Why it matters, what it is and how to achieve it
Happiness at work is a basic ingredient of success, for both individuals and organisations: it is a fundamental business driver. Successful businesses understand the essential links between happiness, productivity and profit. They know that happy employees are creative and focused on achieving the best outcomes. Moreover they inspire and encourage others.
Job happiness and job satisfaction
How does happiness at work differ from job satisfaction? Happiness concerns what you can control and influence. Satisfaction, on the other hand, covers a whole host of extra measures, many of which the individual can do nothing about, like pay, working environment, pension, location or redundancy. Happiness is part of job satisfaction but it is a better predictor of productivity, commitment and motivation.
So what is happiness? Happiness is about the here and now; about the struggle to extend ourselves and seek out more. It’s about the journey rather than the destination. In short, happiness at work lies in achieving one’s full potential.
How does job happiness lead to business success?
If employees feel happy about what they are doing, they become more committed and thus complete their tasks more efficiently and to a higher standard. There is a particularly strong established correlation between happiness and productivity. Business has inherently always been about success, and happiness was assumed to be a welcome but unnecessary by-product. However, as plenty of successful people would testify, success is not the same as happiness. We agree with this in that success alone does not lead to long-term business commitment, loyalty or motivation, whereas being happy at work does.
So why have businesses been so slow to think about happiness? Probably because most business psychology is approached from the perspective of occupational rather than social psychology. Businesses are now looking for the next catalyst - and here it is.
Just what are the concrete effects of happy employees at work? Happy employees are brilliant from the bottom line because they:
- Stay longer in their jobs; reducing recruiting and on-boarding costs
. This is conservatively estimated at 35% of 1st year salary.
Demonstrate higher productivity and goal achievement. This in turn increases happiness and builds a virtuous circle1.
Show optimistic thinking, which means they:
Work longer and harder because they expect a positive outcome2,11, and get better feedback from supervisors and higher pay3.
Hold themselves and others in high esteem and are more popular with others4 and thus are more successful at persuading, winning and selling5.
Are sick less and live longer6,12!
Show more effective and innovative coping and problem-solving strategies, trying different solutions until they get a result7,11,13,14. Conversely ruminators
(people who chew over negative events) tend to demonstrate less creative problem-solving techniques8.
These attributes and behaviours keep employees, colleagues, teams, bosses and customers happy as well. This means that they add to the bottom line in a way that others simply don’t.
Simply said:
• Corporate happiness correlates with higher productivity and profit9.
• People can be taught to be happier, and this happiness is a cause of increased productivity10,15.
So why wouldn’t you want this kind of person working in your organisation? And why wouldn’t you want to be one of them too? It’s time for happiness to come out of the closet and become a fundamental business aim. For everyone.
The latest research
Our initial forays into happiness were entirely practical - we worked for 6 weeks with a small owner-managed business to see if we could raise happiness levels (Making Slough Happy, BBC2, November 2005). Over a 6 week period, average happiness rose from 5.6 (out of 10) to 7.4. Post-intervention tests showed that this increased 3 months later to 8.2. Qualitative and quantitative data showed that the intervention had a powerful impact on how people viewed their jobs and their interactions with each other.
And we’ve come such a long way since then. Our researchers have developed and implemented many different models and measurements for happiness. After a long period of refining and testing, we are now in a position to analyse a company’s happiness profile with pin-point precision. That means that we can clearly identify those areas where intervention would make the most difference – the most effective way to the highest levels of happiness. For more about our clients, click here.
The iOpener 12 commandments for happiness at work
- Getting things done - achieve valued goals (Buss, 2000; Diener et al., 1999; McGregor & Little, 1998)
- Having a variety of tasks (Carr, 2004)
- Having some control over your job (Ryan & Deci, 1985; Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Warr, 99)
- Being thanked (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999)
- Using your strengths to do your job well (Csikzentmihalyi, 2002; Seligman, 2003)
- Knowing what’s expected of you (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999; Carr, 2004)
- Understanding the importance of what you do (Ryan & Deci, 2000)
- Being heard (Reis et al., 2000)
- Having friends at work (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999; Deci & Ryan, 1991; McGregor & Little, 1998; Reis et al., 2000)
- Thinking optimistically (Fredrickson et al., 2003; Seligman, 1998)
- Having the right boss – person/fit (Warr, 99)
- Giving and receiving constructive feedback (Buckingham and Coffman, 1999)
|
