Praising your work colleagues wins you not only friends and allies but also benefits your mental and physical wellbeing.

During lockdown and WFH, it is much harder to say the quick "Good Morning" or "Well done" as you pass the reception desk or a colleague's desk. Slack channels and Zoom cannot provide that ability for spontaneity or give that team a collegiate feeling.

In one survey, 65% of 10,000 people said they worried the new way of working - zoom/team calls and WFH would damage their relationships with colleagues. For some poor people, during the lockdown, they were never able to see form face-to-face relationships.

Be nice to people

According to research from the University of California San Diego, those who took time to bond, thanking each other for their hard work, had healthier cardiovascular responses when exposed to stress. 

Expressions of gratitude are known to enrich marriages and other intimate relationships; however, this study is the first to show they also benefit people in loose-tie relationships, such as co-workers. It is also the first to reveal that gratitude builds biological resources, promoting better stress responses, which can have long-term health impacts in addition to fueling performance on high-pressure tasks. Repeated exposure to stress is linked to cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment and weakened immunity.

They found that a single one or two-minute expression of gratitude was enough to deliver a measurable difference, increasing concentration and confidence and leading to a better performance, especially in a stressful situation. This behaviour is called the 'Challenge Response.'

The heart pumps out more blood, blood vessels dilate, more oxygenated blood reaches the brain, and thinking becomes sharper. 

Do not be Mr Angry 

Not praising your team and colleagues and criticising them leads to a reduction in blood flow. This behaviour is called the 'Threat Response'.

"Our results have meaningful implications for organisations and particularly for employees who work together under acutely stressful conditions to accomplish joint goals," said Christopher Oveis, senior author of the forthcoming study to be published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

Want to live longer?

Then be positive. Another recent study shows a correlation between the frequent use of positive words (e.g. proud, hope, pleasant etc.) and a longer lifespan. People with a positive mindset have a 35% lower risk of heart problems such as angina, heart attack or strokes.

All this means that you need to see the good in people, be nice to them, cut through the cynicism, make people feel like a million dollars and be positive. It benefits them, and it helps you.