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Recalling Positive Events at Work Makes Employees Feel Happier, Move More, but Interact Less: A 6-Week Randomized Controlled Intervention at a Japanese Workplace

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Abstract

Simple self-administered activities, such as practicing gratitude or kindness, have been shown to increase happiness, yet only self-report measures have been used so far. Our study, conducted with a Japanese workplace sample, incorporated a novel technology to gather precise behavioral data reflecting participant movement and social interactions. Employees were randomly assigned to either recount three positive events at work (a positive activity) or list work tasks they completed (control) weekly for 6 weeks; furthermore, they reported their happiness levels and wore sociometric badges that recorded their behavior. Relative to controls, participants who considered good things at work not only reported relatively greater happiness over time but moved more upon arriving to work, engaged in less social interaction, and left the office earlier. Most of the findings were moderated by participant effort, such that those who put more effort into the positive activity also showed greater changes.

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Notes

  1. In a simulation of samples ranging from 10 to 100 at the highest level of analysis in a multilevel model (the most important level for power issues), Maas and Hox (2005) found that the parameter estimates and standard errors of parameter estimates were not biased, even when only 10 sampling units were included. Bias was only introduced with smaller sample sizes when estimating the variance components for the highest level of analysis and their corresponding standard errors. Because our effects of interest are the parameter estimates (not biased at smaller sample sizes), and their corresponding significance values, which are dependent on the standard errors of the parameter estimates (also not biased at smaller sample sizes), we do not deem our sample size to be a problem in our interpretation of significant effects.

  2. Hitachi designed these sociometric badges to measure real-world face-to-face social interaction, and although “badge sightings” do not prove that people are actually talking, the badges only register the presence of other badges when individuals are facing each other (the badges are worn on the front of the chest) in very close proximity (i.e., less than 2 meters). Throughout the manuscript, we refer to this time as minutes of face-to-face social interaction, because individuals who are standing within this zone are presumed to be interacting either one-on-one or in a group (e.g., meeting). In work environments, it is implausible that individuals would be within this interpersonal zone and not actually interacting either verbally or nonverbally, even if it that activity were a simple “staring contest”.

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Chancellor, J., Layous, K. & Lyubomirsky, S. Recalling Positive Events at Work Makes Employees Feel Happier, Move More, but Interact Less: A 6-Week Randomized Controlled Intervention at a Japanese Workplace. J Happiness Stud 16, 871–887 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9538-z

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