Since the economic downturn began in 2007, I have traveled to 45 countries to find out how to sustain happiness and success at work during a time of great economic challenge.  While I have worked with the unemployed in the US, I have also worked in places like Zimbabwe, where there is not only massive unemployment but also where the currency completely collapsed.  Not only were there no jobs, there was no money.

In places of prolonged unemployment, my research has revealed two main conclusions about how to create happiness: 1) happiness requires habit change, and 2) happiness leads to success, not the other way around. Research compiled in the new book The Happiness Advantage reveals four battle-tested and researched strategies for how you can raise happiness during tough times.  And if you adopt the following three strategies, your brain experiences a unique effect called a “happiness advantage,” where you are perceived as more attractive to employers, more resilient during tough times, creativity triples, health problems decrease by 23%, etc.

I have worked with some unemployment service providers who wonder whether it is okay to have an article about happiness research in a newsletter about unemployment.  Absolutely.  If we think, “I will be happy only when I have a job,” then we are putting happiness after success, which significantly decreases the chances of that person getting a job.  Job interviewers, just like potential relationship partners, are looking for positive people to work with and to create a good environment.  We leak optimism or pessimism through every pore.  Delaying happiness delays success.

So how can we create happiness in the present despite not having the job or the successes we want?

Create a Daily Positive Habit

Happiness is a work ethic.  You have to train your brain to be positive, just like you work out your body.  You can inoculate yourself against stress and uncertainty, by fueling your happiness each day for 21 days by 1) writing down three new things you are grateful, 2) writing a two minute praising someone in your social support network, 3) meditating at your desk for 2 minutes, 4) exercising for 10 minutes, 5) journaling for two minutes about the most meaningful experience over the past 24 hours.  By creating these habits research shows that you can dramatically increase your happiness and raise your chances of securing future employment.

Increase Your Social Investment

Invest more in your social support network in times of challenge.  I performed a study on 1600 Harvard students looking for patterns that create happiness.   I found that social support is the greatest predictor of happiness during a time of challenge.  The more support we provide for others, the higher our levels of engagement and happiness, and in the long run our success.  A study I performed and described for the Harvard Business Review, I found providing social support was even more important to sustained happiness and engagement than what you are receiving.

At Restaurant.com, CEO Cary Chessick and I are teaming up to study the effect of social support.  During the economic crash of 2008, Chessick gave his employees a chance to provide social support in a program called “Feed It Forward” during which free restaurant discounts were given as long as the recipient gave the discounts to someone.  Hundreds of recession hit individuals that couldn’t afford presents were able to give dinners out to their loved ones. The effect was not only profound for the recipients, but the givers.  The employees were flooded with grateful emails which shot up their happiness because they felt like what they did mattered.  You don’t have to have a company to provide social support.  Look around and 1) find someone you can help with their daily work, 2) invite a friend over for lunch, 3) call an old friend or teacher, 4) take an hour to work at a charity or soup kitchen. Don’t just read about it, go call someone right now just to wish them a good day.  These things are key not only to happiness, but your resilience during tough times. 

The 10-5 Way

I have been partnering with one of the largest health care providers in the South, Ocshner Health Sytems, to understand how to increase social support.  I have been observing their “10-5 Way” which is an initiative that administrators and doctors alike must follow. If they walk within 10 feet of someone in the hospital, they must make eye contact and smile.  If they walk within 5 feet, they must say hello.   Seems simple?  If so, good; simple things are the ones that actually become adopted. The hospitals that began Ocshner’s 10-5 Way have shown some of the largest increases in engagement and happiness. This simple change to the social support script has huge effects upon how happy you are, even if you are extraverted, because it’s about gaining the power to create positive change.  So try the 10-5 Way for one week with people you meet on the street or at the supermarket.  The effect is that your brain will feel greater control to make a positive world, instead of ruminating on the things that are outside your control.

Scanning for Growth

Try this experiment right now in your mind. Write down a list of the 5 experiences that have most shaped who they are today.  Nearly all of the experiences you will write down will have been during times of great change, uncertainty or stress. Few people grow on vacation or during easy times.  With your current challenge, you can either be frustrated, or you can find out how to use it to enhance your growth.  Pick any biography and you’ll see exactly what our research proved: stress is not the opposite of growth, it is the fuel. If you view stress as a challenge, not only will your happiness rise, but you will be able to advance while others are wasting brain resources being frustrated at not being able to avoid stress.  When you are feeling overwhelmed, try this strategy: 1) make a list of the stresses you have, 2) place them into two groups—the ones you have the control to effect (like a project or filing out employment forms) and things you cannot (the stock market, housing prices), 3) then focus your brain on one stress you can control and 4) decide on one small concrete step you can take to decrease that stress.  Brain power you expend on things outside your control is by definition wasted.  Doing this strategy helps move your brain from hijacked to productive and positive again.

By maintaining your levels of happiness during this difficult time, you will raise your success rates at finding a job, reap the happiness advantage, and keeping your spirits and your health secure.  Happiness is the precursor to success, not just the result.

To read more, check out Shawn’s blog on Harvard Business Review. 

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