How Full Is Your Bucket? is based on more than 50 years of comprehensive psychological and workplace research. Coauthor Donald O. Clifton devoted his life's work to studying positive, or strengths, psychology -- work that led the American Psychological Association to cite him as the Father of Strengths Psychology.
Clifton and his colleagues at Gallup surveyed some 4 million workers on the topics of recognition and praise, and they delivered startling results. An estimated 22 million workers are presently "actively disengaged," or extremely negative in their workplace. This costs the U.S. economy up to $300 billion dollars a year in productivity -- undoubtedly an underestimate because it does not account for absence, illness, and other problems that result when workers are disengaged from their work and their companies.
Gallup also found that individuals who receive regular recognition and praise:
- increase their individual productivity
- increase engagement among their colleagues
- have better safety records and fewer accidents on the job
- are more likely to stay with the organization longer
- receive higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers
Drawing on Dr. Clifton's research, Gallup's massive database, and discoveries from the world's leading social scientists, How Full Is Your Bucket? distills decades of discoveries into a book that can be read in about an hour.
Fast Facts From How Full Is Your Bucket?
- The number-one reason people leave their jobs: They don't feel appreciated.
- 65% of Americans received no recognition in the workplace last year.
- Bad bosses could increase the risk of stroke by 33%.
- A study found that negative employees can scare off every customer they speak with -- for good.
- 9 out of 10 people say they are more productive when they're around positive people.
- Relentless negativity resulted in a 38% POW death rate -- the highest in U.S. military history.
- We experience approximately 20,000 individual moments every day.
- The magic ratio: 5 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction.
- Too much positive emotion? More than 13 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction could decrease productivity.
- Extending longevity: Increasing positive emotions could lengthen life span by 10 years.
(For details and references, please see the print edition of How Full Is Your Bucket?)
