Yuletide cheer contagious?

In theory, this time of year is a time of happiness and good cheer as friends and family members celebrate the holiday season.

Of course, I am oversimplifying the emotions people feel during the holidays. For some people, this time of year can be a time of extreme isolation, loneliness, and depression.

However, for most, this time of year is a time of joy. It's too bad that everybody can't experience this, but emotions can be both complicated and fragile at the same time.

We all strive for happiness, and the results of a recent study suggest that a person's happiness is not only the result of their own thoughts and actions, but also the social networks to which they belong.

In a study published in the British journal 'BMJ,' the study's authors analyzed the results of questionnaires in which people described their level of happiness, according to an Associated Press story.

Happy people tend to be involved in active social circles with many friends who are also upbeat, according to the story. These people also tend to have family and friends who live nearby to them.

The study determined that each happy friend a person has increases their chance of being happy by nine percent. Conversely, the study found having unhappy friends decreased the chance for happiness by seven percent.

It's easy to be cynical about a study like this. After all, studies can be developed that prove just about anything. Every day, we are bombarded with new studies that claim to prove one thing or another.

However, I believe the authors of this study are on to something.

As I studied these findings, I couldn't help but think about how applicable they are in the work place. After all, there is a wide range of emotions to be found in the work place, and the people we interact with certainly have an impact on us.

For example, aren't we more likely to grumble and be negative about our jobs if we surround ourselves with people who are unhappy? Every work place has its positive and negative attributes, and I believe it is part of our human nature to drift toward being negative.

If we surround ourselves with negative people, then their comments and actions feed right into whatever frustrations we feel about our jobs. And if we dwell on that too much, it will certainly make us less happy.

Don't underestimate the power this can have. Most of us spend at least 40 hours a week in the work place. Exposure to unhappiness for that length of time on a regular basis will wear us down.

Additionally, if we are exposed to unhappiness on that level, it only seems natural that it would spill over into other aspects of our life. If we are entombed with negativity eight ours a day at work, we will likely take it home with us. Unhappiness isn't a switch that we can turn on and off. It's tough to leave it at the office when we walk out the door.

On the other hand, imagine how this impact would be different if we made an effort to remain positive and stay close to happy people as much as possible. If we try to stay near optimistic and upbeat people, this would have an impact on us, too.

Don't get me wrong. Just hanging around the right type of people won't make us happy. Happiness comes from within us.

However, those around us can have a positive impact if we allow them to.