Chronic stress can lead to debilitating diseases and shorten your life by a considerable number of years. In one large longitudinal study that followed the participants for life, the negatively focused participants had 18 fewer healthy years. They not only died about 10 years earlier, they also spent about 8 years being sick when the positively focused participants were able to enjoy 18 healthier years. In the positively focused group the debilitating end of life diseases came at much older ages and much closer to the time of death.
Sometimes people don’t want to live longer because they don’t want to linger in unhealthy bodies. If you tend to be negatively focused, stressed, and unhappy your chances of living more unhealthy years is much greater.
Every bit of that is a choice you make. Focusing on the negative is a habit of thought that can be changed. Stress is not a matter of the situation, but of how we respond to the situation. There are skills that can increase your resilience, emotional intelligence and decrease (literally) the amount of stress you feel without changing the circumstances.
The great news is that when you decrease stress, happiness shows up. In recent years there has been a great deal of research on the benefits of happiness. Guess what? They are the same as the benefits from reducing stress. Why? Because stress and happiness are two ends of the same stick, they are on the same continuum.
High stress decreases your brain function. You’re literally not as smart when you’re stressed as you are when you’re not stressed.
In other words, you’re smarter when you’re happy.
High stress diminishes your immune function.
In other words, when you’re happy your immune system is working well.
Your digestive function, endocrine system, and more have the same relationship with stress and happiness. When stressed they don’t work as well, and when happy they are at their optimum.
Even the decisions you make about risky behavior, exercise, food, and sleep are better when you’re happy and worse when you’re stressed.
Many undesirable behaviors are simply attempts to reduce stress by someone who does not know a healthier way.
One of the greatest risks companies currently face is retaining their talent as the job market begins to feel safer to employees who have hunkered down during the down economy. They stuck with you–perhaps pulling double duty without raises–to help you weather the storm. Positions that were cut or not replaced meant a loss of institutional knowledge that now resides in the brains of fewer people, increasing the risk when key players decide to move on.
You are tasked with motivating and retaining these people. How can you do this within existing budget constraints with competing demands on corporate resources?
How do we accomplish these goals and so much more?
The root cause of motivation to do a good job and motivation to stay with a specific employer is related at the root cause. We understand how to provide employees with skills that help them self-manage their perspectives that results in better-feeling perspectives. These perspectives help you check all the boxes and a whole lot more.
For example, feeling appreciated is both a matter of the actual feedback and the perception of that feedback by the receiver. If the receiver has a negative voice in his head that refutes the truth of the positive feedback, for all intents and purposes it feels as if no feedback was given. Or,even worse, the negative voice can convince the employee that things are worse than they thought they were before the feedback.
Job Security is another area where perception really matters. I’ve worked along side people who were full of fear while I, with much greater financial responsibilities and less flexibility (i.e. single parent household) did not feel afraid at all. We provide employees with skills that help them form more realistic perspectives that invariably feel more secure. The most stable company cannot convince someone whose brain is telling them to be afraid to feel secure. The employee has to be empowered to find that perspective by understanding why they perceive it the way they do and providing skills that give them the option to find a better perspective.
Career Opportunities are part perception and part communication. I’ve seen employees leave a company where there were many opportunities but the employee perceived those opportunities as not available to her. It really boiled down to low self-esteem and self-selection as not a viable candidate–not lack of opportunity. Our program increases open communication and self-esteem.
When the root cause is addressed, the benefits flow throughout the system. We can even help you sleep better at night.
According to a research brief completed by Rand Corporation, “Approximately 730,000 people have filed claims for asbestos injuries in the United States through 2002. At least 8,400 defendants and insurers have paid $70 billion to settle these claims.”
That is less than 1 million claims and a 70 billion price tag.
About 100 companies have filed for bankruptcy because of their asbestos exposure.(1)
Why were companies held liable for asbestos? They knew the risk to employees (or should have because the risk was known) and they did not provide adequate protection for their workers. Rand states it this way, “Asbestos litigation, the longest-running mass tort litigation in the United States, arose as a result of individuals’ exposure to asbestos and the failure of many product manufacturers to protect their workers.”(2)
The risk to your organization from not protecting your employees from workplace stress could bankrupt your company.
It does not matter who you are, or how big you are because the pool of potential litigants expands as your workforce expands. Some of the more conservative estimates I’ve seen estimate that 26% of the population has unhealthy stress levels and that 70% of that is due to workplace stress. Let’s do the math.
314,000,000 x .26 = 81,640,000 x .7 = 57,480,000
People in USA x low estimate of those with unhealthy stress levels = 81.6 million
70% attributed to workplace stress brings the number down to 57.4 million
That equates to more than 78 times the number of asbestos litigants.
And, unlike asbestos, risk cannot be stopped by no longer using the product.Workplace stress risk will continue as long as the business is in business. The best you can do it mitigate it. The good news is our program takes stress management a giant step forward.
Pay Attention: Think Long-Term
The research is compelling. TRUE Prevention–Optimum Health: Remember Galileo touches upon many of the stress related illnesses including heart disease which accounts for 1/3 of all deaths. In early 2015, Stress Kills:Happiness Heals will tell the full story–not just the health impacts, but the social problems exacerbated by stress, including divorces, depression, and suicides.
If the potential of corporate liability due to workplace stress that employers know, or should know, are harmful to their employees mental and physical well-being does not make you afraid you need to talk to a risk manager. The potential threat is real. Once the research is clear and compelling, businesses are held to a standard that they should know the risks of placing demands on their employees that lead to chronic stress.
Putting your head in the sand and ignoring the issue will not make it go away. But there are ways to manage the risk without doubling your workforce.
Stress management skills are not taught in school. The vast majority of your employees have no idea how to lower the stress they feel in any given situation. You already know some of them handle stress better than others, but not why.
The stress reduction techniques touted by most of the books and stress management teachers are dose dependent and stressed people are less likely to actually do them. It is not the reason they are stressed, stress decreases motivation. It is part of the problem. It is also part of your engagement problem. Employees who understood how to manage stress might find their environment challenging instead of stressful.
Face it, we cannot eliminate the stress from every job. Performing surgery is stressful, caring for a preterm infant with serious complications is stressful, regulations that increase and change frequently is stressful, taking up the slack from disengaged co-workers is stressful. Eliminating stress is not an option.
The connection between workplace stress and health is irrefutable. Already, in some large cities like New York and Los Angeles, police officers who die from heart disease–even if they are on vacation when they die–are considered work-related deaths. But stress does not have to involve real life or death situations for the human body to experience the negative health effects.
Long-Term May Mean… Tomorrow
The number of asbestos claims is a drop of water in the ocean compared to the potential stress claims from employees. The future that I’m talking about is not that far in the future. To those who are familiar with the state of the research connecting stress to mental and physical illnesses, it is already clearly visible. When will the first case be filed? It could be tomorrow. The evidence is compelling enough and accumulating on an almost daily basis.
What can you do to manage this risk?
The economics will not allow you to double your workforce to reduce the workload, so that is not an option.
Dose dependent stress management techniques like exercise, helping others, going outside,meditation, massage, yoga, and tai chi are dose dependent and the evidence that those suffering from the highest levels of stress are least likely to do them. The fact that they are not doing them is not a defense because evidence demonstrating that it is the high stress that makes it less likely just points the finger back at the cause of the stress.
There is a way to teach employees to manage the stress at the root cause that empowers them to perceive the stressful situation in less stressful ways. Why is this the best method? Because it addresses the issue at the root cause, it affects the entire experience. It shows the employee they have more control over their stress than they know. Increasing employee’s locus of control in this way has multiple benefits including improved health and engagement. That’s three boxes checked in one program.
Reduce risk of stress-related litigation
Improve Employee Wellness Efforts
Increase Employee Engagement
But the benefits do not end there. The program delivers considerably more. Relationships between co-workers (and their relationships outside work) improve because of what they learn in the program. This not only makes the workplace more harmonious, it lessens the amount of outside relationship stress that is adversely affecting the work day. This is not just romantic relationships, but also relationships with children, parents, and friends.
How much does relationship drama impact your organization’s productivity? How much of management’s time is spent dealing with personality conflict type issues?
There is another benefit. From years in risk management, I am well aware that some lawsuits employers have to defend against are for things that one employee interprets as threatening but another one would not even remember a few days later. It is the perception of the event, rather than the actual event, that creates the problem. Our programs provides employees with skills that enable them to perceive situations from perspectives that feel better to them. While it is never possible to quantify lawsuits avoided (a bane of compliance officers and risk managers everywhere), the dots can be connected and the relationship can be clear enough that the CFO will understand the benefits.
Let’s return to the wellness program for a minute. All those healthy habits you’re attempting to get your employees to do are hindered by high stress. In fact, the link between high stress and obesity has changed the paradigm of calories in – calories out = BMI. Stress affects how the body processes the food a person eats and increases the risk of obesity, which increases the risk of diabetes, which increases the risk of heart disease. Stress also increases the risk of high blood pressure which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Chronic stress also diminishes the effectiveness of the immune function, increasing the risk of colds, flu, and even cancer. All of this is already scientifically documented. Many of the citations are in TRUE Prevention–Optimum Health, but Stress Kills:Happiness Heals, which is in the editing stage expands the picture further.
Other Benefits
The benefits of our program seem too good to be true but the reason they are so expansive is because they address the root cause. Almost everything else that is done to improve health and stress today addresses symptoms, not the root cause. Now is the time to take action. There are other benefits from our program detailed throughout our website.
Take Action…Today
If this sounds frightening, it is. What can you control? Can you control the job responsibilities in a way that makes them not stressful? Can you control the work loads employees are tackling?
What you can do is empower them with skill based training that insulates them from much of the stress in their lives–both work-related and personal. This training would go a long way toward demonstrating that you took every possible precaution to help your employees. Of course, it should be combined with other things you’re probably already doing, such as an EAP program. But when you wait for the situation to be at the point where most employees will reach out to an EAP, the stress has already caused damage.
We measure a variety of things in a host of different ways before and after the training, including stress, depression (expect about 10% of your employees to be suffering from depression in the pre-training testing), resilience, and emotional intelligence. You can choose to add other measures. The program is provided in large groups so the cost is surprisingly affordable. Smaller employers can combine to form a larger group to keep their costs reasonable. In large organizations, we have train the trainor 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,
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
You know those days when everything just seems to go well? You feel good, you feel like you look good, inspirations come to you, the day just flows?
Think about those days. Aren’t they the ones when you feel happy? The day when you have a smile on your face when you get out of bed for some reason, something you were thinking about that makes you feel happy, some event you are looking forward or an encounter with someone that you are remembering with pleasure or looking forward to?
Now think about the days that seem like Murphy’s Law “If it can go wrong, it will” would be an accurate description of the day. Aren’t those days the ones when you did not feel all that great when you started the day? Sure, maybe you stubbed your toe, but even before then, were you thinking about having to do something you did not want to do or trying to figure out how to do something you wanted to do but did not think you could?
How happy you are impacts greatly the type of day you have, which impacts the type of week, month and year you have.
Most people believe that some people are just naturally inclined to happiness more than others but that is a myth. It is something society has reached a false conclusion upon and most people buy into it.
Happiness can be learned. I don’t say it can be taught because the student must do the work; no one can do it for them. But, if the student is willing and has a desire to be happier and a belief that it is possible anyone can learn to be happier.
How happy can someone learn to be? Very, very happy, joyful even is quite possible and it does not matter where the student is when they begin. They can get there. The 2ndbest news, after knowing that anyone can learn to be happier is that the life circumstances of the individual desiring to be happier do not matter in the level of happiness that can be achieved.
However, life circumstances can improve greatly when the person becomes happier.
Not only can greater levels of happiness be reached by learning how to be happier, they can be maintained at a higher set point than they were before the individual learned how to deliberately choose happiness.
Why would an employer care about the happiness of employees? There are myriad reasons but two areas are of high importance to employers.
There is a scientifically documented positive correlation between employee happiness and productivity. There is also a scientifically documented correlation between happiness and wellness.
Employers want productive employees. They also want employees who come to work and employees who tend to be healthy. Happiness is far more effective than gym membership benefits and other wellness initiatives offered by many employers.
A happy employee who feels good and feels good about himself or herself does not need to be incented to be physically active. They will feel like doing those things because the idea of doing them will feel good to them in ways it does not feel good when they are not happy or do not have a good self image.
It is not necessary to have a model-perfect body to feel good about oneself. Someone who does not feel good about themselves has thoughts flowing through their mind like “Why should I bother? I won’t get a date with _____ anyway” or “I am uncomfortable going to a gym because I don’t like being looked at and I don’t like what I think others think when they see me there.”
Someone who is happy will have very different thoughts. “It feels so good to move my body. I really enjoy coming here. I don’t know why I did not do this sooner but I am glad I am doing it now.”
One of the major changes learning to be happy creates is a switch in the thoughts we think.
Additionally, recently there were 17 states that had passed or had pending legislation to protect against work place bullying. The consistent aspect of the legislation is putting the onus on the employer to prevent such behavior. When we really think about this we realize that, except in the most egregious of situations, bullying is in the eye of the receiver. Unfortunately, the legislation is not seeing it from this angle and puts employers in a somewhat untenable situation. While a co-worker or even a boss could say something to a happy person and it would be perceived as that person trying to get their way, perhaps being pushy but certainly nothing to call Human Resources about much less hire an attorney over whereas another employee, perhaps one who generally feels like a victim, experiencing the same circumstances would feel very bullied. This legislation seems to put employers in a powerless situation.
However, helping employees learn to be happy can totally remove that “I am a victim, I am powerless” attitude toward life that some individuals have developed. This would directly impact how the individual would respond to the same circumstances which would reduce the likelihood of them feeling they had been bullied.
Another major benefit of happier employees is better customer interactions. Don’t you love it when the person who serves you is happy? Whether it is the waiter or waitress, the airline steward, the receptionist who takes your call, or anyone else you interact with?
Think about the impact on your business if your employees begin smiling more often with genuine smiles. Happy people tend to feel more caring toward others so customers would feel more genuine warmth when the employee asks “How are you?” The benefits of happier employees are vast. Also, it is very difficult to complain about someone who is very pleasant to you, even if they happen to make a mistake the customer is more likely to not make a big deal about it as long as it is resolved.
I want to circle back to the beginning now. To those days that just go well. Don’t the good ideas just flow to you on those days? Imagine managers who deliberately tune themselves to a happy state and have those days routinely. Where the solutions appear almost before the problem is fully known. Think how smoothly your business would run with managers like that. You don’t need new managers to have that; you just need the ones you have to learn to be happier.
The positive impact on your employees and your business are assured when your employees learn to be happier.
Why does anyone do anything? In the final analysis, they do it because they believe it will make them feel better. Even the individual who goes to a job they hate every day does so because they feel better getting the paycheck than they would if they did not get the paycheck.
Happiness is equal to the highest of human desires. Only being authentic and love rank as high as happiness in study after study. Happiness consistently outranks wealth, success, fame, status, attractiveness, sex, health, and enlightenment in the same studies.
Many studies are cited on our website.
Classes are offered in person and on-line. Everyone who does the work and is willing to believe they can be happier will experience a sustainable increase in the level of their own happiness. Prices vary based on class size and method of delivery. In person classes away from the Charlotte, NC area are available for groups. Classes can also be designed with a mix of both in person and online delivery. Individualized coaching sessions are also available and can be very beneficial for anyone enduring severe situations including severe health issues. Attitude can be everything in successfully overcoming health issues and individual coaching can contribute greatly to a positive attitude.
There are two kinds of happiness. One is transitory and the other is sustainable.
The transitory type of happiness is the one many people think of when they think of happiness. Our advertising community promotes this type of happiness. The current Coco-Cola advertisement is one example. The ad conveys that if you drink Coca Cola you will be happy.
Another ad campaign indicates that traveling to Costa Rica will make you happy.
Yet another ad indicates that having the right shoes will make you happy.
Because I am tuned into and understand happiness I notice this type of misleading advertising often.
The message people receive is to look outside themselves for happiness. That what they own, or do, is what will make them happy. There is nothing wrong with desire. It is natural and provides a natural, intrinsic form of motivation. It is our perception that achieving the desire is the basis of our happiness that prevents so many from ever achieving more than momentary bits of happiness.
Happiness, true happiness, provides life promoting benefits to all our bodily functions: brain, immune system, chemical balance and so much more. It is far too important to allow these misleading and damaging infomercials for momentary pleasure to continue.
It is true that a new car will make you happy, for an afternoon (maybe even for a week). But this type of happiness requires constant care and feeding. It is actually a prison. It can only be sustained with constant attention.
Research supports this. Even big life events such as your own wedding or a long awaited promotion provide only transient happiness.
We ask ourselves, is that all there is?
The empty feeling that accompanies the disappearance of the transient happiness, especially after achievement of a long sought prize, can be devastating.
Fortunately, there is a different type of happiness. This second type of happiness is sustainable without the need to constantly feed it with new achievements, acquisitions and relationship highs.
Those things help maintain it but this second type of happiness is more about how an individual perceives life. It about whether the glass is half full or half empty but with a deep understanding and deliberate choice to look on the bright side. Anyone, even life long pessimists, can learn to view life more optimistically.
Why would you want to do this?
Well, first and foremost, life is just more fun and feels better when you do. Isn’t that why you do everything you do, because you believe you will feel better if you do it (or in some cases if you do not do it)? You want that promotion because you believe you will feel better if you have it than if you do not have it. You want the new car because that feels better than driving an unreliable old car. It is at the root of all your decisions, whether conscious or not.
But there are many more benefits. The last 20 years some scientists have turned their attention to studying human thriving. The findings have astounded them and are great news for us. Positive emotions, optimism, and happiness confer tremendous benefits in the form of improved health and immune function, better relationships and greater success. Information about these benefits and scientific citations supporting them are available on our website, Happiness1st.com.
Learning how to develop and maintain the sustainable type of happiness is fun and easy with the right knowledge and tools.
Jeanine Joy is the Founder and President of Happiness 1st Institute. We teach the skills that lead to sustainable happiness–the kind that can extend your life and more importantly, the number of healthy years in your life.
You can get to where you want to be from where you are
Sometimes, what we believe in the midst of seeming tradgedy is the worst possible thing that can happen in our life turns out to be, upon later reflection, the best thing that ever happened to us.
Turning points are often like that.
Change can be tough.
It does not matter what you are, or are suffering, someone who was once there has found a silver lining (or a ‘gift in the wound’) of a situation much like yours.
It is always there and we never get more than we can handle.
Learning to truly believe that things work out for the best and to begin looking for the silver lining as soon as you can is the key to resilience, it is the key to thriving instead of surviving, the key to benefiting from post adversarial/post traumatic growth instead of suffering from PTSD.
We have classes where we provide tools to help you through this process. It does not matter if the event is happening now or if it happened many years ago, you can thrive into your future. All you need is an open mind, some knowledge and skills and you’ll be on your way.
Look for Laura Longley’s program, Blue Heron Wisdom Radio, at 1 pm Pacific/4 pm Eastern (7 am Byron Bay, Australia on Wednesday), 9 pm in London, (2 am Wednesday in India).
