The Happiness Advantage: How Well-being Can Give You a Competitive Edge
In a world where the lines between work and life are increasingly blurred, it's no surprise that wellbeing has become a hot topic. But what exactly is wellbeing? And why should you care?
When uncertainty and insecurity rise, there seems to be a natural inclination to focus in on essentials and trim non-essentials. For a business this could mean prioritizing core activities and cutting well-being initiatives. For an individual, this could mean working longer and harder, and turning attention away from self-care.
Admit it. When you're under pressure, what goes first? I hear it all the time from my clients—it's the self-care, the boundaries, the physical activity, the sleep, and any number of small things that contribute greatly to our everyday wellbeing. We drop it. The problem is how we define essentials and non-essentials.
In this post, we'll look at why you should, instead, double down on those things that enhance your wellbeing. They are your essentials.
The research is clear. Wellbeing is not a nice-to-have. It is a critical factor for success, both at work and for overall life satisfaction. It directly impacts performance and the bottom line.
What is Wellbeing?
It turns out wellbeing is more than just a smiley, happy face. Martin Seligman, a pioneer in the field of positive psychology, has dedicated his career to understanding the importance of wellbeing. He breaks it down into five essential elements:
Positive Emotions. These include hope, interest, joy, love, compassion, pride, amusement, and gratitude. And yes, we can shift from negative to positive with intentional practice.
Engagement. This refers to living in the present moment and focusing entirely on the task at hand. This flow state, where you lose self-consciousness and become completely absorbed, has triggers that can be harnessed, blockers that can be removed, and cycles that can be optimized.
Positive Relationships. As social creatures, we thrive on meaningful connections, feeling supported, loved, and valued by others. We can develop all manner of skills and emotional intelligence to improve our relationships.
Meaning. Here, he refers to a feeling of mattering, of being part of something bigger than ourselves. It's an intrinsic human quality to the search for meaning and a sense of value and worth.
Accomplishment. We feel this from the satisfaction of mastery, achievement, and personal growth.
So wellbeing is not just about being happy (although that certainly helps!), but also about feeling fulfilled, connected, and like you're part of something bigger than yourself.
Wellbeing: The #1 Long-term Predictor of Performance
Performance and wellbeing go hand in hand. A study of a staggering 900,000 individuals, employees of the US Department of Defense, revealed that those who exhibited high positive emotions, low negative emotions, and high optimism—just so we're clear, those are basic signs of wellbeing—were more likely to be awarded for high performance. .
So I ask, what are you doing to augment your positive emotions and optimism? And what do you need to do daily to nourish those elements? What are your essentials? Your non-negotiables?
The Business Case for Wellbeing
Furthermore, happiness is profitable. The research really does speak for itself. In a 2023 study by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Micah Kaats, and George Ward , involving 15,000,000 individuals from 1,600 publicly traded companies, researchers found that four dimensions of wellbeing—happiness at work, a sense of purpose, job satisfaction, and manageable stress levels—were clearly associated with a company's profitability, and the companies with the highest levels of wellbeing demonstrated stronger stock performance over time.
How does wellbeing impact the bottom line? The study explores various pathways, including:
Productivity. As we have seen, there is much literature suggesting there is "a sizable and significant relationship between wellbeing and productivity."
Social relationships. Wellbeing improves performance by improving relationships and expanding social capabilities.
Creativity. There is a large body of research that demonstrates how wellbeing contributes to creativity.
Health. There is a reciprocal relationship between health and life satisfaction, positive emotions, and flourishing.
Improved wellbeing leads to a healthy, productive workforce that works well together to implement creative solutions for success. Are you seeing now why it’s so essential?
The Role of Coaching in Wellbeing
So, how can we cultivate this elusive wellbeing? Fifty percent of our wellbeing level is considered to be biological and 10 percent related to external factors. So what do we do? We work on the remaining 40 percent that is related to individual mindsets and behaviors.
Coaching can be a powerful tool. Coaching drives improvements in a number of wellbeing dimensions, including stress reduction, resilience, emotional regulation, purpose, positive relationships.
Coaching also positively impacts self-awareness, business strategy, organizational culture, performance and leadership, in addition to helping with managing stress, cultivating optimism, and building resilience.
Again, the figures are convincing. In one study, 88% said it increased work engagement, and 87% reported that it had a high ROI.
Another study puts the median coaching return on investment at seven times the initial investment.
Coaching plays a crucial role in helping individuals develop the mindsets and behaviors that foster a positive and productive environment at work and in life as a whole.
Take Action towards More Wellbeing
Wellbeing is clearly a strategic imperative—for individuals and for businesses. By understanding the science behind wellbeing and leveraging the power of coaching, we can create workplaces and lives that are not just productive but also happy, engaged, and fulfilling.
What can you do? Double down on the essentials.
As an individual—Download the playbook: Unlocking Productivity and Profitability through Wellbeing.
As a leader—Reach out here to discuss how coaching can help.