The end of the year is a great time to reflect on what we are grateful for. As another year comes to an end, we are filled with hopes and dreams for what the next year will bring. It is also important to reflect back on the year that’s ending and recognize all your accomplishments and all that you are grateful for.
It has been proven that happy people are more productive. And being happy has a lot to do with your attitude. In their 2011 article in The New York Times called “Do Happier People Work Harder,” Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer established through their research that being unhappy at work means lower productivity. They cite one study by Gallup that estimates an annual $300 billion loss in productivity by U.S. companies as a result of people not caring for their jobs or employers. The rationale for the study was based on the concept that people who are dissatisfied show up for work less often and produce less or lower-quality work. The authors reference other research showing “… that inner work life has a profound impact on workers’ creativity, productivity, commitment, and collegiality. Employees are far more likely to have new ideas on days when they feel happier. Conventional wisdom suggests that pressure enhances performance; our real-time data, however, shows that workers perform better when they are happily engaged in what they do.”
Many experts recommend developing an attitude of gratitude as a way of improving your general happiness. One of the recommended methods is to keep a gratitude journal. This is a simple way of shifting your focus away from what’s making you unhappy toward what makes you happy, and from what’s making you feel deprived to what makes you feel fulfilled.
During the craziness of this holiday season, take some time to reflect. What you are grateful for?
