by Ciara Conlon Head of Operations at EQuita Consulting
Philosophers have debated about the meaning of happiness for decades. Twenty-three hundred years ago Aristotle concluded that, more than anything else, men and women seek happiness.
This fact is often overlooked when it comes to the place we spend our days, the workplace. In times past happiness and work were two words that were seldom put together. Work was done for the purpose of supporting self and family, the level of satisfaction and happiness that came from that employment were not outcomes sought from work.
Most psychologists would agree that happiness would be more accurately described as subjective well-being, referring to how people perceive the quality of their own lives. For some people they believe more money will result in increased happiness, for others career success or falling in love could be their definition of happiness. As there is no common scale, life satisfaction and happiness is the feeling of whether you think your life is going well, and as work or career is a large facet of this life it comes to bear that the subject of happiness and work should be seen more regularly together.
There are some companies that have linked happiness to productivity and many are studying this correlation. In a study carried out by the University of Warwick, they discovered that happiness made people 12% more productive. Some companies like Zappo’s and Google have gone the extra mile and employed Chief Happiness Officers to ensure that people are happy at work. Happy employees are not only more productive but they will be more engaged and stay longer in an organisation saving the organisation money in reduced turnover of staff. Happy people tend to be less stressed and as a result companies will see less stress related absenteeism.
So what can you do to ensure your people are happy at work?
Encourage friendships
Having a friend at work according to Gallup can increase employee engagement up to 50%. Having a friend at work makes the job more enjoyable and makes work a nicer place to be. Create a company culture that encourages friendships. Teamwork and collaboration can help to foster an environment where people are happier to work together. Friendships at work can provide support networks and mentoring which can benefit both the employee and the organisation. Social events and occasions should be encouraged. Charitable endeavours can help employees to come together for a cause larger than themselves. Let your employees know that you want to create a culture where people are valued and friendships even more so.
Give them Autonomy
Human beings generally don’t like to be told what to do. Give someone a suggestion and freewill and chances are you will get better results. Autonomy is giving people the ability to make decisions for themselves. The degree of autonomy that you can give them will differ from job role to role.
Dan Pink author of the book Drive, the Surprising Truth about what Motivates us. outlines Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose to be people’s chief motivators. When people have more independence and autonomy they will perform better and be more satisfied with their jobs.
Feeling Valued
Another important element for most people is knowing they are appreciated. Recognition and respect score highly for many in the workplace. People need to know that their contributions are recognised and that what they do adds value. One way to show people they are respected is to listen. Listening is an often underrated action that needs more time and attention in our organisations. If employees listened more to each other, everyone would benefit. Listening and feedback could go a long way to improving relationships and productivity at work.
Promote Clarity
When people are clear about their role, their responsibilities and how to get things done you will reduce unnecessary frustration and increase productivity. Far too often employees are left to figure out the goals for themselves. When they do this the goals they choose may not tie into the overall company strategy. Having a clear goal is a strong motivator towards getting things done, when people have clarity around goals they are more likely to be happier and more successful at what they do, achieving the company goals and creating a win-win for all involved.
There are many ways in which you can influence your team’s happiness levels but if you were to start with these few suggestions you would be well on your way to getting better results for all involved.
Disorganisation
Such a simple thing to fix but a major cause of workplace stress. Disorganisation costs organisations thousands of euro each year, can cause employees stress, unhappiness and in extreme cases can even cost them their jobs. Bite the bullet and spend some time clearing your desk your inbox and your head. The benefits are too plentiful to ignore. You will feel a greater sense of control, less procrastinating, improve your focus and get more done.
Work on gaining more control of your stress levels and your reactions. We all know the way we should behave but few of us do what we should be doing. Time to take action, walk your talk and take responsibility for living the values that you want to promote. Be the leader you know you should be.
