Nice Work, If You Can Get It

Shortly after we started The Kaplan Thaler Group, we got the chance to bid for a large financial institution. We were such a new agency that, frankly, we didn’t think we’d get it–we were just excited to be invited to pitch.

So we were thrilled when we landed the account. When we asked our new client what put us over the edge, they said that of course they liked our work, but they also were impressed by the way we related to each other–cracking jokes, bantering, etc. “You guys just seem to like each other,” they said.

We were surprised to know that the people at the other agencies did not like each other–or at least weren’t capable of pretending to get along when they were meeting a big client. But our client said that in many of the pitch meetings the agency people seemed more intent on jockeying for their position, rather than presenting a united, happy front, and they were worried that office politics would suck up valuable time and energy that could be devoted to their campaign.

There is a myth in business that if you’re enjoying yourself you must not be working very hard. After all, it’s call “work” not “happy fun–time.” But anyone who has been employed in a well–functioning company knows that working with nice people doesn’t just make the day pass faster–it actually improves the quality of your work. So we were excited to read a recent The New York Times Magazine story about the research of Maria Losada, a workplace psychologist who studied annual review meetings. Teams of employees were evaluated on customer satisfaction, profitability and internal management. Losada found that the most positive teams–that is, the ones who treated each other with courtesy, humor and respect–scored the highest.

It makes sense. We work hardest for the bosses we like and respect, and we work most effectively with co-workers we trust and admire. Because when you work in a nice office, sure you might take a few minutes to tell a joke or discuss the latest Brad Pitt film, but after that you focus on the task at hand–rather than obsessing about how oppressed, exploited or misunderstood you feel.

In fact, positive emotions can actually make your brain work better. The Times story also cites a study in which a group of people all watched a short film. Some watched a feel–good flick; others watched something dark and depressing. Afterwards, the participants were asked to look at a puzzle that featured a series of squares shaped like a triangle.  The people who saw the positive film were able to detect the larger pattern, while those who saw the negative film just saw a bunch of squares.

That’s right: Being nice to your employees will not only enhance their morale and loyalty to the company, it will actually make them smarter.