Dr Adam's Blog

Taken from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/opinion/17kristof.html?th&emc=th

Our Basic Human Pleasures: Food, Sex and Giving

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: January 16, 2010

Want to be happier in 2010? Then try this simple experiment, inspired by recent scholarship in psychology and neurology. Which person would you rather be:

Richard is an ambitious 36-year-old white commodities trader in Florida. He’s healthy and drop-dead handsome, lives alone in a house with a pool, and has worked his way through a series of gorgeous women. Richard’s job is stressful, but he spent Christmas in Tahiti. Unencumbered, he also has time to indulge such passions as reading (right now he’s finishing a book called “Half the Sky”), marathon running and writing poetry. In the last few days, he has been composing an elegy about the Haiti earthquake.

Lorna is a 64-year-old black woman in Boston. She’s overweight and unattractive, even after a recent nose job. Lorna is on regular dialysis, but that doesn’t impede her active social life or babysitting her grandchildren. A retired school assistant, she is close to her 67-year-old husband and is much respected in her church for directing the music committee and the semiannual blood drive. Lorna believes in tithing (giving 10 percent of her income to charity or the church) and in the last few days has organized a church drive to raise $10,000 for earthquake relief in Haiti.

I adapted those examples from ones that Jonathan Haidt, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia, develops in his fascinating book, “The Happiness Hypothesis.” His point is that while most of us might prefer to trade places with Richard, Lorna is probably happier.

Men are no happier than women, and people in sunny areas no happier than people in chillier climates. The evidence on health is complex, but even chronic health problems (like those requiring dialysis) may have surprisingly little long-term effect on happiness, because we adjust to them. Beautiful people aren’t happier than ugly people, although cosmetic surgery does seem to leave patients feeling brighter. Whites are happier than blacks, but only very slightly. And young people are actually a bit less happy than older folks, at least up to age 65.

Lorna has a few advantages over Richard. She has less stress and is respected by her peers — factors that make us feel good. Happiness is tied to volunteering and to giving blood, and people with religious faith tend to be happier than those without. A solid marriage is linked to happiness, as is participation in social networks. And one study found that people who focus on achieving wealth and career advancement are less happy than those who focus on good works, religion or spirituality, or friends and family.

“Human beings are in some ways like bees,” Professor Haidt said. “We evolved to live in intensely social groups, and we don’t do as well when freed from hives.”

Happiness is, of course, a complex concept and difficult to measure, and John Stuart Mill had a point when he suggested: “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”

But in any case, nobility can lead to happiness. Professor Haidt notes that one thing that can make a lasting difference to your contentment is to work with others on a cause larger than yourself.

I see that all the time. I interview people who were busy but reluctantly undertook some good cause because (sigh!) it was the right thing to do. Then they found that this “sacrifice” became a huge source of fulfillment and satisfaction.

Brain scans by neuroscientists confirm that altruism carries its own rewards. A team including Dr. Jorge Moll of the National Institutes of Health found that when a research subject was encouraged to think of giving money to a charity, parts of the brain lit up that are normally associated with selfish pleasures like eating or sex.

The implication is that we are hard-wired to be altruistic. To put it another way, it’s difficult for humans to be truly selfless, for generosity feels so good.

“The most selfish thing you can do is to help other people,” says Brian Mullaney, co-founder of Smile Train, which helps tens of thousands of children each year who are born with cleft lips and cleft palates. Mr. Mullaney was a successful advertising executive, driving a Porsche and taking dates to the Four Seasons, when he felt something was missing and began volunteering for good causes. He ended up leaving the business world to help kids smile again — and all that makes him smile, too.

So at a time of vast needs, from Haiti to our own cities, here’s a nice opportunity for symbiosis: so many afflicted people, and so much benefit to us if we try to help them. Let’s remember that while charity has a mixed record helping others, it has an almost perfect record of helping ourselves. Helping others may be as primal a human pleasure as food or sex.

Dr Ad's thought
Makes you think how does this affect your culture at work?  I am sure the fallout would be greater engagement, culture and work place performance.By focusing and engaging with others at work we increase our level of happiness!!

Taken From
http://www.consultant-news.com/article_display.aspx?p=adp&id=6258

Due to greater pressures from work 40% of women who earn in excess of £40,000 don’t feel equipped with the skills to achieve a work/life balance, according to new findings.

40% of women won’t achieve a work/life balance due to stress at work

The research by Morgan Redwood, a leading expert in talent development, is based on 237 detailed online interviews with women from a range of backgrounds across the UK.

With National Stress Awareness Day taking place next week (4th November) these recent findings just underline even further how stress at work is affecting women in achieving a work life balance.

The study was designed to determine to what extent women of working age in the UK agree or disagree with a range of attitude statements and determine their levels of contentment towards life, work, relationships and future prospects. Throughout the study women frequently experienced negative and stress related feelings, with 39% highlighting this fact further, by saying they are constantly feeling anxious.

Janice Haddon, Managing Director of Morgan Redwood says: “With the economic climate as it is many companies are looking to save money, one way of doing this is obviously to add to the workload of their staff. However by doing this, it is having a major knock-on effect. Pressure from work is increasing, meaning stress levels are getting higher. And when this is happening, particularly with women, as this survey shows, a work life balance is not being achieved.” This obviously also affects their work place performance and work place productivity.

The research also identified another interesting fact. For those women who have had children, they had experienced a loss of confidence when returning back to the workplace. Two fifths of women with children who were surveyed said they had lost confidence as a result of having a family.

Haddon comments: “Having children is life changing. With the pressures of returning back to work, and the worry of performing well after time off, it’s not surprising that women lose confidence after having a family. This can add to stress levels, making it harder to achieve that work life balance, as more time is needed in the office to prove their worth and build their confidence up.”

Haddon continues: “We’ve just launched a new series of workshops to help women and men achieve a work life balance and help them deal with stress. Our one-day workshops, self-titled ‘Creating My Future,’ will help individuals find the confidence and sense of purpose to get their lives back on track, stress free.”

For more info on getting control back visit: http://www.dradamfraser.com/CustomContentRetrieve.aspx?ID=187950

Wellness in the workplace and how it improves

work place performance

Source: Harvey Thorneycroft, wellness and relationship management specialists. Posted on www.hrzone.co.uk

New year resolutions are all very well, but as Britain slides into recession, ensuring that staff are happy and healthy will pay dividends when it comes to maximising productivity. In fact, in the past year alone, a huge government push on wellness at work coupled with the growing realisation that health has a direct correlation with happiness and reduced levels of absenteeism is resulting in a record number of organisations offering wellness schemes to their employees.

According to the Business Action on Health Campaign by Business in the Community (BITC), the number of FTSE100 companies who are actively monitoring and reporting the progress on health and wellbeing initiatives has risen 16% in the past year, with further research indicating that the introduction of a multi-component health promotion programme can result in a 10.4% improvement in work performance and an annual return on investment of £6.19 for every £1 spent.

Prevention is better than cure

Statistics aside, as the new year begins, HR is in the perfect position to look at the health of its staff. "It's particularly a good time for people to refocus on their goals," says Michael de Groot, a wellness coach and founder of Staying Alive. "We have all done it, new year’s resolutions, joining the gym in January and giving it up in February, for example."

He believes that before implementing any programmes, HR should have a system in place to monitor absenteeism and sickness. However, he advises organisations to factor in what he refers to as opportunity costs, which can be much higher than the annual average cost of £6.59 per employee for absenteeism as calculated by the government.

"If a sales person is off sick, they could have booked a contract for £1million, which, in the end, could potentially cause the company to lose orders and could lead to redundancies or the company going bankrupt. When you consider it like this, it's a much higher cost," he explains.

Wellness coach for Adidas and director of Wellness International, Dorian Dugmore, agrees. "To prevent problems is often more cost-effective than losing key people for long periods of time due to ill health," he says. "Such problems can create hidden costs, for example bringing in temporary cover while still paying for an employee while they are absent. In the UK workplace we still have this focus on the 'SAD' principle, not 'Seasonal Affective Disorder', as so many people think, but 'Still Addressing Disease'. We need to move upstream and prevent more."

Dugmore suggests that HR begins by profiling its workforce, in terms of health behaviours, and by measuring the key numbers that convey risk in a preventative sense. "Adopting an approach that focuses on prevention rather than treatment is key," he explains.

One simple wellness initiative he recommends is identifying and neutralising potential risks before they occur, such as offering staff flu vaccinations. "If flu is being flagged as a potential problem as it is right now, a company can look at strategies that can avoid the potential problem before it occurs.

"For example, they might introduce a company vaccination programme, especially for those more at risk, such as a sales force constantly interacting with many different people. It also helps to profile employees, encouraging them to book vaccinations with their own doctors, as well as raising their awareness of how the illness comes about, and how it can be avoided," he says.

To this end, he suggests three important strands that HR can follow: Educative - what people should know to avoid illness/problems; profiling - to get a sense of where a workforce has needs and requirements; and action - taking practical steps to do something proactive to avoid a problem such as flu vaccinations.

It's the little things that count

While well-publicised case studies, such as Transport For London's five-year Health Improvement Plan, which aims to reduce lost working days due to back pain, stress, anxiety and depression, makes for impressive reading, not all companies have the luxury of a big budget. In fact, says HR and business consultant Jeff Grout, it's the small gestures that cost very little which can have an immediate and lasting impact.

"Certainly a huge cause of people feeling disaffected and going absent is a simple lack of a please, thank you or well done," says Grout. "Rather than focusing on skills training, employers should look at management development so they in turn can build better relationships with their own staff to make them feel involved and appreciated."

Similarly, giving people more control over their working lives through practices like flexible working can also have a big impact on absenteeism rates. "In the last few years, companies have being forced into flexible working but now they are embracing it as a way of both attracting and retaining staff as well as cutting absenteeism," he says.

Another aspect to keeping the troops happy is avoiding what Grout refers to as 'senseless economising'. "It's about being not too draconian with the red pen. Cutting the little things like the breakfast cereals provided for staff or cutting the budget for conferences and travel will ultimately lead to a more demotivated workforce who will pull more sickies," he reflects. Instead, he suggests HR reminds the board that they need to think about keeping people together so the conference becomes even more important and can be a way of motivating staff and generating new business. "It’s not rocket science – but it's about seeing the bigger picture," he enthuses.

De Groot agrees: "If employers think giving staff facilities in January and February will result in a drastic improvement by March, April, May, then that is totally unrealistic - there is a lead time involved."

Charity starts at home

The battle with absenteeism really isn't rocket science. Giving people the tools to improve their own wellbeing and making them feel valued doesn't have to cost the earth. "It’s a process of education so individuals will start to see that they are the only ones responsible for their own wellbeing," says De Groot. "The company can start implementing programmes to help employees – and this can be anything from nutrition through to exercise, coaching, counselling, but it is not a quick fix," he warns. "Simple things like providing gym facilities, or even just providing changing facilities and a shower on site so employees can go for a run or cycle to work can make a huge difference," adds Grout.

And the benefits are more far reaching than simply cutting the number of sick notes issued to HR; not only will you have a more informed workforce that have empowerment to take more responsibility for their own health, but also a healthier workforce.

"Employees appreciate and value their employers far more for taking care of them and showing an interest in their health and wellbeing, and are also more productive because they are in good health," says Dugmore. "The morale of employees working for a company that cares for its people is likely to be high, and the messages of health and wellness can also be transported to the families of employees, therefore benefitting life during and beyond work," he says.

So as 2009 begins, HR can buck the trend of the ill-fated gym membership, the exercise bike gathering dust and show employees that their health matters - after all, a healthy workforce is a happy one.

Top tips for reducing absenteeism