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Vecchio_Lauren_The Power of a Smile_BUS 302_117
Memorandum
To: Dr. Melinda Weisberg
School of Management
From: Lauren Vecchio
Date: December 1, 2016
Subject: Research Paper
_______________________________________________________________________
Attached please find the research paper which is due on December 1, in BUS 302N-117,
Organizational Behavior, TTR3:30-4:45.
The work and writing presented in this research paper unless specifically specified in an
appropriately cited footnote, endnote or reference note is solely mine.

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The Power of a Smile
Lauren Vecchio
Marist College

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………….………………………………4
Introduction……………………………………………….…………….…………………………5
Literature Review……………………………….…………………………………………………6
The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help--or Hurt--How You
Lead………………………………………………………………………………………..6
Grin and Bear It: The Influence of Manipulated Facial Expression on the Stress
Response…………………………………………………………………………………..7
The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success……………..9
The Ripple Effect: Emotional Contagion and its Influence on Group Behavior………...10
Start Smiling: It Pays to be Happy at Work……………………………………………...11
Synthesis of Findings………………………………………………………………………….....12
Recommendations for Management Practice…………………………...……………………….15
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….18
References………………………………………………………………………………………..19

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Executive Summary
In this paper, I seek to answer the question, “Can smiling among employees lead to
increased employee collaboration and productivity?” Within the paper, I explain the steps in
which smiling among employees can, in fact, lead to an increase in their collaboration and
productivity. Using the facial feedback hypothesis as the foundation of my argument, I
demonstrate that smiling is not just an expression of happiness, but also a cause of it.
Furthermore, I describe how mirror neurons and a process called emotional contagion spread
happiness easily throughout groups of people. Lastly, I present how the happiness that could be
easily spread among employees, is a catalyst for increasing employee collaboration and
productivity. My findings lead me to two major recommendations for management, that serve as
a dually pronged approach to generating a happy employee base, which in turn, generates a more
a collaborative and productive employee base.
.

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Introduction
Think of your happiest memory. Paint the scene in your head so that it’s clear enough for
you to not only be able to see it, but to smell it, to hear it, and maybe even to taste it. Bask in
your nostalgia for a moment. Are you smiling yet? Smiling is a universal indication of happiness,
and plays a significant role in our nonverbal communication. Our nonverbal communication is
partly comprised of our body language and facial expression, both of which allow us to relay a
message to others (knowingly or unknowingly) without ever having to say a word. A smile
signals our own happiness, but it can have a more powerful effect than we think. The effects of
smiling impact us on an individual level as well as on an interpersonal level. For example, the
effects of smiling have an impact on our work lives, as smiling influences our personal feelings
and how we interact with our colleagues. Our moods at work and how we effect our colleagues
through our interactions is an integral factor in how collaborative and productive we are as
employees. I aim to investigate the relationship between smiling and happiness further, and how
it influences the workplace. In this paper, I seek to answer the question, “Can smiling among
employees lead to increased employee collaboration and productivity?” With this being said, I
hypothesize that smiling among employees leads them to be more collaborative and productive.

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Literature Review
The following review of literature contains evaluations of five different sources that
pertain to the aforementioned research question. The first source is a book that focuses on body
language, while the second source deals with smiling specifically. The last three sources all
center more on emotion, (especially positive emotion), and how it can influence our behaviors.
The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help--or Hurt--How You Lead
This book delves into the importance of using body language as an effective leader in the
workplace, and the many implications that come along with the messages that we subconsciously
project through our body language. The book discusses suggestions and strategies for using body
language to maximize efficacy and impact as a leader. The author is an expert in the field of
nonverbal communication, as she is the founder of Kinsey Consulting Services, the author of
eleven business books, and is an international speaker and leadership presence coach. Her
insights and personal anecdotes with her experiences in analyzing and coaching body language
are present throughout the book.
Many business leaders are unaware of how crucial of a role nonverbal communication
plays in the workplace, and in their success as a leader. Body language “[…] impacts a leader’s
ability to negotiate, manage change, build trust, project charisma, and promote collaboration,”
(Goman, 2011, p.3). All of these necessary aspects of successful leadership can potentially suffer
if the leader isn’t educated or aware of his or her body language. The purpose of this book is to
educate managers, team leaders, entrepreneurs, and senior executives on how to capitalize on the
use of nonverbal communication to become more effective in their ability to relate with and
influence others.

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One finding of the book is that body language and facial expression are not just people’s
emotions being manifested; body language and facial expression can actually impact a person’s
emotional state. This is known as facial feedback. “As you know, when you’re happy, you smile.
But did you know that when you smile, you feel happier? Called ‘facial feedback,’ the effect is
so powerful that even when you artificially produce a smile, the feedback from that facial
expression affects your emotions and behavior,” (Goman, 2011, p.73). Through facial feedback,
our body language and facial expressions are influencing our emotions, whether we realize it or
not. By purposefully choosing our body language and facial expressions, facial feedback allows
us to manipulate our emotions in a positive way.
The book also highlights the significance of mirror neurons. When witnessing someone
else’s behavior, our mirror neurons cause our brain cells to fire in a way that mimics the behavior
we’re witnessing. Mirror neurons cause this reaction regardless of whether or not we’re actually
mimicking the witnessed behavior. For example, when a new born baby looks at his mother’s
smiling face, mirror neurons fire in his brain to create the same pattern of cells that would’ve
formed if the baby had actually smiled; within the first few hours of life, the baby will start to
mimic the smiles of his mother (Goman, 2011). Mirror neurons play a role in the workplace by
causing people to subconsciously mirror what their peers or supervisors are nonverbally
communicating. This is particularly true in the case of smiling. “When you smile at someone, he
or she almost always smiles in return,” (Goman, 2011, p.104).
Grin and Bear It: The Influence of Manipulated Facial Expression on the Stress Response
This study seeks to understand how the cardiovascular system and stress response system
are effected by covertly manipulating a subject’s positive facial expressions. Heartrate was the
only dependent variable in the study where 170 participants were instructed to compete two

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stressful tasks while holding chopsticks in their mouths. They were told to hold the chopsticks in
their mouths in a manner that either produced a Duchenne smile, a standard smile, or a neutral
expression. A Duchenne smile is a smile that, “[…] engages both zygomaticus major and
orbicularis oculi muscles,” (Kraft & Pressman, 2012, p.1372), whereas a standard smile only
engages the zygomaticus major muscles. In addition to this, Duchenne smiles are known to
activate areas of the brain associated with positive affect. With this being said, the results of the
study reveal that participants who held either kind of smile during the stressful tasks had lower
heart rates during stress recovery than the participants who held a neutral facial expression (Kraft
& Pressman, 2012). For example, the groups who were instructed to hold either a standard smile
or a Duchenne smile had a combined mean heart rate of 67.37 bpm during recovery, whereas the
group that was instructed to hold a neutral facial expression had a mean heart rate of 71.69 bpm
(Kraft & Pressman). These findings demonstrate that it’s physiologically beneficial to smile
while enduring stress.
The study also found that it’s psychologically beneficial to hold a smile during stress as
well. This concept is reinforced by the, “facial-feedback hypothesis, which states that activating
facial muscles leads to the psychological experience of emotion,” (Kraft & Pressman, 2012,
p.1372). In other words, holding a smile during stressful activity helps to elicit positive emotions
that combat the stress, and reduce the detrimental influences of it. These effects may be
happening, “outside the range of self-report awareness”, and in this sense, the study sheds light
on the possibility that there may be connections between facial expression and autonomic
activity (Kraft & Pressman, 2012). Nevertheless, smiling through stress does have a positive
impact on an individual, whether or not the individual even realizes it.

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The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?
It is widely agreed upon that success causes people to be happy. However, this article
investigates the reverse; does happiness reap success? The article tests a conceptual model based
on the construct that happiness causes success. Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental
evidence was used to support the conceptual model. A meta-analysis of 225 papers was
conducted, and their effect sizes were combined. The papers were found through meticulous and
thorough research using keywords on databases like PsychINFO, and the reference list of every
paper from this search was combed through as well. Over 275,000 participants constituted these
225 papers, and 313 independent effect sizes were computed.
From this research, it is found that the conceptual model is correct. The researchers assess
the verity of the model in multiple facets of life. One of these facets is work life. For example,
cross-sectional research reveals that happy employees benefit much more in a work environment
than less happy employees. Happier employees are proven, “[…] to show superior performance
and productivity, and to handle managerial jobs better. They are also less likely to show
counterproductive workplace behavior and job burnout,” (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005,
p.822). Longitudinal studies corroborate the findings from cross-sectional research in that
employees who have a positive affect are rated higher by their supervisors, and have reduced
absenteeism (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).
The research also shows that happy people make for better team players, and facilitate
cooperation between their colleagues as well. “[…] those put in a positive mood were more
likely to solve conflicts through collaboration, and were more likely to offer help to others,”
(Lyubomirsky et al., 2005, p.837). It is also found that people in pleasant moods have a penchant
to be more cooperative and less competitive (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005). In addition to this,

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happiness is found to be linked to extraversion and sociability, traits that are important in making
sure the cogs of collaboration and teamwork run smoothly. These tendencies of happy people are
supported by cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental evidence, and make for cooperative
and effective employees.
The Ripple Effect: Emotional Contagion and its Influence on Group Behavior
This study seeks to explore the influence of emotional contagion on a group of people,
and its effect on work group dynamics. The author defines emotional contagion as, “’a process in
which a person or group influences the emotions or behavior of another person or group through
the conscious or unconscious induction of emotion states and behavioral attitudes,’” (Barsade,
2002, p.646).
Based on prior research on emotional contagion in dyads, the author has an understanding
that emotion is most often transferred from person to person automatically, a construct known as
primitive emotional contagion. This process involves automatic, subconscious mimicry in which
people instinctively mimic each other’s facial expressions (Barsade, 2002). The second step of
this primitive emotional contagion is the process of afferent feedback that people receive by
mimicking people’s facial expressions (Barsade, 2002). This afferent feedback causes people to
experience the emotion itself because of physiological response from their muscular, visceral,
and glandular systems (Barsade, 2002).
The author tested six hypotheses. The most important hypotheses that were tested
pertaining to this paper are the first, second, and fourth hypotheses. The first being that there
would be contagion of mood among group members. The second being that unpleasant emotions
would be more likely to lead to mood contagion than pleasant emotions. The fourth being that

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positive emotional contagion, that is, an increase in positive mood, would lead to greater
cooperativeness on both an individual and group level.
The study took place in a laboratory where 94 business school undergraduates were
randomly assigned to 29 different groups, each with a trained confederate to enact mood
conditions. The participants took part in a Leaderless Group Discussion, which was video-taped.
The experimental design was a two-by-two, with participants randomly assigned to one of four
experimental conditions, and the two factors that were tested were emotional valence
(pleasant/unpleasant) and energy level (high/low). Outside coders’ ratings of participants’ mood
and participants’ self-reported mood were used to draw results.
The author’s first hypothesis was proven correct, as, “There was a robust finding of group
contagion, with support for the existence of contagion coming from both outside video-coders’
ratings and participants’ self-reports of mood,” (Barsade, 2002, p.667). However, the second
hypothesis was incorrect because it was found that contagion of positive mood was just as potent
as contagion of negative mood. The fourth hypothesis, like the first, was proven to be correct as
well. “[…] there was overall support from both outside video-coder ratings and participants’ self-
reports for the influence of positive emotional contagion on cooperativeness […]” (Barsade,
2002, p.668).
Start Smiling: It Pays to be Happy at Work
This practitioner’s article, published in Forbes magazine, establishes why being happy at
work is beneficial. It is argues that happiness directly correlates with productivity. The author
interviews Jessica Pryce-Jones, the author of Happiness at Work and CEO of iOpener. The
article describes the research that Pryce-Jones has done, which proves that a happy worker really

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is a productive worker. “After building questionnaires, conducting focus groups and compiling
results from 3,000 respondents in 79 countries, her findings proved that happiness has a distinct
advantage over unhappiness,” (Salemi, 2005). Among the many benefits of being happy at work,
the article states that happy employees are 50% more motivated and 50% more productive than
less happy employees (Salemi, 2005). In addition to this, the least happy workers reported
spending 40% of their week doing what they’re supposed to be doing, whereas happy workers
reported spending 80% of their week doing what they’re supposed to be doing (Salemi, 2005). In
other words, happier employees focus far more on the tasks their given. These findings show that
happiness improves the performances of employees, and that unhappy employees can actually be
detrimental to a company. Because happy employees are more focused on their jobs, and are
more productive, their ratings by managers and supervisors are almost always higher than their
less happy colleagues.
The article also highlights the concept of emotional contagion, meaning that people can
“catch” the moods of others. “A happy employee will boost the mood of his or her colleagues so
it makes sense that ‘happy people are good for teams,’” (Salemi, 2005). Happy employees do not
only provide individual benefit to a company, they also bring happiness to the people they
encounter, which can cause a ripple effect of positivity throughout the labor force of a company.
Synthesis of Findings
Through my research, I have found that firstly, smiling is physically and psychologically
good for people, and causes them to be happy due to a process called facial feedback (Goman,
2011; Kraft & Pressman, 2012; Barsade 2002). As Goman (2011) states, “Some nonverbal
behaviors can bring out the best in people. Smiling is one of them. It makes you feel good and
produces positive physiological changes in your body temperature and heart rate.” (Goman,

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2011, p.104). These positive physical changes in heart rate are seen to be true in the context of
dealing with stress. Smiling while enduring stress induces a lower heart rate during stress
recovery (Kraft & Pressman, 2012), which promotes overall happiness. Beyond the physiological
benefits of smiling, the act of smiling influences people’s emotions, making them happier
through a process called facial feedback (Goman, 2011; Kraft & Pressman, 2012; Barsade 2002).
Facial feedback is a term used to describe the elicitation of emotion caused by a physical facial
expression (Goman, 2011; Kraft & Pressman, 2012; Barsade 2002). In other words, the physical
act of smiling causes one to experience happiness. This process happens whether we realize it or
not, and even if the smile is artificial, the happiness produced is genuine (Goman, 2011). Based
on these facts, the foundation of my paper is that ultimately, because of facial feedback, smiling
makes people happy.
Secondly, I found that smiling and happiness spread easily between people through a
phenomenon called emotional contagion (Goman, 2011; Barsade, 2002; Salemi, 2010).
Emotional contagion can be described as the process by which people absorb and feel the
emotions others. Barsade (2002) refers to people as “walking mood inductors,” constantly
influencing the moods of others. I posit that mirror neurons play a large role in emotional
contagion, being that they cause people to mimic facial expression (Goman, 2011). This makes
adages like, “her smile is contagious” true. When a person sees a smile, their mirror neurons
cause them to also smile, triggering the same emotion of happiness, as explained above by the
facial feedback theory. What I’ve deduced coincides with the primitive emotional contagion
approach (Barsade, 2002). Moreover, we all have the power to influence the emotions of others
through emotional contagion. Because emotional contagion is predominantly a nonverbal
process (Goman, 2011), and positive emotions are just as easily transmitted as negative ones

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(Barsade, 2002), the power of a smile is all the more important. “When you smile at someone, he
or she almost always smiles in return. And because facial expressions trigger corresponding
feelings, the smile you get back actually changes that person’s emotional state in a positive
way,” (Goman, 201, p.104). With the concept of emotional contagion in mind, a happy employee
is a great asset for a company because he will lift the moods of his colleagues (Salemi, 2010),
and help to increase the overall happiness of the workforce or team (Goman, 2011). Due to the
process of emotional contagion, happiness (that can be brought on by smiling), easily spreads
among groups of people.
Lastly, I found that happy employees are more collaborative and productive employees.
(Goman, 2011; Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005; Barsade, 2002; Salemi, 2010). Happy
employees are more collaborative, and therefore promote and facilitate teamwork and
cooperation (Goman, 2011; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005; Barsade 2002). For example, when a
person is participating in negotiation, he is more likely to be cooperative if he is happy
(Bardsade, 2002; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005). Happiness also moves employees to help their
colleagues, therefore facilitating teamwork and cooperation. “Notably, both positive affect on the
job and chronic happiness have been found to predict […] organizational citizenship behavior—
that is, acts that go beyond the requirements of the job, such as spreading goodwill and aiding
coworkers,”(Lyubomirsky et al., 2005, p.823). In addition to this, positive affect and smiling
(which is an indication of happiness), signal to others that a person is approachable, cooperative,
and less competitive (Goman 2011; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005), which further increases
employees’ willingness to work together.
Happy employees are not only more collaborative, they are more productive as well
(Lyubomirsky et al., 2005; Salemi, 2010). As Salemi (2002) asserts, happy employees are 50%

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more productive than unhappy employees. In the same vein, happy employees report that they
are able to focus more on their work, and get more done during the workweek, increasing their
productivity furthermore (Salemi, 2002). Not only are happy employees self-reportedly more
productive at work, but their supervisors evaluate them as being more productive as well.
Employees who show positive affect at work receive more favorable evaluations from
supervisors for productivity (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005). Happy employees also show long term
promise of productivity, as they are less likely to show job burnout (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).
Collectively, this evidence supports the claim that happy employees are more productive.
Recommendations for Management Practice
As depicted in the conceptual model above, I’ve proved that increased smiling among
employees will lead to them being more collaborative and productive. In simplistic terms,
smiling causes happiness through facial feedback, and smiling and happiness spread easily
through mirror neurons and emotional contagion, which will lead to happiness among employees
and consequently to greater collaboration and productivity among them. In order to capitalize on

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these findings, and build a happy employee base, I have two recommendations for management
practice. The first is to ensure that all members of the HR department are trained in reading body
language and facial expressions. If the HR employees are trained in understanding nonverbal
communication, they will be able to better judge a candidate in a job interview, and recruit
employees that are happy. Picking up on subtle signs of happiness, as well as more overt signs
must be stressed in this training, as to prime recruiters for finding happy employees. For
example, making sure recruiters know the difference between a standard smile and a Duchenne
smile is important in gauging genuine happiness. Building a happy employee base is the ultimate
goal, and focusing on the incoming employees is one way to achieve that.
My second recommendation for management practice is to lead by example in order to
influence the employee base that is already present. The management of an organization sets a
precedent for the rest of the company, which is why the body language of managers is extremely
important. If a manager portrays positive body language, like smiling, employees who witness it
will shift their body language to mirror the manager’s. As mentioned previously, the automatic
shift to positive body language, will cause an afferent effect within a person. In other words,
once an employee mirrors the smile of a manager, the employee will reap the happiness that the
physical act of smiling will elicit. By consistently smiling as a manager, the overall happiness of
employees will therefore increase. The happiness that a manager exudes will also positively
benefit his employee base because of emotional contagion. Emotional leads tend to be taken
from the most powerful person in a group (Goman, 2011), so a manager’s awareness of the
emotions he is displaying is also very important. Having a positive affect as a manager, will lead
to employees having a positive affect as well. This transferred positive emotion will translate
into how productive and collaborative the employees are. When a manager’s happy mood

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spreads to his employees, a company culture is created where positivity is valued, and where
there is a happy (and consequently collaborative and productive) workforce.

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Conclusion
Proven by this paper, smiling among employees in an organization leads them to be more
productive and collaborative. This increase in collaboration and productivity stems from the
emotion of happiness, which can be brought on by smiling. As the process of facial feedback
describes, the physical act of smiling induces people to feel happiness. Mirror neurons trigger
those who see a smiling face to smile as well, and subsequently undergo the same facial
feedback process that will cause them to become happier. This happiness can be spread easily in
a process known as emotional contagion, where people “catch” the emotions of others, thus
forming a happier workforce that will be more collaborative and productive. Due to the scope of
this paper, the effects that smiling employees had on customers was not explored, but is a
relevant area of research as well. Nevertheless, productive, collaborative employees will
ultimately lead to greater success for a company, so as a manager, it would be wise to invest in
the well-being of your employees. This can start with as little as a smile, as it can send a ripple
effect of happiness throughout a company. One person really can make a difference, trust in the
power of your smile.

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References
Barsade, S. G. (2002). The ripple effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group
behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(4), 644. doi:10.2307/3094912
Goman, C. K. (2011). The silent language of leaders: How body language can help-or hurt-
how you lead. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kraft, T. L., & Pressman, S. D. (2012). Grin and bear it: The influence of manipulated facial
expression on the stress response. Psychological Science,23(11), 1372-1378.
doi:10.1177/0956797612445312
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect:
Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803-855. Retrieved from
http://online.library.marist.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/614440467
?accountid=28549
Salemi, V. (2010, August 14). Start smiling: It pays to be happy at work. Retrieved
November 10, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/13/happiest-occupations-
workplace-productivity-how-to-get-a-promotion-morale-forbes-woman-careers-
happiness.html

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