EXPERTS have revealed that happiness can lead to career success. But the shock claim conflicts with the “subtle message” often pushed in society of “work hard, become successful, then you’ll be happy”, according to psychologists from the London School of Economics.
In fact, those who want to reach a career goal or financial success should instead focus on generating happiness and letting that good ‘vibe’ be a magnet for success, they wrote.
The finding was made by Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Julia Boehm, an assistant professor of psychology at Chapman University, and Lisa Walsh, a PHD student at the University of California.
Speaking about the hope that a good job will pave the way of happiness, they said: “We hear it from our parents, teachers, employers, and even television ads. After a while, this way of thinking can become automatic.
“’When I graduate from college … When I land my dream job … When I make six figures,” we think to ourselves, ‘then I will be happy’. Although this formula is intuitive, unfortunately, it is likely broken and backwards.”
The trio first spoke out on the topic ten years ago, when they said that the presence of frequent positive emotions such as joy, happiness and contentment could promote career success.
Pursuit of happiness and the science behind it
And after returning to the study this year, Ms Lyubomirsky, Ms Boehm and Ms Walsh have found that literature published on the topic during the last ten years supports their hypothesis.
However, employers are warned not to focus on “hiring visibly cheerful people or pressuring employees to act happy” if they want their business to thrive.
Instead, they said, employers should create work environments that authentically increase workers’ happiness.
The reason why perky people are more likely to perform well and succeed is that they are happier with their jobs, receive more favourable evaluations from supervisors and perform better on work-related tasks.
For the research, the psychologists used cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies which were mostly carried out within artificial laboratory environments over short periods of time.
For instance, one of the studies shows that sales agents with a more positive outlook sold 37 per cent more life insurance policies than their less positive colleagues.
Similarly, happy people are more likely to go above and beyond the expectations of their organisation, while at the same time are less likely to burn out, to be absent from work, or quit their jobs.
Another study showed that university graduates who were happier than their peers were more likely to receive follow-up job interviews three months later.
Meanwhile, in another study, 18-year-olds were more likely to be working in high-status careers, as well as being satisfied with their work, and feeling more financially secure eight years later.
However, those that do see themselves as more of an Eeyore in the workplace, the sad donkey from Winnie The Pooh, then fear not as some of Britain’s leading historical figures were reportedly gloomy.
“We should note that happiness is obviously not the only quality that determines success. Persistence and diligence are other likely successful attributes, among many others,” they noted.
Abraham Lincoln, a former US president, and Winston Churchill, the former prime British prime minister, were said to be depressed but both had noteworthy careers.
