like many workers, ivelisse rivera, a physician at community health center, middletown, conn.,
feels stressed-out by mounting workloads. and she didn’t expect to get much help during her employer’s annual staff meeting last november — just the usual speeches on medical issues.
像很多上班族一樣，康涅狄格州middletown市社群衛生中心的醫生裡韋拉(ivelisse rivera)被越來越多的工作壓得喘不過氣來。在去年11月單位召開的年度員工大會上，她也沒有指望能得到多大的幫助，以為這次會議就是些關於醫療問題的老生常談。
instead, she got a big dose of something new: happiness coaching. keynote speaker shawn achor
— a former harvard university researcher and former co-teacher of one of the university’s most popular courses, positive psychology — extolled 90 listening employees to shake off dark moods at work by practicing such happiness-inducing techniques as meditation or expressing gratitude.
但她獲得了某種新潁的“藥劑”：快樂指導(happiness coaching)。主旨發言人是曾在哈佛大學(harvard university)做過研究員、並與人一起講授該校熱門課程“積極心理學”的阿克爾(shawn achor)。他實施了冥想和表達感謝等快樂引導術，來激勵90位聽課的員工擺脫工作中的灰暗情緒。
to her surprise, dr. rivera says, she drove home filled with thoughts about cheering up; ’if i assume a negative attitude and complain all the time, whoever is working with me is going to
feel the same way.’
裡韋拉說，開車回家的路上，她滿腦子都是怎樣振作起來的想法，這讓她很意外。她說，如果我心態消極，一直不停地抱怨，誰與我一起工作都會有同樣的感覺。
happiness coaching is seeping into the workplace. a growing number of employers, including ubs,
american express, kpmg and the law firm goodwin procter, have hired trainers who draw on
psychological research, ancient religious traditions or both to inspire workers to take a more positive
attitude — or at least a neutral one. happiness-at-work coaching is the theme
of a crop of new business books and a growing number of mba-school courses.
快樂指導課程正在進入各種工作環境。越來越多的僱主都聘請了培訓師，利用心理學研究成果、古代宗教傳統或兩者的融合，激勵員工擁有一種更加積極的心態，或至少是一種不消極的心態。這些僱主包括瑞銀(ubs)，美國運通(american express)，畢馬威(kpmg)，以及律師事務所goodwin procter。針對上班族的快樂指導是一大批商業類新書的主題，也是越來越多mba課程的主題。
critics say that pushing positive thinking is just a way for companies to improve morale while they
continue to burden employees with the threat of layoffs and an ever-increasing workload. barbara ehrenreich’s recent book, ’bright-sided,’ blames ’positive thinking’ for enabling people to avoid confronting a wide range of serious problems in the
economy and workplace.
批評者說，公司推行積極思維，不過是為了讓員工在繼續承擔失業威脅和不斷加大的工作量之際，還能有更高的士氣。埃倫瑞奇(barbara ehrenreich)的新書《面向光明》(bright-sided)指責說，“積極思維”讓人們得以逃避面對經濟和工作中的一系列重大問題。
research shows that employees’ positive attitudes can be good for business, too. a 2004 study of
60 business teams in the journal american behavioral scientist found teams with buoyant moods who
encouraged each earned higher profit and better customer-satisfaction ratings. a 2001 study at the university of michigan says people who are experiencing
joy or contentment are able to think more broadly and creatively, accepting a wider variety of
possible actions, than people with negative emotions. and a 2005 research survey in the
psychological bulletin shows happier people miss work less often and receive more positive
evaluations from bosses.
研究顯示，員工的積極心態也可以對工作業績有益。《美國行為科學》雜誌(american behavioral scientist)2004年發表的一項針對60個業務團隊的研究發現，擁有活躍氛圍並相互鼓舞的業務團隊，利潤和客戶滿意率都更高。密歇根大學(university of michigan)2001年的一項研究說，感覺愉悅或滿意的人，比情緒消極的人思路更加開闊，更有創造性，所能接受的行動選項也更多。2005年《心理學公報》(psychological bulletin)發表的一項調查研究也顯示，人越快樂，在工作中出現失誤的機會就越少，老闆給予的評價也越積極。
of courses, coaches have long tried to instill proactive skills to help clients extract career or
personal success from tough situations. what’s different now is the emphasis on inner happiness, and controlling your own mood in the face
of turbulence or misfortune.
當然，一直以來就有輔導師努力向客戶傳授一些積極的處事技能，幫助他們在困境中取得工作或生活的成功。快樂指導的不同之處在於，它強調的是內心的'快樂，以及在面臨混亂或厄運時控制自己的情緒。
indeed, the happiness coaches go beyond traditional positive-thinking approaches, taking new tacks that tend to ring true with workers. some examples:
write e-mails to your co-workers every day thanking them for something they have done. meditate daily to clear your mind.
do something for somebody without expecting anything in return. write in a journal about things
you are thankful for; look for traits you admire in people and compliment them. focus on the
process of your work, which you can control, rather than outcomes, which you can’t.
and don’t immediately label events good or bad, but remain open to potentially positive outcomes of even
the most seemingly negative events.
事實上，快樂輔導師超越傳統的積極思維方法，採用了一些新手段，往往被員工所接受。舉幾個例子：每天給同事寫電子郵件，感謝他們做過的某些事情。每天都做冥想，理清思緒。為某人做點什麼事情，不期望獲得任何回報。寫一份日記，記下你心存感激的各種事情；在其他人身上尋找你欽佩的優點，並讚美這些優點。把注意力集中於你可以控制的工作過程，而不是你不能控制的結果。不要不假思索地給事情貼上好或壞的標籤，哪怕某些極像是負面的事情，也要相信它們可能會產生正面的結果。
mr. achor bases his training on a burgeoning body of research on the positive psychology
movement, which emphasizes instilling resiliency and positive attitudes over analyzing mental
illness and dysfunction. srikumar rao, a long island university emeritus professor whose
training courses in workplaces and business schools have earned him the nickname ’the happiness guru’, draws on tenets common to such religious traditions as hinduism,
sufism, buddhism, christianity and judaism.
阿克爾的培訓課程的基礎，是積極心理學方面所產生的越來越豐富的研究成果。積極心理學更著重於抗壓能力和積極心態的灌輸，而不是對精神疾病或功能障礙的分析。長島大學(long island university)名譽教授srikumar rao面向工作環境和商學院的培訓課程為他贏得了“快樂大師”的稱號。他利用了印度教、伊斯蘭教蘇非派、佛教、基督教和猶太教這些宗教傳統中的常見信條。
people who use the principles say they work. greg johnson, a charlotte, n.c., corporate real-estate executive, says dr. rao’s training helps him avoid rushing to negative conclusions about daily events. amid staff changes
or reorganizations, he has taught himself to think, ’good thing, bad thing? the reality is, i don’t know’ how the change will turn out in the long term. that mindset helps him remain open to
the possibility that seemingly negative events can produce positive outcomes in the long term,
he says.
踐行了這些信條的人們都說管用。美國北卡羅萊納州夏洛特市的一位商業地產高管約翰遜(greg johnson)說，rao的培訓課程有助於他避免對日常事務匆匆忙忙地得出負面結論。當遇到人員更替或部門改革時，他學會了問自己，“好事還是壞事？其實我不知道”，使自己不要對某種變化可能的長遠結果過早下結論。他說，這有助於他保持“塞翁失馬 焉知非福”的心態。