Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

Abstract

The Research: The researchers followed nearly 1 million U.S. Army service members for five years, measuring their relative happiness and optimism using 25 questions drawn from PANAS and the Life Orientation Test. The questions were included on a larger survey taken by every Army soldier each year. This well-being measurement combines individuals’ own self-assessments and their reporting on the frequency of positive and negative emotions experienced, to yield the researchers’ measure of happiness. Even after the researchers controlled for previous performance and a range of demographic factors, soldiers who were the happiest and most optimistic went on to earn significantly more job performance awards across the next five years compared with those who were initially unhappy and pessimistic.