In this column, we provoke fresh thinking and round up some of the weird, wonderful, quirky, surprising – and shocking – stories out there
Smiley faces
Facial movements do influence feelings of happiness, suggests research carried out in 19 countries.
Research into whether facial movements influence happiness has hitherto produced mixed results, prompting a global group of researchers to join forces to form the Many Smiles Collaboration. Some of the researchers were for the hypothesis, some against it, and some were neutral.
Their study, carried out among 3,878 participants, sought to answer four questions. The questions were whether adopting a happy expression makes people happier than holding a neutral one, whether ‘happy’ facial poses only influence feelings of happiness if they’re close to natural smiles (as opposed to the more unnatural facial muscle configuration caused by holding a pen between the teeth), whether a smile pose actually initiates feelings of happiness in a neutral scenario, and whether facial feedback effects on emotion – if they exist – only occur among people who are aware of the hypothesis.
The results, published in Nature Human Behaviour, suggest that facial feedback does influence feelings of happiness. But a ‘smile’ was clearly associated with greater happiness only when it was either copied (from the actor’s face) or created by voluntary movement of the facial muscles, not when the ‘smile’ was created by holding a pen between the teeth. Possible reasons why holding a pen between the teeth didn’t affect happiness include the possibility that not as many of the natural smile muscles are used as in the other smile conditions and that people need to infer that they’re actually smiling.
These effects on happiness occurred whether or not participants also saw positive images, suggesting that a smile expression can itself initiate feelings of happiness, rather than just amplify underlying feelings of happiness.
Participants who had no idea about the facial feedback hypothesis still experienced these effects – though the effects were weaker.
Right to be boring
Employers can’t sack an employee for not participating in after-work or team-building activities, a French court has ruled.
An unnamed worker lost his job because he wouldn’t go out for a drink with his colleagues, arguing he had a “right to be boring”. Paris-based management consultancy Cubik Partners, dismissed him on grounds of “professional inadequacy” in 2015. ‘Mr T’ told France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, that he was entitled to “critical behaviour and to refuse company policy based on incitement to partake in various excesses”.
The court found that staff at the company often engaged in “humiliating and intrusive practices” and agreed that Mr T shouldn’t have to take part in such activities, ordering Cubik Partners to pay him £2,574 in compensation.
The court said the company was not allowed to make employees “forcibly participate in seminars and end-of-week drinks frequently ending up in excessive alcohol intake, encouraged by associates who made very large quantities of alcohol available”.
It also ruled that Mr T had the right to dignity and respect of his private life and that he was using his right to freedom of expression by refusing to take part in after-work drinks.
Mr T is seeking an additional £395,630 in damages, which the court is set to examine in a follow-up hearing.
Worthing is Europe’s top ‘Zoom town’
Many still view the seaside town of Worthing in the south-east of the UK as a beacon for retirees. However, it’s become the leading ‘Zoom town’ in Europe, according to data from recruitment platform Indeed, working with Zoom.
The study has identified places across the UK, France and Germany that have seen the most significant growth in hybrid and remote working opportunities, analysing the difference in postings between February 2020, prior to the pandemic, and September 2022.
Worthing leads the way, the research found, with a 715% growth in remote roles available compared with February 2020, the month before the pandemic. Coming in second is Brest in France, with a 668% growth, followed by France’s Montreuil (425%), UK’s Chatham (376%), UK’s Burnley (375%), France’s Saint-Etienne (363%), UK’s Stoke (329%), France’s Rennes (323%), Germany’s Chemnitz (304%) and Germany’s Mönchengladbach (295%).
The rise of hybrid working has meant that previously unfashionable towns away from the UK’s main conglomerates are now popular with a younger cohort of workers attracted by lower house prices, suggest Indeed/Zoom.
London is the capital city with the most growth in remote and hybrid roles available, at 177%. However, Berlin leads the way when looking at the proportion of roles that are offered as remote. with 23% of all roles available, compared with 12% each in London and Paris. Basildon, Essex, UK, has moved from rank 49 to fifth place with an increase of 291%. Plymouth continues to hold its place in the top 10 with a growth of 278%, demonstrating a strong showing from the south of England. Doncaster has also risen from rank 30 to ninth place, increasing to 256%.
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Email: liz@coaching-at-work.com