THINK SAD!

DON'T LET SMILING FACES
GET YOU!!!

…hire SAD!

Research shows sad workers are more effective

Melancholy moods make for more thoughtful employees

If you have a load of work to dump on somebody's desk, pick the employee with the frown.

Employees who are a little down in the dumps are likely to devote a lot of energy to their work in order to distract themselves from their sadness, says Bob Sinclair, a psychologist at the University of Alberta.

Happy workers, on the other hand, may quickly do a superficial job so they can get back to their blissful state, says the associate professor.

Sinclair says almost a decade of research indicates sad people listen more closely to arguments and are swayed only when those arguments are strong.

But happy people don't seem to pay attention and are more easily persuaded of something.

"When you are in a happy mood you generally don't make as good decisions as when you are in a sad mood," Sinclair says.

Years ago researchers believed feeling good was beneficial because in certain situations happy people appeared to be more creative.

But people wouldn't have developed bad moods if they didn't serve some function, reasons Sinclair.

All this goes against trendy motivational gurus who preach happiness and personal empowerment through the banishment of negative thought.

"It may not be really good advice," says Sinclair. "If you are having negative thoughts, then there are things you probably have to deal with "

He's also studied the difference moods play in employee performance appraisals. Sad people are statistically more realistic and produce more meaningful results, he says, while happy people tend to be more biased and are easily swayed by first impressions or the attractiveness of a person.

Sad people are much less affected by initial information. They pay more attention to all of the information and form more global judgments.

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