It doesn’t sound groundbreaking to say we humans are happier when we have friends. But it’s more than just happiness. Research finds that people with more friends also live longer. Why? Humans have a “need to belong”, which is comparable to our needs for rest, food, and water. Our brains are so wired to prioritize social connection, so much so […]
When new hires don’t hang around long enough to justify the time, resources, and money put into hiring and onboarding them, it’s both frustrating and expensive for the company they leave. To make matters even worse, having a high level of turnover company-wide is associated with decreased customer satisfaction, productivity and profitability. How can you decrease turnover rates? Keep employees […]
Ever heard the expression “don’t shoot the messenger”? It exists for a reason. Research has shown that no one likes the bearer of bad news. But, like it or not, managers do sometimes have to deliver negative feedback to their subordinates. So, how can managers give negative feedback without the blowback? The Psychology of Self-Affirmation can provide some important insights […]
For the past decade, Angela Duckworth has championed “Grit” (defined as passionate persistence) as a critical driver of cross-domain success, including in the workplace. When researchers started to dig into what made “grit” so powerful, though, they found that it is basically just a rebrand of an already well-known product – conscientiousness. Why is conscientiousness so great? Conscientiousness is a […]
One of the very first Social Psychology studies, conducted over a hundred years ago, pitted children against each another in a contest, and found they outperformed their own solo efforts. Why? It’s in our brain chemistry. Competition causes a stress response that activates energizing hormones (such as adrenalin). Success brings the activation of our brain’s reward system: feel-good hormones (such […]