Viewing archives for Policy And Interventions

To Anthony Rendon, happiness is serious business

Capitol Weekly

A new California Assembly committee is exploring the reasons why some people are happier with their lives than others. Headed by former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), the Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes has had two hearings this year.

“We don’t take happiness seriously,” Rendon said. “We think of happiness as some frivolous, silly thing but it’s really the only thing that matters.”

[…]

“This is an area where California and the United States are very, very far behind the rest of the world at looking at this issue.”

Leaders don’t really care about employee engagement. Here’s why

Fast Company

The moment has come when leaders must stop pretending we care about engagement. Let’s quit asking workers to fill out surveys that everyone knows are insincere, “check-the-box” activities. Instead, leaders should start dedicating resources to not only measuring employee well-being, but actually committing to improving employee well-being.

Research suggests that employee well-being matters more to the success of a business than employee engagement. For instance, Oxford University researchers have determined that how people feel at work is the biggest driver of employee productivity. Consequently, focusing on improving employee well-being will lead to a massive win for employers and employees alike.

Sarah Cunningham: I hope the next government prioritises people’s wellbeing over GDP growth

Tortoise Media

Every area of policy has implications for our wellbeing, so it’s vital that whoever ends up in No10 considers every single policy decision through a wellbeing lens to ensure a healthier, happier, fairer society.

After all, wellbeing is a science: it can be measured, and improved.

But although the ONS (Office for National Statistics) has been tracking life satisfaction – the most reliable measure of population wellbeing – since 2011, these efforts have not been matched by effective actions to address declining trends.

Wellbeing is not a luxury. It’s a basic human right which the next government must protect

The Big Issue

With the general election just a few days away and the past few couple of weeks’ news being dominated by the launch of the party manifestos, I’ve been keeping a keen eye on the content of the manifestos but I’ve been disappointed. There has been a notable absence in the priorities of those vying for Number 10: wellbeing.

Wellbeing is a bit of a misunderstood term, often overlooked in discussions about what truly matters to people’s everyday lives. But let’s get one thing straight: wellbeing is not a luxury. It’s a basic human right that permeates every single issue at this general election and our politicians must sit up and take notice.

Work Wellbeing Playbook: A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Interventions to Improve Employee Wellbeing

Sarah Cunningham, William Fleming, Cherise Regier, Micah Kaats, and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve

Abstract

The Work Wellbeing Playbook is a concise guide that distils insights from a large-scale systematic literature review of workplace wellbeing interventions. It presents high level insights in an accessible, and plain English format for ease-of use.

With support from Indeed, and in collaboration with our academic partner at the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, the World Wellbeing Movement has curated this Playbook of evidence-based interventions categorised by 12 key drivers of workplace wellbeing.

The researchers reviewed more than 3,000 academic studies of workplace wellbeing interventions to identify strategies proven to increase the wellbeing of employees across diverse work environments. Recognising that business leaders often face time constraints, we have condensed the key insights into this open-access resource and distilled them into an accessible, high-level summary to support busy professionals.

This playbook builds upon the World Wellbeing Movement’s science-based recommendations for how to measure both how employees are feeling at work, and why they are feeling that way – just like the Indeed Work Wellbeing Score, also created alongside experts from the Wellbeing Research Centre, does. Once you have collected the data, you can then use this Playbook to address the areas for improvement within your organisation.

Business leaders are recommended to keep diversity top of mind when leveraging the playbook to craft a holistic employee wellbeing strategy for their organisation. When choosing interventions, employers should consider factors such as their workplace environment, industry, geographical location, and the unique needs of their employees.

Although there is no magic formula, and all interventions have their limitations, many companies start to affect positive change when they combine multiple interventions (organisational-level interventions, group-level interventions and individual-level interventions) across multiple drivers of employee wellbeing.

“No changes, but I become more positive mentally”: A mixed-methods study of the impact of a combined SEL and MBP on behavior change and academic achievement among Chinese adolescents

Wanying Zhou and Ros McLellan

Abstract

This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate students’ perspectives regarding their behavioral and academic changes following an 8-week combined intervention of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mindfulness-Based Program (MBP). A total of 552 teenagers (mean age = 13.03, SD = 0.50, 47.5% females) from an urban Chinese private school participated, with 184 participants randomly assigned to each condition (taught, self-help, and active control groups). Paired-sample t-tests were employed to examine changes within groups, while General Linear Models compared academic achievement changes among the three groups. Despite finding no significant improvement statistically on academic achievement, some students attributed their improved academic performance to the course. Thematic analysis was conducted on 115 written responses and 4 focus group interviews from the taught group. The analysis revealed several key themes among the Chinese population, including no changes, state change, attitude change, and behavior change. These themes were consistent with the theoretical foundations of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and aligned with previous qualitative research on Western adolescents. The study highlights the benefits of techniques and cognitive change in facilitating behavioral change and offers practical suggestions for supporting students in behaviour regulation. It also underscores qualitative research’s role in detailing these practices’ effects on behavior and academic performance. Furthermore, a proposed model aligns with established behavioral change theories, providing a practical visual aid for teachers. This study offers a comprehensive framework for future research on the theoretical constructs of MBPs and provides practical suggestions for supporting students in behavior regulation.

CEOs Showing Humanity: Human Care Statements in Conference Calls and Stock Market Performance during Crisis

Lauren Howe, Laura M. Giurge, Alexander Wagner and Jochen Menges

Abstract

Conference calls provide opportunities for CEOs to inform market participants (i.e., financial analysts and investors) about their companies’ prospects. Much research has focused on how CEOs speak about business-related topics in these calls, yet surprisingly the literature has not considered how statements that go beyond financial information affect market participants. When we explored archival data of how CEOs of publicly traded U.S.-based companies from the Russell 3000 Index spoke about COVID-19 in conference calls as the pandemic began in 2020, we noticed that about half of CEOs made human care statements that expressed a concern for people, with seemingly little direct financial relevance. However, although these statements were largely generic, vague expressions rather than clear plans, we discovered that the more such statements CEOs made, the better their companies fared on the stock market when stock prices tumbled globally. Follow-up explorations unveiled a negative association between CEO human care statements and stock volatility, meaning that market participants discounted these companies’ future earnings less. Our explorations suggest that it pays off for CEOs to go beyond mere financial information and show some humanity, with implications for downstream theorizing about CEO impression management.

Time Theft: Exposing a Subtle Yet Serious Driver of Socioeconomic Inequality

Jason R. Pierce, Laura M. Giurge and Brad Aeon

Abstract

Socioeconomic inequality is perpetuated and exacerbated by an overlooked yet serious epidemic of time theft: the act of causing others to lose their time without adequate cause, compensation, or consent. We explain why time theft goes unnoticed, how it drives socioeconomic inequality, and what businesses and policymakers can do to address it.

Four Leadership Lessons From The World’s Happiest Countries

Forbes

Given that work takes up a major part of many adults’ lives prior to retirement, we can assume that management approaches in these nations contribute to their citizens’ happiness.

So, what can leaders learn from the world’s happiest countries?

Lithuania is the happiest place in the world for under-30s — Gen Zs say low rent, free university, and good nightlife are to thank

Business Insider

The World Happiness Report ranks countries based on a happiness measurement survey conducted by Gallup, where respondents evaluate the quality of their lives.

Lithuania was ranked 19th on the overall happiness list, but secured the top spot in the under-30 rankings.

Lithuania’s under-30s rated themselves 7.76 out of 10 on the happiness scale. In comparison, those in the same age group in the US rated themselves 6.392 out of 10, placing it 62nd globally.