Science-of-Happiness-P-2 (2)
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1) According to a 2007 European survey, only about 17% of Europeans report living a positive, engaged and meaningful life defined as "flourishing". Countries like Denmark, Switzerland and Austria have the highest percentages of flourishing citizens. 2) Research shows that happier people significantly outperform less happy individuals in many areas of life like work performance, physical health, social relationships, and more. A variety of positive benefits have been associated with higher levels of happiness. 3) While genetics and life circumstances influence happiness, intentional activities have the largest impact and can increase happiness levels. Various tools and interventions that target different aspects of well-being like positive emotions, relationships and meaning have been shown to improve each dimension.
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- 1. NON-CONFIDENTIAL AND NON-PROPRIETARY, ENTIRELY SHAREABLE Purpose+, Amstel 95, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Science of Happiness Internal research project, P+
- 2. At the moment, just ~17% of our European population meets the criteria for flourishing: living a positive, engaged and meaningful life Source: Huppert & So (Cambridge, 2007) in the European Social Survey 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Portugal Russian Federation Slovakia Bulgaria Ukraine Poland Slovenia France Estonia Spain Belgium Germany Netherlands UK Cyprus Sweden Ireland Norway Finland Austria Switzerland Denmark Percentage flourishing Percentage of people flourishing in top-20 countries, average (global) percentage is 17% 17% average Situation as is
- 3. Happier people significantly outperform less happy people in many different areas of life… Proven benefits of being happier…Area ▪ Higher individual employee output ▪ Higher levels of creativity ▪ More effective leadership ▪ Better job performance ▪ Higher salary per employees ▪ Better evaluations by supervisor ▪ Less burnouts ▪ Less sick days ▪ More time focused on actual work ▪ Perceived as more helpful/friendly ▪ Better resilience during tough periods ▪ Better performance on average ▪ Less likely to choke ▪ More enthusiastic ▪ More inspiration ▪ Higher levels of resilience ▪ Less PTSS ▪ More Post Traumatic Growth ▪ Lower suicide rates ▪ Improved social ‘fitness’ ▪ Higher grades ▪ Better conduct ▪ Less anxiety to perform ▪ More sociable behavior ▪ Longer life ▪ Higher levels of energy ▪ Lower chances of depression ▪ Lower anxiety levels ▪ Better (and longer) marriage ▪ Higher quality network of friends ▪ More altruism ▪ Lower levels of jealousy ▪ More positive emotions Source: Jessica Pryce-Jones, Happiness at Work: Maximizing your Psychological Capital for Success, 2010; HBR What’s the Hard Return on Employee Wellness Programs, 2010; Oxford Handbook of Happiness, 2013; Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, 2011; The Energy Strategy case studies. iOpener Institute case studies. ▪ Better team bonding ▪ Significantly better team performance Companies Sports US Army Schools General public Performance link
- 4. Our level of happiness are not fixed, and is partly within our own control... DNA: 50%* Circumstances: 10% Intentional activity: 40% Amount of variance in happiness explained by the three most important factors Source: Sonja Lubyomirski, University of California Influence
- 5. ...since psychological traits are never fully inheritable Source: Bouchard et al., 1990, Sources of Human Psychological Differences: The Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart. Psychological trait Estimated heritability Extraversion 0.54 Agreeableness (linked to aggression) 0.42 Conscientiousness 0.49 Neuroticism 0.48 Openness 0.57 Intelligence (age 5) 0.22 Intelligence (age 10) 0.54 intelligence (age 18) 0.82 Intelligence (age 50) 0.85 Schizophrenia 0.80 Major depression 0.37 Panic disorder 0.30-0.40 Generalized anxiety disorder 0.30 Phobias 0.20-0.40 Alcoholism 0.50-0.60 Antisocial behavior (children) 0.46 Antisocial behavior (adults) 0.41 Conservatism (under age 20) 0.00 Conservatism (over age 20) 0.45-0.65 Religiousness (16-year olds) 0.11-0.22 Religiousness (adults) 0.30-0.45 A score of 0,0 indicates that genes do not contribute to observed individual differences; a score of 1,0 would mean genes are the only reason Personality traits Intelligence Psychiatric illnesses Social attitudes Influence
- 6. People are notoriously bad at predicting their own happiness in the future – which tends to normalize after most events (1/2) 6.8 6.9 7 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 T-4 T-3 T-2 T-1 T T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4 Men Women Life satifaction (1-10) Time Source: Clark, Diener, Georgellis, Lucas (2003) – Lag and Leads in Life Satisfaction: A Test of the Baseline Hypothesis Marriage Influence
- 7. 6.4 6.6 6.8 7 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 8 8.2 8.4 T-4 T-3 T-2 T-1 T T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4 Men Women Life satifaction (1-10) Time Source: Clark, Diener, Georgellis, Lucas (2003) – Lag and Leads in Life Satisfaction: A Test of the Baseline Hypothesis Child birth People are notoriously bad at predicting their own happiness in the future – which tends to normalize after most events (2/2) Influence
- 8. ...and can therefore specifically be improved per sub-dimension through a toolbox of interventions • Reflect on Peak Experiences • Anticipate Good Things • Capitalize on the Good • Be Present in Good Times • Three Good Things Diary • Three Funny Moments Diary • Random Act of Kindness • Gift of Time • Secret Good Deed • Reflect on Play History • Discover Your Unique Strengths • Ask for Strengths- Based Feedback • Use Your Strengths in New Ways • Map your Flow triggers • Mindfulness Meditation • Mindful Consumption • Body Scan • Walking Meditation • Build Love Maps • Active Constructive Responding • Find Energisers • Deepening key relations • Gratitude Letter • Gratitude Call • Gratitude Visit • Daily Appreciation • Say Thanks • Loving Kindness Meditation • Compassion Meditation • Write Your Meaning maker Story: Three Questions • Forgiveness Letter • Death bed visualization • Lifelines Exercise • Presentations of ‘three circles’ • Set Self- Concordant Goals • SMART Goals with Rituals • Best Reflected Self • Learning from Challenges • Measure and Build GRIT • Eat Well • Design a healthy Week • Design an exercise Ritual • Design a Relaxation Ritual Positive emotions Engagement Relationships Meaning Accomplishment Vitality Source: Purpose+, Building Positive Organisations (Ter Weijde, 2015) Influence PERMA dimensions of well-being with the underlying toolkit to improve each dimension
- 9. Well-being can be assessed relatively easily on a personal level... Source: Example questions taken from the Flourish Inventory; Tayyab Rashid, University of Toronto I feel joyful. _______ Others say I look happy. ________ I laugh heartily. ________ I know my strengths. _______ I pursue activities which use my strengths.________ I use my strengths to solve my problems. ________ I feel connected to people with whom I interact regularly._______ I feel close to my loved ones.________ During though times, there is always someone I can turn to for support________ I feel that my life has a purpose._______ I do things that contribute to a larger cause.________ I use my strengths to help others.________ I have done many things well in life._______ When I set a goal, I’m able to accomplish it.________ I am an ambitious person.________ 8,8* 9,2* 9,9* 8,5* 9,1* 0 = Never, 1 = Rarely, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Frequently, 4 = Almost Always * Note: Dutch averages taken from a sample (N = 400); norm for flourishing would be 9,6 Example questions below each categoryPERMA dimension Average NL* Engagement Positive emotions Relationships Meaning Accomplishment Assessment
- 10. ...although more complex composite measurements also exist for systems, like countries or organisations... Well-Being* ‘Objective’ GDP Health Employment Literacy Poverty ‘Subjective’ Evaluative Life Satisfaction survey Subjective Happiness survey PERMA Profiler Personal Well-being Index Flourish survey Fordyce survey Real time Happiness tracker (app) Keyboard strokes analysis EEG headbands Sociometer Fitbit step-o-meter Heart variability tool Source: Purpose+ team * Optional: factor well-being scores with life expectancy to get the ‘amount of happy years lived’ Assessment