By Linda Rising
risingl@acm.org
www.lindarising.org
There’s no doubt about it. We like to be in control. In this
article, I’m going to share some interesting research that shows we
have a definite preference for control in all areas of our lives. We
are born with it and we die with it.
Let’s start with an experiment that Martin Seligman and his
collaborators performed in the 1970s. Animals in harnesses were
given a series of shocks from which they could not escape. A group
of control animals, which had not been harnessed, also received
shocks, but were able to move out of the way.
In a follow-on study, researchers tried to teach the same two
groups from the earlier experiment to jump a hurdle, again to avoid
shocks. The former control group quickly learned to escape the
painful shocks, but most of the formerly harnessed animals did not
(even though they were set free in the second experiment)—they
seemed resigned to their fate and suffered the shocks. A third group
with no prior experience with the shocks learned to jump the hurdle
but not as quickly as the earlier control group.
Seligman suggested that the animals in the harnessed group had
learned from the inescapable shocks in their initial experience that
nothing they did made a difference—that they were helpless to
control their fate. Like the original control group, they had
transferred to the new situation the lesson they had
learned—something Seligman called "learned helplessness."
This discovery has had a tremendous impact in many areas of
psychology. Hundreds of studies have been done since and the results
show clearly that we can "learn" that we don’t have control over our
lives and that the consequences of this learning can be dire.
Learned helplessness can affect future motivation to try. It can
suppress the immune system and lead to clinical depression.
According to psychologists, our most fundamental sense of well-being
depends on having control over our environment and recognizing that
we have control.
But we live in a country where we believe that anyone can be
president! We firmly believe that hard work and determination
conquer all! Most Americans should feel pretty good with regard to
control. This "helplessness" should be rare in our modern society.
Research shows the contrary. In 1966 and again in 1986, pollster
Louis Harris asked a series of statements to test this, for example,
one of the questions was: "What I think doesn’t matter anymore." In
1966 36% agreed, while in 1986, 60% agreed.
Psychologists are continually trying to measure whether we are
happy or not. Studies show that people in rich countries are happier
than people in poor countries, but money doesn’t matter as much as
you might think. Once per capita wealth crosses from poverty to
adequate subsistence, further increases have almost no effect on
happiness. You find as many happy people in Poland as in Japan, for
example, even though the average Japanese is almost 10 times richer
than the average Pole. And Poles are much happier than Hungarians
(and Icelandics much happier than Americans) despite similar levels
of wealth.
Within countries, we see the same results over time. In the last
40 years, the per capita income of Americans (adjusted for
inflation) has more than doubled. Does this mean we have more happy
people? Not at all. In Japan, per capita wealth has increased by a
factor of 5 in the last 40 years, again, with no measurable increase
in the level of individual happiness.
The American "happiness quotient" has been going slowly but
consistently downhill for more than a generation. While the American
gross domestic product more than doubled in the last 30 years, those
describing themselves as "very happy" declined about 5%. The same
pattern can be seen when respondents are asked how happy they
are—with their marriages, their jobs, their financial circumstances,
and their places of residence. It seems that as American society
grows wealthier and Americans become freer to pursue and do whatever
they want, Americans get less and less happy.
Here’s an intriguing study. Three-month-old infants were placed
face up in an ordinary crib with their heads on a pillow. Mounted on
the crib was a small umbrella, with animal figures. The animals were
not visible to the infants, but when they turned their heads on the
pillows, a small light would go on, making the dancing figures
visible for a little while, then the light would go off. When the
infants turned their heads, by chance, they were surprised and
delighted, and they quickly learned to keep the figures visible by
turning their heads. They would do it over and over again and
continued to be delighted. Infants in a control group were paired
with those in the first group. Whenever an infant in the first group
turned his head, he also turned on the light for the corresponding
infant in the second group. As a result, the infants in the second
group could see the dancing figures just as often and for just as
long as their controlling partners. At first, the infants in the
second group showed just as much delight in the experience, but
after a while they lost interest.
The different reactions of the two groups suggest that it’s not
the dancing animals that delighted the infants, but having control.
The infants in the first group kept enjoying the display because
they seemed to know that they made it happen. They seemed to be
saying, "I did this! Isn’t it great! And I can do it again whenever
I want!" The infants who got the display for free did not have this
exhilarating sense of control.
As Barry Schwartz explains the results in his book Paradox of
Choice:
Infants have little control over anything. They can’t
move their bodies toward things they want or away from
things that are unpleasant. They don’t have much control
over their hands, so grasping and manipulating objects isn’t
easy. They get poked, prodded, picked up, and put down at
unpredictable and inexplicable times. The world is just a
set of things that happen to them. Perhaps this is why the
occasional bits of evidence that they can control some
things are so salient and so exciting.
That was the cradle story. Here’s another study that shows that
our love of control lasts our entire lives.
A group of nursing home residents was given instruction on the
importance of being able to take care of themselves. A second group
was given instruction about how important it was for the staff to
take good care of them. The first group was given some small
responsibilities for their lives each day and a plant in their rooms
to take care of. Members of the second group had no responsibilities
and had plants cared for by the staff. Those in the first group were
more active and alert and reported a greater sense of well-being
than those in the second group, and what is most significant, those
in the first group lived several years longer, on average, than
those in the second group.
A few years ago I made a trip to Okinawa on business. Before my
trip, I read the Okinawa Program, a report of a 25-year-study
of the Okinawan "elders," the longest-lived people on the planet. As
a result of the study, several indicators were identified that
seemed to correlate with longevity. At the time, I thought that one
in particular stood out: there is no word in the Okinawan dialect
for "retirement." As these people age, they may reduce their working
hours or take a less strenuous position, but they still contribute
to their communities and they continue to feel they are making a
difference; they are still needed. Now that I have read Seligman’s
research, I realize they also have more control over their lives.
They "live until they die" and, as a result, they live longer.
I believe that based on this research, there are things we can do
in our own lives and in our workplaces to improve our personal level
of control and, as a result, our personal level of happiness.
Recent research shows that IT workers feel that better
recognition combined with the ability to work flexibly would make
them more productive. More than two-thirds of those surveyed cited
regular feedback from management as the single most important factor
in making them feel motivated. Seven out of ten added that being
able to work flexibly would make them more productive.
Sebastian Bailey, a management consultant, suggested that the
results showed that companies could do more to keep employees happy
and motivated. Even inexpensive measures could make a big difference
in most organizations. According to Bailey:
By improving staff recognition and feedback, managers can
help people feel motivated, energized and valued within the
business.
From the employer's perspective this can lead to greater
staff retention and markedly increased levels of
productivity. From the employee's perspective it boosts
their sense of progress and effectiveness.
As well as offering flexible working options Bailey maintains
that a more collaborative working style could also be beneficial,
particularly in IT where staff often work in isolation.
Companies that adopt a more collaborative approach seem
to show increased productivity and a marked shift in the
bottom line.
Business leaders need to think more about how they can
incorporate such a culture of collaboration and recognition.
An experiment conducted in the same plant where the famous
Hawthorne Effect was discovered in the 1920's, gave workers on a
number of assembly lines training and then complete control and
responsibility for running the lines without any supervision. Within
three months output trebled and rejects were reduced to virtually
zero.
I believe this research combines nicely with some information I
discovered in reading about appreciating others in the workplace. My
good friend and colleague, Mary Lynn Manns, and I have written a
book called Fearless Change: patterns for introducing new ideas.
One of the patterns is called "Just Say Thanks." The pattern cites
the obvious benefits for this: workers feel good when they are
appreciated and are also likely to volunteer to help in the future.
What I was slow to realize is how beneficial expressing thanks can
be for the giver. I wrote an article about that discovery (The
Power of Gratitude) and suggested that for those of us who are
giving thanks, the benefits are truly enormous. In the Paradox of
Choice, Barry Schwartz shares this observation and suggestion:
Individuals who regularly experience and express
gratitude are physically healthier, more optimistic about
the future, and feel better about their lives than those who
do not. Individuals who experience gratitude are more alert,
enthusiastic, and energetic than those who do not, and they
are more likely to achieve personal goals.
Practice an attitude of gratitude. We can improve our
subjective experience by consciously striving to be grateful
more often for what is good about a choice and disappointed
less by what is bad about it.
Research suggests that gratitude does not come naturally
to most of us most of the time. Usually, thinking about
possible alternatives is triggered by dissatisfaction with
what was chosen. When life is not too good, we think about
how it could be better. When life is going well, we tend not
to think much about how it could be worse. With practice, we
can learn to reflect on how much better things are than they
might be, which will make the good things in life feel even
better.
If you keep it up, you will find that it gets easier and
easier, more and more natural. You may also find yourself
discovering many things to be grateful for on even the most
ordinary days.
Appreciating colleagues for their contributions lets them know
how influential they are in the workplace. This enhances their
feeling of control over their work day. As a manger, change your
strategy and you change the way a company runs. Involve team members
in decisions. Once the folks at the grassroots realize they own the
problem, they also discover that they can help create and own the
answer—and they respond quickly, aggressively, and creatively,
because they have a closer understanding of what's going on.
It’s really all about collaboration and helping each other be the
best we can be. It’s another one of those—easy to say, but so hard
to do—powerful motivators. Let me know if you are really able to put
this into practice. Maybe you can share your secrets for helping
others be happy!
References
Mortleman, James, "Happy IT staff key to workplace success,"
October 2004.
http://www.pcw.co.uk/vnunet/news/2125957/happy-staff-key-workplace-success
Myers, David G., "The Pursuit of Happiness: Who Is Happy--and
Why," Psychology Today, July 1992.
Schwartz, Barry, The Paradox of Choice, HarperCollins
Publishers Inc., 2004.
Willcox, Bradley, Willcox, Craig, and Suzuki, Makoto, The
Okinawa Program, Three Rivers Press, 2002.
http://okinawaprogram.com/
