On December 8, the Bosihui HR Salon focused on workplace happiness. Mr. Alex Koi, Former General Manager of Cooper Tires China, Mr. Linlong DAI, General Manager of Shanghai Galaxy Securities, Mr. Wei YU, Vice President of HR, BlueScope Steel China, and Ms. Li ZENG, Development Director of Ivy League Business English of the United States, carried out sharing and discussion with the HR elites present on the theme of “how to enjoy the happiness brought by work” as the sharing guests of this activity. Associate Professor Xiaoya LIANG from the School hosted this salon.

Bosihui HR Salon focuses on workplace happiness

Mr. Alex Koi began his brilliant speech in an interactive way. He pointed out that the increasingly fierce workplace competition and the increasingly fast work rhythm are the direct cause of work pressure and the fundamental reason why people at the workplace lack happiness. He classified pressure into emotional pressure, physiological performance pressure, work pressure, financial pressure, job security pressure and environmental pressure, and let the HR personnel present learn about their pressure and the corresponding coping strategy in the form of questionnaires. Then, he introduced the parts where factors of depression accumulate in the human body, analyzed the structure of the human brain, divided the human brain into the lizard brain, the old brain and the new brain, and pointed out that the lizard brain is the part that controls man’s irrational thinking, i.e. instinct. He also let the HR personnel present know their personalities through a small game.

Then, he revealed that the source of happiness is serotonin in the brain, and suggested basking in the sun, taking exercise and eating foods rich in serotonin such as bananas, dark chocolate, alligator pears, walnuts and pineapples more often. On this basis, he emphasized the importance of adding melatonin to people who strain the brain too much. At last, he introduced the application of behavioral science in enhancing happiness, and pointed out that extinction and punishment are two modes of decreasing behavior and that positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are two modes of increasing behavior.

Mr. Linlong DAI’s opening admonition was “returning to the inside and returning to the present”. His speech began in slow music. He also thought that pressure is an important factor affecting happiness. To eliminate the prejudice that “greater pressure shows greater concentration on work”, he displayed the pressure management model to the HR personnel present. This model shows that pressure at a particular value can maximize efficiency. On this basis, he pointed out that the mode of improving excitement about work under no pressure can achieve the effect of improving the happiness of work without changing performance, and then put forth the concept of “Zen”.

He interpreted the application of “Zen” in work as the state of relaxation and concentration. He thought that because of the present educational atmosphere, people form the habit of thinking “I should be better than now” and are restrained by the power of that set goal all their lives. He said that the true sources are not others’ views but our hearts. On this basis, he focused on elaborating the concept of self-value, and pointed out that one’s behavior, feelings, ideas, etc. are not synonymous with the true self and that the discovery of one’s inner needs can only be completed by meditation.

Ms. Li ZENG, Development Director of Ivy League Business English of the United States, pointed out in the speech that truly caring for employees’ need for “respect and understanding” is the best way to enhance employees’ happiness. On the topic of the workplace, Mr. Wei YU, Vice President of HR, BlueScope Steel China, pointed out that only rules and skills are considered at the workplace, and classified pressure into positive pressure and negative pressure, i.e. challenges and threats. On this basis, he put forward two coping strategies, clear goals and changed behavior, and elaborated specific modes for employees to change behavior and for enterprises to change employees’ behavior respectively with different types of employees as examples.

Then, attendants asked questions on the topics they were concerned about to the guests, and the four guests carried out more in-depth discussion with the HR personnel present. In answer to the question of “how to take the first step towards a difficult or dangerous situation”, Mr. Alex Koi introduced the concept of “visualization” and said that visualizing the whole process of things’ development in the brain is an effective way to overcome fear. After hearing the guests’ sharing, the attendants all said that they benefited a great deal and had lingering interest. They passionately talked about their views with the guests and carried out more in-depth and detailed exchange and discussion during the tea break.

December 15, 2011