Lessons for us all…. from Britain’s oldest man

November 28, 2008

A few weeks ago, Remembrance Sunday saw another remarkable public appearance from Henry Allingham – Britain’s oldest man and one of just a handful of men who fought in the First World War who are still alive. Born in 1896, Henry turned 112 years old last June and incredibly he still has his wits about him…. and a sense humour. When asked what about the secret of his longevity he wryly replied “cigarettes, whiskey and wild women.”

More tellingly, he went on to explain…

“I don’t know if there is a secret, but keeping within your capacity is vital. I’ve had two major breakdowns, one during the war and one after but both when I was trying to do the work of three men. The trick is to look after yourself and always know your limitations.”

Some really simple wisdom there from a man whose life has crossed paths with six Monarchs and twenty-one Prime Ministers. While I’m sure that genetics and luck also play a pretty important part in living to be 112 years old, this serves as a pretty powerful reminder to us all. Mr Allingham learnt at an early age during the war and shortly thereafter that undue stress and strain is never beneficial in the long run. This is a lesson that served him well during the next 90 years!

Being positive also makes a difference too, as noted out by my colleague Ivan Robertson in his recent blog on positive psychology and the credit crunch. This quality was also exemplified by Henry Allingham in another interview on his landmark birthday – he said: “People ask me how I’ve done it, and I just say that I look forward to another tomorrow.”

Looking forward to tomorrow – it sounds almost too simple to be true, but it’s very rare to be able to ask somebody who was alive when Queen Victoria died the secret of a long life and get a sensible response: So when we get one we have to take it seriously!!

2 Comments | Stress, Well-being | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

The One Show’s Stress Week

November 26, 2008

This week is the One Show’s ‘Stress Week’ (BBC One, weekdays at 7pm) and I’ve been helping them explore the issues – both at home and in the workplace. We followed a busy Event Manager who was organising a big event at which Anthony Worrall Thompson was the guest…..and the celebrity chef was running late! We analysed the film to look for the manager’s particular triggers and gave advice on how to manage the potential stress reaction and to mitigate against long-term stress. We also looked at the typical day of a working mum and did the same.  Both roles had their unique stressors and the two people involved (because of their different personalities and coping styles) had different triggers for and susceptibilities to stress. You can see clips of the show at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/headroom/newsandevents/programmes/one_stress.shtml

The programme was trying to highlight the fact that we are all different and that we can all take more control and responsibility for managing stress (our own and others’) better. Yes, our employers have responsibilities too – for providing a good work environment, support and clear achievable goals – but ultimately we all have to play our part. And, of course, this is much easier if we know what we’re dealing with – that is, what the sources of pressure are and which ones we, as individuals, find particularly troubling. The BBC has launched a free stress test to help you to find out your own levels of stress – you can see actor John Barrowman taking it here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/theoneshow/getinvolved/stress_week_videos.shtml

…..and take it for yourself here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/theoneshow/getinvolved/stresstest/

I hope you find this useful and interesting and don’t forget to watch the rest of Stress Week on the One Show!

1 Comment | pressure, Stress | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

Blog Spot Part Two – Confidence tricks

November 25, 2008
Professor Ivan Robertson

Professor Ivan Robertson

In my last post I shared some insights from Positive Psychology’s ‘Happiness Literature’ in the context of the credit crunch. These points are largely drawn from an article by Ed Diener in the latest newsletter of the US-based International Association for Positive Psychology (IAPP).

Last week I looked at the benefits of Dan’s Gilbert’s ideas around ‘affective forecasting’ and broadening our focus.  A different perspective is offered by Sonja Lyubomirsky in “The How of Happiness,” which makes practical suggestions for interventions and activities for increasing happiness based on research. One example involves cultivating more gratitude (in both yourself and others) by enhancing our awareness of everyday joys and successes. Reassessing things that we take for granted such as having an education, a car or your children’s health can have the effect of resetting your expectations. This is in line with some of the social commentary we have been hearing about the credit crunch actually being ‘bracing’ because it has swept aside many of our assumptions about the importance of material possessions and reminded us that such things are not our birthright.

Another point that Sonja Lyubomirsky makes is that we can actually work on the way in which we ‘savour’ life’s pleasures. ‘Savouring’ is particularly relevant to the situation in which many of us find ourselves following the financial turmoil of the last few months – because it is the psychological process of drawing out a pleasurable moment and making it last. This means that we can use anticipation and reminiscence to make the most of our pleasurable experiences (which may now be fewer and farther between). When you have only one grape you savour it in quite a different way to the way you do if you have 100 grapes!

I’ll leave the last word to the author of the article from which this post is derived – Ed Diener. His own book “Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth,” contains a chapter on money and happiness…..

 “…We describe how poverty can come either from having too little money or from too much spending. Thus, one can be much less poor simply by ratcheting down spending. If this seems difficult, it might be. But consider this – many of us once had a budget when we were young adults that was much smaller than our current spending. Our lives were no less happy when we had that two bedroom apartment or only owned a single car. Sure, moving to this simpler state of lower income will require a few difficult adjustments, but it need not necessarily bring less happiness in the long run. Indeed, it is even possible that there could be some unexpected positive side-effects, such as spending more time with friends, taking picnics and driving trips rather than flying to the Seychelles……”

Well, maybe here in the UK we’ll need a viable alternative to picnics…..something indoors maybe, but I think the principle is a good one.

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Posted by Cary Cooper

Guest Blog Spot, Confidence tricks……… for coping with the recession psychologically

November 19, 2008
Professor Ivan Robertson

Professor Ivan Robertson

I’d like to welcome back Professor Ivan Robertson who joins us again to share his thoughts and expert opinion this time on the looming recession.  Please feel free to leave Ivan any comments and I’ll be sure to pass them on. 

According to figures released last week, the number of people out of work in the UK soared in the three months to August by 164,000 compared to the previous quarter – the biggest rise for 17 years. This is a clear signal that the economic downturn is going to be painful for many people. The risks to the well-being of people who are actually losing their jobs are obvious and these figures also do little to lift the spirits or confidence of people who remain in employment, but are worried about the future.

All political parties seem to take the view that the economy needs to be stimulated so that people will continue to spend, but are less consensual about the actual method to use to provide people with more money to spend. Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling want to borrow the money, but the Conservatives, who have been making political capital from the level of debt that the country has incurred under Labour, oppose this move in favour of what they describe as funded tax cuts.

Choosing the right economic models and methods for getting out of trouble is, however, only one of the challenges that we face. A more fundamental, albeit related, issue is that of confidence. This is an area where there seems to be a reasonable level of agreement amongst political parties, experts and analysts – that a lack of confidence has been one of the key factors in causing and accelerating the downturn and that it will also be central to recovery. Of course, when people are worried that things will get worse still they are reluctant to spend money and the economy stalls – the hope is that the recent dramatic interest rate cuts will go some way to restoring confidence and therefore spending… but this is not the full story.

As well as being an economic concept, confidence is also a psychological one. It is an idea that has been extensively researched and written about in the field of Positive Psychology. I took a look at the latest newsletter from the newly formed International Association for Positive Psychology (IAPP) and I think their perspective sheds some light on the situation many people find themselves in.  Ed Diener (one of the founders of modern positive psychology) considers recent books on ‘happiness’ and asks, “Do these books have any useful suggestions for people to follow in these scary economic times?” It turns out they do and I’d like to share a couple of insights with you below.

Diener points us to Dan Gilbert’s book, “Stumbling on Happiness” which talks about the “focusing illusion.” The idea is that our attention is like a spotlight and can be focused intensely on a single topic or widened to encompass many things. Right now, we should take care not to focus our attention exclusively on the economic crisis and the problems it will / may create for us. Instead, we should widen our focus and continue to recognise the variety of other factors that bring pleasure and meaning to our lives…and which will continue to do so regardless of the economic conditions. For example, our relationships, engaging work and our personal passions such as music, books or sport.

Gilbert has also conducted research on “affective forecasting” which suggests that people commonly underestimate their ability to adapt to new conditions. So, yes – the economic crisis may well harm our happiness, but those who cope best are able to combat these thoughts about feeling bad in the future with the knowledge that they will probably adapt rather well to the adversity. Add a healthy dose of optimism to the mix and such people tend to generate the levels of confidence required to get through the tough times.

Ed Diener points to several other lessons from the ‘Happiness’ literature to help us cope psychologically with the credit crunch, but I’m running out of space in this post and threatening to break my ‘one page rule’. So, with Cary’s permission, I will summarise some more of these insights for you later this week.

2 Comments | economy, Guest Blog Spots, Personal Resilience, pressure, Uncategorized, Well-being | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

It’s time to move our thinking forward on flexible working

November 14, 2008

The recent Foresight Report recommended that the opportunity to work flexibly in the future will be one of the keys to leveraging ‘mental capital and well-being’ in the UK’s economy and wider society. And, in the light of increasing economic uncertainty this is a measurable benefit that employers can offer to staff to improve both their work and home lives.

And change is starting to happen in terms of the legislation – in a revolutionary move, the government is planning to extend the ‘right to request’ flexible working schemes to 4.5m parents of children up to the age of 16 from April 2009 – at the moment this right is restricted to parents of children who are younger than 6 or disabled. This change was announced earlier this year after an independent review and the Foresight Report estimates (with some caveats) that the total economic benefit of this move could be in the region £165M per annum – that’s the equivalent of a cost benefit ratio of around 2.5. This is a great example of how so-called ‘softer’ interventions can have a positive impact on the bottom-line during these difficult times.

The final Foresight Report states the case that “with half the workforce wanting to work flexible hours, flexible working arrangements become an important part of any work change agenda.” It relays the Equal Opportunities Commission’s view that the change towards flexible working arrangements is not happening quickly enough to deliver what people and organisations want and goes on to state that this makes “the flexibility agenda unfinished business for 21st century Britain.” You would think that given the economic benefits all businesses would be behind this move, but there has been some caution expressed from small business owners who see risks in allowing more staff to work flexibly. They shouldn’t be afraid however, because it’s important to be clear about employees’ rights in this area – every employee with children under the age of 16 will have the right to request flexible working arrangements, but equally every employer will have the right to turn down that request after giving it due consideration. What the legislation does that is so valuable is to provide the mechanism and framework for sensible conversations about working flexibly.

In fact, in line with its mission, Foresight’s vision goes beyond even the government’s current ambitions. The Report presents an additional option of offering the right to request flexible working arrangements for everyone, even those with no children. Given the reaction of small businesses to more modest proposals, we may be some way off seeing this happen. But this vision points us in the right direction and has to be worth considering because the economic benefit of this move has been estimated at as much as £250M per annum.

The most important objective here is to banish the mindset that many employers still hold – that flexible working is more a source of inconvenience (less bodies present in the office) than a source of increased productivity, sustainable success and competitive advantage. The penny needs to drop. All the science tells us that presenteesim does not ‘equal’ productive and happy workers and if an employee who we value needs to work 3 days a week or leave at 4pm to pick up their kids or take on elder care responsibilities, then we should try to find a way to make this possible for them. This may create challenges for small and large businesses alike – but what could be more challenging than losing all of your best staff to your competitors because they are willing and able to meet employees’ needs for flexibility, while you are not?

2 Comments | Management, Motivation, Productivity, Talent, Well-being | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

Yes we can….I hope!

November 7, 2008

I woke up to a new world on Monday morning – a world where the American people can elect a black President for the first time in its history. There’s no doubt that this was a momentous occasion – and something which has clearly given palpable hope to millions of people, not just in the US, but across the world. We are at ‘Day 1’ of a new era and it got me thinking about the effect that Barach Obama’s election is having, and going to have, on our feelings of well-being and happiness.

First of all there’s the hope factor – for a population that feels backed into a corner (the reputation of the US world-wide, the crushing effects of the Financial Crisis etc..) hope is a powerful tonic. In fact, the hope provided by Obama is fairly non-specific – the promise that things will get better and that the people will be involved in this change. The ‘Yes we can’ mantra has been borrowed directly from the discipline of Positive Psychology and its inherent optimism has served the Democrats well.

The reason that this approach has been so effective is that we, the people, believe this talented and charismatic figure. The result is that we have bought into his vision of change and a better future. We have seen and are seeing the power of strong vision of the future to make people feel good and there are lessons here for the leaders of our beleaguered commercial organisations. They are working in dark times and need to create a vision of the future that motivates their employees to join them on the journey back to fiscal health.

So Obama’s victory has created a ‘feelgood factor’ in the States and beyond, and that has to be a good thing, right? Well yes, but there is danger embedded in this early success. I heard an American citizen being interviewed on the radio the other day and she was exclaiming enormous relief because she believed (that word again) that she no longer had to worry about paying her mortgage or the safety of her savings now that Obama has been elected. I think this is telling – there is a risk that the new President’s messianic qualities transmit a feeling that he will take all of our troubles away…..and he can’t, at least not in the short-term. Of course, this is something that he went to great pains to explain in his victory speech, but his charisma is such that people were watching him and not necessarily listening to the words he used to manage their expectations.

I don’t mean to detract from the historic nature of what has happened this week – I’m a Californian and I’m delighted that the country where I was born has had the courage to elect its first black President. I think we should enjoy the positive feelings of hope that have been generated and take inspiration from the fact that this could actually happen, but we also need to keep it in perspective. If we think we’ve solved the world’s problems, and with them our own, we’ll be disappointed. If we see the real victory here as having earned the right to make the required change happen (as Obama, himself, put it in his speech in Chicago) and take responsibility for our role in this process, then the next Administration has a fighting chance of paying back the enormous hope that is now invested in it.

1 Comment | Leadership, Uncategorized, Well-being | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

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