The New Corner Office: Optimism pays

Assuming the best is usually wise

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
new world of work where location and ours are more
flexible than in the past. Today's tip is that optimism
pays literally, believing the best about people can lead to

(00:27):
new opportunities and that can increase your income. So what's
your general view of human nature? Do you think your
colleagues and collaborators are, for the most part, on your
side when you go to job interviews? Do you assume
the interview panel wants you to succeed? These seem like
abstract questions, but they might not be. Some interesting research,

(00:51):
including one study published in the Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology in looking at income over time, suggests that
holding cynical leiefs about others can negatively affect financial well being.
The exact mechanism for this is unclear, but there are
a few different possibilities. Maybe people who are less optimistic
about human nature are less willing to rely on or

(01:14):
trust others, and therefore have a harder time finding economic
and occupational success in our highly social world. More cynical
workers also tend to assume that others have hidden negative motives.
When they reach out with job offers or with offers
to collaborate, they may be less likely to ask for
help when they need it, which can undermine their career success.

(01:37):
Of course, where we all fall on the spectrum between
optimism and pessimism may be situational. It's also affected by
our genetics and our life experiences. In particular, negative experiences
in past economic hardship can strengthen cynical beliefs and make
us less likely to reach out to others, creating a
vicious cycle. And let's not be naive. There are some

(02:01):
work situations where it may not make sense to have
an optimistic and trusting view of those around you. But
keeping all of this in mind, there are still upsides
to optimism. It's pretty exhausting to assume that everyone is
out to get you. Believing good things can happen makes
you willing to take risks and follow up on potential opportunities,

(02:25):
even if they don't all work out, some will. There
are a few things we can do to become more
optimistic and less cynical on a day to day basis.
One idea is to try building trusting relationships with at
least one or two people, not the whole world, but
I'm guessing you can find a small number of trustworthy

(02:46):
souls if you're used to flying solo and don't have
any built in coworkers. Think about your professional network and
try to find one or two people in your field
that you'd like to get to know better. This could
be a junior person you'd like to serve as a mentor,
here for a more senior person whose career you'd like
to copy, or someone who's in a similar position to you.

(03:07):
You don't have to become best friends, but you two
want someone whose advice you can trust. You want to
believe that this person has your best interests in mind.
These efforts can lead to a positive feedback loop where
you see that people can be trusted, and this can
go a long way in helping you to have an
overall more positive view of human nature and the working world.

(03:30):
And second, remind yourself of situations where things turned out okay.
Your neighbor walked over your misdirected packages, a contractor voluntarily
gave you a discount. Your aunt had a good experience
buying a used car. I am not saying that these
things always happen. But when you find yourself saying people

(03:52):
can't be trusted or everyone is just out for themselves,
you want to hear a little voice saying, but what
about Over time, This little contrarian voice can help you
look at an email from an old colleague about his
new company and think, well, maybe he's not hiring someone
just so he can jump ship. Maybe it's worth checking out.

(04:16):
In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and
here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New
Corner Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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or wherever you get your favorite shows.