Bosses who pester their employees with urgent demands often increase anxiety, which activates the portion of the brain that processes threats—the amygdala—and steals resources from the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for effective problem solving.

Research shows that when people work with a positive mind-set, performance on nearly every level—productivity, creativity, engagement—improves. Yet happiness is perhaps the most misunderstood driver of performance. So argues Shawn Achor in “Positive Intelligence” in the January-February 2012 issue of Harvard Business Review. http://hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence/ar/1#.T0-sEUJCOsk.email

He continues, “Another common misconception is that our genetics, our environment, or a combination of the two determines how happy we are. To be sure, both factors have an impact. But one’s general sense of well-being is surprisingly malleable. The habits you cultivate, the way you interact with coworkers, how you think about stress—all these can be managed to increase your happiness and your chances of success.”

His research suggests that one brief positive exercise every day for as little as three weeks can have a lasting impact. Here are five activities that Achor says correlate with positive change

•    Jot down three things they were grateful for.

•    Write a positive message to someone in their social support network.

•    Meditate at their desk for two minutes.

•    Exercise for 10 minutes.

•    Take two minutes to describe in a journal the most meaningful experience of the past 24 hours.

Shawn Achor is the CEO of Good Think and the author of The Happiness Advantage (Crown Business, 2010).