life: their health, relationships, success, and more.

Essentially, we teach individuals how to reprogram their neural pathways so that their thought processes help them thrive instead of hindering their ability to thrive. We teach mental strength and resilience, enabling anyone to develop the type of mind all the great minds of the past used to create their achievements. Because this involves learning new habits–habits of thought–it takes time to make them automatic. Although we can and do help individuals make positive changes in their lives with 1-hour presentations, we believe that the best approach, whenever possible, is a 40-hour program over a minimum of a 12-week period. That is what we’re going to do with this course.

We’ll come up with an exact schedule and post it soon but for now know we’ll avoid scheduling class on major holidays so with a start date of October 15th, the program will run until about the end of January 2015. Forty hours of class time for $39.99 is less than $1.00 an hour.

We change lives for the better. We do it because we love it. We do it because it matters. We do it because we’ve developed leading edge techniques that work. Most stress reduction programs are dose dependent and do not address the root cause. The next best solution to what we have developed is individual one-on-one therapy where one hour can cost five times what we are offering our 40-hour program for.

You deserve to have the best possible life.

We want to help  you do that. Now. You used student loans so you could have a better life. Our program helps you achieve that goal better and faster.

Send us a note if you want to register. We will let you know as soon as we have the registration process set-up.

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We do not share your information. See our Privacy Policy.

Citations:

(1) http://www.gallup.com/poll/174317/student-debt-linked-worse-health-less-wealth.aspx?version=print

Blogs, Events

Wisdom

July 27, 2014

What decisions would benefit you?

There is nothing as powerful as a made up mind. Do not give yourself another excuse to put off making up your mind. You know in your heart of hearts that once you do that you have got to act. You owe it to the world, your family, and most importantly, to yourself to live a life of no regrets. Stop worrying about what other people will think, say, or do. You only have one life to live…LIVE IT now! You deserve!  – Les Brown
Golden Compass
“A mind that is programmed to highlight flaws typically has a lot less fun and a more difficult time. The programming makes relationships of all types more difficult, it makes the world a less beautiful place, it makes problems bigger than they are and hides beneficial things. Science says a lot of our programming is done by age 6. It is not hard to
re-program ones own mind and make your own decisions about what to focus upon.” ~  Jeanine Joy
Decisions have power. If you have not made deliberate decisions your life is running based on default settings established by circumstances you’ve lived.
If your life is awesome, do nothing but appreciate your awesome life.
 If your life is less than awesome, you may wish to consider some reprogramming.
 
My fiction will provide techniques that will help. My novels demonstrate scientifically proven techniques that help us thrive without the boredom of a textbook. The story is the creation that keeps it interesting but it also helps us see how the processes work in real situations.
The nonfiction books provide a more direct route to the information that will help you thrive more in any area of your life you wish to improve.
If classes are more helpful to you, Happiness 1st Institute may have some that will help you achieve your dreams. http://www.Happiness1st.com

Blogs

Jeanine Joy Author Biography

July 27, 2014

Jeanine Joy Author Biography

Jeanine Joy Author of TRUE Prevention—Optimum Health:Remember Galileo, Prevent Suicide: The Smart Way, and a contributing author to Perspectives on Resilience and Coping.

Jeanine Joy is the Founder of Happiness 1st Institute, where the knowledge and skills necessary to become adept at utilizing one’s emotional guidance system are easily learned. She is a leading expert in helping individuals learn how to reduce stress and become more positively focused and optimistic.

Science is advancing our knowledge of the benefits of increased positivity and optimism at a rapid pace. Knowing the benefits achieves little without the knowledge and skills to help people become more positive and optimistic so they can take advantage of the benefits.

Jeanine has a phenomenal capacity to identify the root causes of people’s struggles and share her understanding of how to nourish the thoughts that lead to a better life. Limiting beliefs disappear when her wisdom is shared. Health, well-being, clarity, dreams, success, and relationships thrive under her tutelage.

Ms. Joy has conducted almost twenty years of work in the field of human thriving — from science, spirituality, biographies, and philosophers including research in philosophy, positive psychology, sociology, quantum physics, psychoimmunology and other sciences as they relate to what cultivates human thriving. Her education is rich, broad, and deep. The analytic skills that brought her to an executive position, from which she is retired, facilitated her research. Her burning passion to find answers that help others thrive has created a depth and breadth of knowledge for accelerating human thriving beyond common psychology practices and theory, where the focus continues to emphasize what can go wrong.

She is a game changer focused on bringing better living to all with knowledge and skills she has woven together into books and programs. Ms. Joy is a powerful author and motivational speaker, inspiring others to achieve more of their potential.

 OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

50 word bio

Jeanine Joy, author of TRUE Prevention—Optimum Health and Founder, Happiness 1st Institute, where knowledge and skills necessary to become adept at utilizing one’s emotional guidance system are easily learned. Ms. Joy has conducted almost twenty years of work in the field of human thriving across many scientific disciplines and philosophies including research in philosophy, positive psychology, sociology, quantum physics, psychoimmunology and other sciences as they relate to what cultivates human thriving. Her education is rich, broad, and deep. The analytic skills that brought her to an executive position, from which she is retired, facilitated her research. Her burning passion to find answers that help others thrive has created a depth and breadth of knowledge for accelerating human thriving beyond common psychology practices and theory, where the focus continues to emphasize what can go wrong.

Twitter Friendly Bio

Jeanine Joy is a human thriving expert bringing health, relationship, success, and well-being solutions that work to the world.

Books, Speakers

World Class Speaker with Life Changing Messages

July 27, 2014

Jeanine Joy is a world class speaker with over 30 years of public speaking experience. With early Toastmasters training and years of experience topped off with Peak Potentials training for those who speak on the world stage, her presentation skills capture and hold the audience’s attention.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Add over twenty years of research into the question, “What makes humans thrive?” and answers constructed to be practical and speak to widely different audiences, she is a real winner.

Her goal is always to inspire and to help her audience improve any area of life they wish to change.

Not satisfied with being able to explain the answers she found on her journey in one way, she continues her research and is now able to provide answers consistent with a variety of worldviews including scientific, religious, and spiritual.

She has truly discovered the root cause of human thriving giving her the ability to address any topic an organizer wishes to touch upon because the root cause effects every area of life–from business oriented material to the most deeply personal subjects imaginable–Ms. Joy is able to craft presentations that are beneficial and on target for the audience.

She is available for keynote speeches, seminar presentations, one-on-one coaching, retreats, and does reduced cost work in schools, as available.

She travels around the world. Contact her as early as possible as she is sometimes booked more than a year in advance for certain dates.

Events, Speakers

TRUE Prevention–Optimum Health: Remember Galileo

July 27, 2014

True Prevention

A Path to Primary Prevention

In the future, humans will view modern medicine as little better than we view the healing practices of the middle ages. Science evincing that we currently treat symptoms, not the root causes of illnesses, exists. True Prevention: Remember Galileo takes up the challenge of building a bridge to the future where prevention is done at the root cause. In layman’s terms, practical solutions are provided to improve human thriving now. We remind readers to remember Galileo because the tendency to resist information that conflicts with what we believe we know persists. History reveals humanity repeatedly delays the benefits of many significant advances due to this resistance to new ideas. The life enhancing benefits revealed in this book are too great to ignore.6-back cover TRUE Prevention FINAL Georgia font regular 16 FINAL

Step-by-step, Ms. Joy guides us through information supporting a new approach to health and wellness with far reaching implications. Pulling information from a vast array of scientific fields including biology, chemistry, neuroscience, quantum physics, sociology, cultural anthropology to positive psychology, criminology, and more, the pieces of the puzzle snap into place revealing the potential for a far better world than most of us can imagine.

In science, the Parsimony Principle requires us to choose the simplest scientific explanation that fits the evidence. When an incorrect or incomplete theory has become accepted as truth, its complexity increases over time as exceptions and modifications are made to make new information fit the existing theory. Current explanations for illness and disease are rife with exceptions because they address symptoms instead of the root cause. The solutions put forth herein are the opposite, beautiful in their simplicity and ability to explain the myriad exceptions that plague other perspectives.

True Prevention is filled with clarifying concepts and practical steps that will help corporate wellness programs, physicians, and individuals achieve a clear understanding of where to focus their energy for optimum health.

Blogs, Books

Children Can Thrive. Help Them. Learn How.

July 27, 2014

Children Can Thrive

Let’s focus on the solutions

  It is interesting to note the arguments back and forth about why some students do not thrive.

 Some stating it is the teachers fault if a student does not thrive.

 Some stating it is the lack of an interested adult in the home.

 Let’s get to the root of it. Either could make a huge beneficial difference.

 The true reason many students do not thrive is that they have developed beliefs that they cannot, or that their actions do not matter “Learned Helplessness”, or they have been told often enough that they are ‘dumb’ or ‘stupid’ or other lies. They have been labeled and are living up to the expectations put upon them. They have been judged as lacking and are living up to those expectations.

 Going backwards and trying to uncover where it originated is a waste of time and effort.

 Where time and effort belongs is in helping students understand that their actions do matter – that their life is not determined by their current circumstances.

 That others opinions do not have to be their own opinion. Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, either way you are right”. Unfortunately we have ill informed parents and others who will label children and then the child begins to believe the label and perform to that standard.

 Society also does not understand that the happier you are the more intelligent you are. I know many are going to scoff at this statement but read further. Have you, or someone you know, ever been so stressed that you literally could not think?  Perhaps you put your head in your hands and said “Give me a moment, I can’t think”?  There is an example of an individual at a low emotional place not being as intelligent. Intelligence, creativity, and resilience exist along a continuum and increase in step with increases in happiness, positive emotions, optimism and positive expectation. There is a great deal of science behind this statement. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph.D.’s (UNC – Chapel Hill) book, Positivity, is probably the easiest read on the topic.

 Much of the world views happiness as a fluffy topic and as something that will come after a goal is achieved or as a transitory thing that feels good for a day.

 The happiness I am describing is defined as that deep sense of inner stability, peace, well-being, and vitality that is consistent and sustainable. It is not dependent upon circumstances but upon beliefs, expectations, emotions, and focus. Mindset is powerful.

 Not only does happiness contribute beneficially to the ability to learn but to health, relationships, and success. There are even studies showing that it has a positive impact on reducing crime, alcohol and drug abuse and even teen pregnancy.

 Right now the research on this topic is scattered across many silo’d fields including positive psychology, neuroscience, behavioral theory, sociology, quantum physics, resilience, emotional intelligence and more.

 I have a passion for the topic and have been researching it for years. I have never cared which field had relevant research which has resulted in a connection of the dots in a way that brings the knowledge being gained in many fields together.

 Using techniques to empower students, to help them achieve a positive expectation and focus and ensuring they have skills to bring themselves back to that point if they get a bit off path would make such a tremendous positive impact on their lives and future potential.

Benefits, Blogs, Parenting, Science

The absence of negative emotions ≠ the presence of positive emotions.

July 27, 2014

The absence of negative emotions ≠ presence of positive emotions.

“The absence of the negative is not the same thing as the presence of positive emotions.

“The absence of the negative is not the same thing as the presence of the positive. We found that factors such as optimism, life satisfaction, and happiness are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease regardless of such factors as a person’s age, socioeconomic status, smoking status, or body weight,” said lead author Julia Boehm, research fellow in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health at Harvard School of Public Health.

Chronic positive emotions, optimism, and happiness provide benefits that increase vitality and longevity but also benefits that improve relationships and even success.

Over the years I have found that many individuals accept their current emotional state and have no idea how to change it.

They attempt to be stoic and insist they are “OK” but being OK does not afford the health benefits that happiness does. Nor is it healthy for relationships and it does not contribute to the level of success you experience. We are not in a contest to see who can suffer or endure the longest. In the long run there are not prizes for ignoring your emotional state and toughing it out.

Many see weakness in asking for help yet the path to happiness is often not clear and quick fixes seldom work.

It is possible for anyone to enjoy more positive emotions, optimism and happiness if they know the skills and knowledge that helps them. Often skills are given without the knowledge so people give up because of the lack of knowledge. Sometimes the knowledge is given without the requisite skills.

When you have the whole puzzle the path to happiness is easy to navigate and there is truly no end to how happy an individual can become.

Once you are on the right path it becomes easier and easier as if circumstances are bending over backwards to help you. Those days when things are easy and things seem to fall into place easier than they used to is one of the symptoms you will experience continually as you move toward greater happiness. There are scientifically proven reasons for this and if you take the class you will understand those reasons.

The best health benefits are derived from the higher emotional levels which you would experience as things like love, appreciation, joy, enthusiasm, eagerness, interest, passion, awe, inspiration and so forth. If you are in a low emotional place you won’t get there overnight but you can get there and there are health benefits every step along the path. There are also benefits to your relationships and other activities as well.

Contented is not at the highest levels. It can make a good emotional resting place for a while but many people stop there, because feeling content is not a bad feeling, they stop moving toward the better feeling emotions. The trip is so worth while.

Many people have been taught to put others needs before their own and use that as their excuse to ignore their own emotional needs. Yes, you do need to be happy. Why do you think bodies function better when the person living in it is happy?  That evidence is clear and compelling.

So, let’s look at it from the perspective of helping others. The following is based upon scientifically proven benefits of increased positivity.

“When you are happy you are at your best. You are in the best health. You are in the best mood. You are able to think with greater clarity. You are able to see solutions to problems far more readily. You need less from others (pumping up, assistance of all types, etc.). You contribute more by being happy so being happy is a priority for you. When you are happy you contribute to others by inspiring them to happiness. You contribute to others because when you feel great you want to help others feel just as wonderful. Sometimes, when someone feels rotten it makes them feel better to see someone else feel rotten too or see someone who is even worse off then they are. When you are happy it lifts you even higher to help others up and you gain no happiness or relief from their not being in a good place. Minding your happiness is minding your health because when you are happy you will be inclined to make good decisions about your diet and exercise and other habits. Happiness reduces the stress on your body and enables it to more easily maintain or regain its health. Your happiness is good for you and good for the world. Happiness is the path to peace.”

Studies have shown that increased happiness actually reduces racism and increases corporate citizenship.

Aren’t the benefits of happiness the things you want to see in the world?  Healthier people being nicer to one another, family and strangers alike?  Children confident in themselves – not fake pumped up self esteem – but real, they understand to the core of their being that they can be successful, that they can find solutions to problems, that they can decide to pursue their dreams?  Better relationships among people and even peace. In our class you will understand the relationship between peace and happiness.

Interested in our classes?  We are accepting enrollments for new classes now.

Benefits, Blogs, Science

Do you think Happiness is a Fluffy Topic?

July 27, 2014

Think you have better things to do with your time than be happy or think about happiness or learn how to be happy?

Wondering why Harvard Business Review devoted a cover and many pages to the topic of happiness in January?  Do you think they are losing it?

They have a clue. 

If you don’t have one yet you are missing out.

You’re missing out on being your best. You’re missing out on being in the best health you can be in. You’re missing out on having getting and giving the best you can from your current relationships. Your missing out on a lot of success. You’re missing out on more healthy years at the end of your life and it is likely you are missing out on some years, too. You’re not making the best decisions you could make. You are not living up to your potential; not even close.

Scientists across many disciplines have been very busy conducting exacting research into happiness over the last two decades. For most of that time the results were tucked away in obscure and expensive scientific journals but the lid has blown off now.

Happiness, defined as a deep sense of inner stability, peace, well-being, and vitality that is consistent and sustainable, provides seemingly infinite benefits.

Just a few highlights are listed below.

Health Benefits

50% reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease

Protective against some cancers

Slows progress of disease

Improves immune system function

There is lots more ~ everything from colds & flu to diabetes, HBP and Alzheimers

Greater increase in longevity than from quitting smoking

Relationship Benefits

Relationships are more loving, deeper, less drama and turmoil, warmer, more supportive

Behavioral Benefits

More likely to make good decisions

Crimes, substance abuse and even teen pregnancy decline with increased happiness

Exercise, adequate sleep and good nutrition choices are more likely to be made

Intelligence and Creativity

Actually increase as happiness increases

Employer Benefits

Lower Absenteeism

Lower turnover

Increased productivity

Improved corporate citizenship

Lower health care costs

Now that you understand that happiness is not a fluffy, nice to have what are you going to do about it?

Let’s be clear. The absence of negative emotions is not happiness. The presence of somewhat chronic positive emotions is necessary to reap the benfits.

Are you there yet?

We know that just telling you to be positive is a waste of words. It takes a combination of knowledge and skills to get on the path and follow it.

Want to know the path? 

Our classes are the best available to increase happiness, optimism, emotional intelligence, resilience, self mastery, well-being and improve relationships. A masterful combination of information that helps students have a clearer perspective about topics such as their own beliefs and the impact of current emotional state on behavior is utilized. The course includes more than 50 processes, many evidence based skills, to help students deliberately impact their emotional state and develop new habits of thought that are more beneficial to thriving.

We have continuously searched for new information across many disciplines including positive psychology, neuroscience, resilience, sociology, emotional intelligence, quantum physics, psychoneuroimmunology, and behavioral science over many years. 

Are you ready to give up being right (about happiness being a fluffy topic) and reap the benefits of new knowledge?  Give yourself credit for your ability to learn something new. Celebrate that you now know something you did not know before. Revel in the fact that you live now when the benefits of happiness are becoming known.

Benefits, Blogs, Business, Science

Do you Want Better Employees?

July 27, 2014

Do You Want Better Employees?

 

The benefits of increased happiness include increased intelligence, creativity, emotional intelligence, resilience, and improved health, relationships and well-being.

At Happiness 1st Institute, we know how to teach individuals to increase their level of happiness with tools and techniques that make the increased level of happiness easily sustainable.

All the goals of corporate wellness programs (and much more) can be accomplished by increasing the happiness level of employees.

Many businesses have been using well-known methods to obtain a competitive advantage. New scientific breakthroughs are changing the definition of the best way to gain competitive advantage. At Happiness 1st we use information supported by recent scientific studies to help businesses gain a competitive advantage by developing the most valuable resources that they already have – their employees. Our methods will increase productivity, sales, engagement, and retention while reducing health care costs, absenteeism, and turnover. This can be done with a minimal investment of time and resources, yet the returns are fantastic. This has been shown over and over again in businesses ranging from insurance sales to high tech engineering to law enforcement. The theory of developing employees’ strengths toward a culture of hope, confidence, resilience, optimism and happiness makes sense, and the benefits have been proven by scientific research.

This is not a program that requires managers to offer compliments and be the motivator of employees.

Everyone wants to be happier. Increased happiness in employees confers great benefits on the employer. When an employee begins feeling happier the employee is self-motivated to continue practicing the skills we teach because it feels good. These skills work for anyone willing to do the work. Pessimists can learn to have a more optimistic outlook.

Plato said it best in The Republic when he wrote, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” During these challenging economic times, employers are seeking alternative solutions to control rising health care costs in order to maintain market share and profitability while continuing to provide benefits their employees rely upon. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, employee health care costs are rising at a rate of 6.9 percent annually, which is two times the rate of inflation. Health care spending in the United States represents 17 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the average cost of care for each person in the United States is around $7,900 per person.

Much of the burden for covering the cost of care for employees falls upon employers. In 2008, the annual premium for an employer health care plan covering a family of four was $12,700. This was the first year that the annual employee health care premiums surpassed the gross pay of full-time, minimum wage workers at $10,712.

Other more inventive employers are actively looking for alternative ways to reduce health care costs through a variety of cost cutting methods. Corporate wellness programs are quickly becoming the solution of choice with an average return of $3 for every $1 spent. There are many reasons employers choose to offer employee wellness programs. While the return on dollar spent is an average of $3 the programs are not as effective as they could be.

New scientific findings are causing a paradigm shift that feels as big as the shift from believing the Earth was flat to round. These findings are neon signs pointing to a fairly simple strategy that is scientifically proven to work and achieve the goals hoped for from a corporate wellness program.

What is this shift?  Increased happiness causes:

Improvements in health including fewer illnesses, less severe illnesses when there is illness, and quicker recovery.

  • Significant reductions in absenteeism
  • Significant reductions in turnover
  • Increased productivity
  • Increased clarity of thinking
  • Increased ability to make good decisions and good evaluations of facts

The same employee is literally more intelligent and more creative when they are happier.

The same employee is healthier when they are happier.

The same employee has better relationships with others when they are happier.

Think about how good it would feel to come to work every day and feel good yourself and work with others who feel good. Staying in such an environment would be very attractive to employees.

We love sharing with businesses, organizations, governments, veterans and individuals information about the scientific studies that show that every goal of corporate wellness programs (and then some) is addressed beautifully by increasing the happiness level of employees and that there are proven methods of not only increasing employee happiness levels but sustaining them.

Please visit  Happiness 1st for more information on the science behind happiness and how to enroll in our classes.

Scientists have also shown that happiness can be learned through development of new skills.

The benefits of happiness are too great to list here. Here are some results of increased happiness:

  • Happy sales people do much better than even more qualified but pessimistic sales people in sales and their turnover is lower.
  • One company experienced a 1.5 day per month per employee reduction in absenteeism with 1,000 employees (18000 days a year equivalent).
  • Being happy vs. unhappy contributes more to longevity than smoking status!
  • Intelligence (IQ), creativity, emotional intelligence (EQ), and resilience all increase in tandem with increased happiness.
  • Even when they become sick, happy people recover faster and do not experience as many symptoms as an unhappier person with the same illness.
  • The higher level of emotional intelligence means less time dealing with petty grievances that steal valuable time.
  • Happy people see solutions more than problems.
  • All relationships tend to improve with increased happiness, so the impact at work from turmoil at home lessens.

Imagine working in an environment where employees have learned happiness skills. How difficult would it be to leave such an environment for one where that training had not been provided?

We need many things to make our company one of the leaders that comes out of the decline in a great position to thrive.

We need intelligent leaders with creative solutions and high levels of emotional intelligence.

We need to retain our key employees. Turnover is one of the biggest risks during recovery.

We need competitive edges. Happiness is a huge competitive edge and it increases the chances of developing other creative and inspired competitive edges.

Is it time to lift your company out of the doldrums?

Get Happiness 1st Institute to help you capture these benefits of happiness.

Benefits, Blogs, Business

How can employee happiness benefit your business?

July 27, 2014

Happiness?  What does happiness have to do with your business?

Far more than most have ever imagined.

Happiness provides a solid foundation for success.

Do you wish your employees were smarter or more creative?

Do you long for healthier employees who are at work more often?

Would your life be easier if turnover declined?

Can you imagine a work environment where co-workers get along with one another fairly well?

Do you want your customers to be delighted after encounters with your employees?

Some people are just naturally energizing to be around. Happy employees are likely to be that way.

Happiness is the answer!

Scientists have been studying happiness and found that happiness contributes to success rather than being caused by success.

The same individual is smarter, healthier, more creative, more resilient, and has higher emotional intelligence when he or she is happy than when unhappy.

Benefits, Blogs, Business, Science

How does happiness impact human resources?

July 27, 2014

How does happiness impact human resources?   

Far more than most have ever imagined.

Do you wish your employees were smarter or more creative?

Do you long for healthier employees who are at work more often?

Is your corporate wellness program accomplishing everything you could hope for?

Do you want health care costs to decline?

Would your life be easier if turnover declined?

Can you imagine a work environment where co-workers get along with one another fairly well?

Do you want your customers to be delighted after encounters with your employees?

Some people are just naturally energizing to be around. Happy employees are likely to be that way.

Happiness is the answer!

Scientists have been studying happiness and found that happiness contributes to success rather than being caused by success.

The same individual is smarter, healthier, more creative, more resilient, and has higher emotional intelligence when he or she is happy than when unhappy.

Scientists have also shown that happiness can be learned through development of new skills.

The benefits of happiness are too great to list here. Here are some results of increased happiness:

  • Happy sales people do much better than even more qualified but pessimistic sales people in sales and their turnover is lower.
  • One company experienced a 1.5 day per month per employee reduction in absenteeism with 1,000 employees (18000 days a year equivalent).
  • Being happy vs. unhappy contributes more to longevity than smoking status!
  • Intelligence (IQ), creativity, emotional intelligence (EQ), and resilience all increase in tandem with increased happiness.
  • Even when they become sick, happy people recover faster and do not experience as many symptoms as an unhappier person with the same illness.
  • Even as happy people live longer, the debilitating diseases that disable arrive far closer to the time of death, thus alleviating years of dependency.
  • The higher level of emotional intelligence means less time dealing with petty grievances that steal valuable time.
  • Happy people see solutions more than problems.
  • All relationships tend to improve with increased happiness, so the impact at work from turmoil at home lessens.
  • Happiness has positive impacts on heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, depression, colds, flu, and many more common ailments.

Imagine working in an environment where employees have learned happiness skills. How difficult would it be to leave such an environment for one where that training had not been provided?

When you interview someone do you consider whether the person contributes to your energy (raising you up) or is an energy drag?  It matters. The energy they bring to the interview is much like the energy they will bring to their job. It matters.

We need many things to make our company one of the leaders that comes out of the decline in a great position to thrive.

We need intelligent leaders with creative solutions and high levels of emotional intelligence.

We need to retain our key employees. Turnover is one of the biggest risks during recovery.

We need competitive edges. Happiness is a huge competitive edge and it increases the chances of developing other creative and inspired competitive edges.

Is it time to lift your company out of the doldrums?

Get Happiness 1st Institute to help you capture these benefits of happiness.

Benefits, Blogs, Business