News & Views

A new article published in the Journal of Positive Psychology suggests it’s not enough to look at how often people experience happiness internally, but that outward expressions of happiness are important as well. The researchers suggest that the things people do to maintain their happiness don’t always promote the happiness of others or the group as a whole.

The article focuses on cross-national comparisons of happiness, and ranks Ghana, Indonesia, El Salvador, Italy, and Columbia as the five countries that show the highest levels of positive emotional expression. At the other end of the spectrum, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, Iceland, and Poland show the lowest.

Interestingly, the research also shows evidence of a ‘double-edged sword’ model of negative emotion regulation. The researchers, led by Kuba Krys of the Polish Academy of Sciences, say “Negative emotion expression is simultaneously associated with positives (for the individual) and negatives (for others in society).”

While the research was focused on countries, their findings clearly have relevance to workplace happiness. Giving employees a safe forum for expression of emotions – both positive and negative – has the potential to boost happiness and overall job satisfaction.