Positive vs. negative work environments
Posted on Monday December 19th 2011
Q: I ran across a site citing you as saying “positive work environments outperform negative work environments.” Do you have any research or studies that support this?
A. I wouldn’t put it exactly that way. You need to be more specific about what you mean by “positive” and “negative”. For example, in my books I’ve reviewed much research on workplace climate that shows a more positive emotional atmosphere fosters better performance, and so does positive mood on teams. And then there’s the crucial emotional impact of an emotionally intelligent leader in creating that positive emotional climate. Much of this research is reviewed in the new collection of my writings, Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence.
Welcome to the website and blog of psychologist Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., author of the New York Times bestseller Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships. Dr. Goleman is an internationally known psychologist who lectures frequently to professional groups, business audiences, and on college campuses. Working as a science journalist, Goleman reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times for many years. His 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence (Bantam Books) was on The New York Times bestseller list for a year-and-a-half; with more than 5,000,000 copies in print worldwide in 40 languages, and has been a best seller in many countries.