Quotes from the Westpac Business Banking Team

The Exercise did make me feel better and was also a good reminder to actually relax and have a break

The website is excellent, clean, clear and easy to get around

Basic stuff, but not often thought about

It was really fun seeing what was going to pop up every day

Exercises and Intents also helped me focus on ideas in different areas of my life and make a commitment

I now focus on personal health and well-being more

The My Fix and My Tools were interesting with a good level of information and I'm looking forward to exploring them in more detail

The programme would be missed if it were not available

Quotes from users of the BE Intent application

It was much more in-depth than other, similar goal setting-oriented websites I have used before.

I liked that it asked you to write down your own solutions as this makes you actively think about what's stopping you from achieving your goals.

Fantastic Tool. Really made me think. The list of examples to the side were very helpful to get the ball rolling.

This website would be particularly helpful for people who are feeling lost in their life or a bit depressed. Those who have lost direction and need ways to help them focus on how to improve how they feel about themselves.

It does what it says it does - points out the differences between what you want, what you're doing, how you can achieve it etc.

Make me focus on me for a change.

Taking a step back and thinking about each of the areas in my life. Also recognising the road blocks that may stop me achieving what I want and coming up with actions that will over come these.

Yes, reading your goals and roadblocks and time frames at the end is great, really makes you want to achieve your goals.

It helped me to stop and think internally about what I really wanted.

Going through the sequence and realizing at the end that all my roadblocks were really just me procrastinating.

To be honest Yes. Although I said above that at present I was happy certain aspects of it made me think and I will act upon them.

Liked the interesting bits down the side. Didn't want to think about my goals. The first bit was enough to make me think... hmmmm... why is there such a gap here?

Yes - especially liked the initial questions which showed the deficits in my energy and focus.

Yes, although I don't like goal setting (per se) it made me aware of some things I could change very easily and see a big result in my life.

Good Moods, Good Work

When people feel good, they work at their best. Feeling good lubricates mental efficiency, making people better at understanding information and using decision rules in complex judgments, as well as more flexible thinking. Mental benefits of good moods: Handbook of Cognition and Emotion, eds. Tim Dalgleish and Mick J. Power (Chichester, England: Wiley, 1999).

Moods, the Yale study found, influence how effectively people work; upbeat moods boost cooperation, fairness and business performance. Emotions reflect quality of work life: Cynthia D. Fisher and Christopher S. Noble,"Affect and performance: A Within Persons Analysis" (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Toronto, 2000).

The emotions people feel while they work, according to new findings on job satisfaction, reflect most directly the true quality of work life. The percentage of time people feel positive emotions at work is one of the strongest predictors of satisfaction, and therefore, of how likely employees are to quit. Job satisfaction is not the same as feeling good while working: Cynthia D. Fisher, "Mood and Emotions while Working: Missing Pieces of Job Satisfaction?," Journal of Organisational Behaviour 21 (2000): 185-202.

Research on humour at work reveals that a well-timed joke or playful laughter can stimulate creativity, open lines of communication, enhance a sense of connection and trust, and, of course, make work more fun. The impact of humour on work effectiveness: The findings are reviewed in R.W. Clouse and K.L Spurgeon, "Corporate Analysis of Humour," Psychology: A Journal of Human Behaviour 32 (1995):1-24.