Joy is a positive affective or emotional state.  It is something we can broaden and build (Fredrickson, 2001). The more we notice, practice, and express gratitude for the joy in our lives, the more we feel and experience it.  Johnson (2020) suggests that:

• joy can be felt when we become more true to ourselves,
• joy connects us more strongly to those around us. When we share our joy with others we actually spread currents of joy.
• when we share in the joy of others, we cultivate joy within ourselves.

When we talk about bringing joy into workspaces, it can sometimes be overlooked as irrelevant, unimportant to getting real work done, or that annoying need to falsely pretend that everything is OK, when it’s not.

Let’s dispel a couple of myths. 

1. Joy and happiness in the workplace matter. Research shows that frequent experiences of positive emotions, like joy and happiness in the workplace improve learning, strengthen team interactions and relationships, decrease burnout, and improve performance and productivity (Clément et al., 2024; Fredrickson, 1998; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005). Joy should not be taken for granted. It strengthens our work environments. As leaders, we should be working to cultivate experiences of joy — for ourselves, our teams, and our organizations.

• Joy should not be conflated with toxic positivity. Toxic positivity is overgeneralizing or excessively expressing happiness or optimism. Toxic positivity invalidates genuine emotional experiences, suppresses challenging emotions, impedes emotional resilience and growth, and contributes to stress and burnout (Wyatt, 2024). In contrast, emotional authenticity (e.g., identifying, validating, accepting, and processing emotions) and psychological safety (e.g., where it is safe to take risks, admit mistakes and express ideas without fear of consequences) support positive and productive work cultures (Edmondson, 2018; Wyatt, 2024). Likewise, toxic or maladaptive resilience is when we continually attempt to cope and adapt to adverse or harmful situations when we actually need to change the situation, care for ourselves, or seek additional support (Mahdiani & Ungar, 2021; Lee, 2024). Toxic resilience contrasts traditional models of resilience which reinforce positive adaptation or coping in the face of adversity, ultimately leading to learning and growth (Mahdiani & Ungar, 2021).

Cultivating more joy and well-being in the workplace

So, what should we do to cultivate more joy and well-being in the workplace without falling into the traps of toxic positivity or toxic resilience?  Donaldson et al. (2022) recently updated Seligman’s (2012) PERMA flourishing model.  The PERMA framework is based on five elements:

1. Positive Emotions: Feeling joy, hope, compassion, pride, gratitude and contentment. Reducing stressors, promoting positive coping & resilience.
2. Engagement: Feeling attached, involved, absorbed and able to concentrate on activities. Creating meaningful opportunities to draw on strengths and interests.
3. Relationships: Feeling connected, supported, and cared about by others. Promoting opportunities for collaboration and interaction with and amongst teams.
4. Meaning: Feeling valued and connected to something greater than self.  Connecting to purpose and promoting reflection.
5. Accomplishment: Progressing towards goals, feeling capable and a sense of achievement. Providing autonomy and celebrating success.

In their updated PERMA+4 framework Donaldson et al. (2022) propose four additional elements to the PERMA framework:

• Physical health: perceptions of physical health, physiological functioning; engagement in physical activities.
• Mindset: embracing a learning and growth-mindset; pursuing goals; sense of hope and self-efficacy; expressing gratitude; reframing failure.
• Work Environment: physical work environment, design and safety, connectedness to others.
• Economic Security: financial well-being; managing financial obligations; certainty of one’s financial future.

Consider one of these 9 areas.

What is one thing you can you do to support yourself or your colleagues in this area?

Mindset is a tough one for me.  I often get stuck in mind traps of “not enoughness.” When stuck in this space, I not only impede myself, but can inadvertently spread narratives of despair and failure that are unhelpful to the individuals and teams I work with.  In these moments:

1. How can I embrace a learning mindset (e.g., What is this situation teaching me?)
2. What can I express gratitude for (e.g., my health, the many wonders of the natural world, the creative team that surrounds me, the warm taste of my coffee or tea)?
3. How can I reframe the challenges and failures that I experience? (e.g., No leader is perfect. The best leaders are committed to learning and growth. What is one thing I will do differently the next time I experience a similar challenge?).

Conclusion

Our responsibilities as leaders fall beyond the tasks we complete.  Who we are as leaders and the work environments we create are critical to our success. The practice of promoting joy and well-being in the workplace takes intention and skill to foster as a leader. Cultivating work spaces grounded in joy and well-being is essential to healthy and productive organizational systems.

What one action will you commit to foster more joy in your life and workplace?

References

Clément S. Bellet, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, George Ward (2024) Does Employee Happiness Have an Impact on Productivity? Management Science, 70(3):1656-1679. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4766

Donaldson, S. I., van Zyl, L. E., & Donaldson, S. I. (2022). PERMA+ 4: A framework for work-related wellbeing, performance and positive organizational psychology 2.0. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 817244.

Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in The Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. John Wiley & Sons.

Fredrickson, B. L. (1998). What Good Are Positive Emotions? Review of General Psychology : Journal of Division 1, of the American Psychological  Association, 2(3), 30

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology. American Psychologist, 56 (3), 218-226

Johnson, M. K. (2020). Joy: A review of the literature and suggestions for future directions. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(1), 5-24.

Lee, B.Y. (2024) How do you prevent maladaptive resilience. Psychology Today. Accessed at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/a-funny-bone-to-pick/202312/how-do-you-prevent-maladaptive-resilience

Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131 (6), 803-855.

Seligman, M. E. (2012) Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Atria Paperback.

Wyatt, Z. (2024). The Dark Side of# PositiveVibes: Understanding Toxic Positivity in Modern Culture. Psychiatry Behav Health, 3(1), 1-6