Happiness is a very subjective feeling. It comes from within us, and the environment surrounding us stimulates it in many distinct ways. It is unique for all of us: it affects us in different ways and is induced by different drivers.
Disclaimer: despite my current title, I am not qualified to write about this topic. I am sharing here personal opinions based on individual observations and my limited professional experience. I am doing this with the intention of inspiring reflection over this topic and possibly encourage constructive debate.
Happiness is a very subjective feeling. It comes from within us, and the environment surrounding us stimulates it in many distinct ways. It is unique for all of us: it affects us in different ways and is induced by different drivers. For instance, some people derive happiness from pain and proactively seek it, while pain is a negative sensation for most others, and they try to avoid it.
There is no unique recipe for happiness, and the ingredients can be countless. One often cited is money, but as we are told, money can’t buy happiness. Certainly, it contributes to the satisfaction of some of the most basic needs that, if unmet, would bring unhappiness to most people, such as homelessness, illness, and hunger. However, it cannot singlehandedly deliver happiness. After all, the rich cry too.
Along with money, success is often quoted as a way to reach happiness. However, success as well takes different shapes and forms, based on our way of assessing it. And again, just like for money, success on its own cannot bring happiness. Considering the suicide rates witnessed among celebrities, we can probably argue the opposite.
It is fair to note that, more than the specific factors themselves, our expectations over these factors influence our happiness dramatically. If we expect to receive 100 credits and we receive 80, we would most likely be dissatisfied, while if instead we receive 120, it is more likely that we would be happier. This dynamic is why we are the main drivers of our happiness, as to how we set our expectations has the most impact on how we feel.
So happiness results from a mixture of elements that are known to affect people in different ways. Despite there being common trends about how these affect most people, it is our distinctive nature that determines how these influence our emotions. It is then evident that it turns out to be very difficult to “deliver” happiness to people.
If we now focus on the work environment, several studies prove that happier employees are more productive. The reasons often quoted by the best performing employees for their happiness at work are the right work-life balance, higher salary, job security, meaningful work, satisfying relationships with colleagues.
My experience goes in the same direction, as I have noticed many times that happier people tend to perform better. I would add that happiness contributes to better performance: unhappy people are consuming their energies in the pursuit of happiness, instead of using them to deliver excellent results at work. Their minds are troubled by external factors that don’t allow them to perform at the best of their capabilities.
Today I want to share with you three recommendations that you, as an employer or a manager, can implement to help your employees drive the success of your business. I want to highlight that these are no golden rules, and they are what I would do in my own business. It is what I do with my own family.
1 – Monitor the happiness of your employees
Nowadays, the level of happiness within the workforce can be checked almost effortlessly. Technology provides several tools that can assess your employees’ emotional status regularly. Online surveys, or even spot checks via mobile apps, can provide valuable data as to how an employee feels that day, week, or month.
Actively monitoring this data can prevent despair from spreading within your organisation. Early signs of growing discontent can be picked up on time, allowing you to intervene before too much damage is done. You can identify corrective measures and plan to rectify an emergent negative trend and prevent it from festering.
2 – Deliver everything that you commit to
As already mentioned, expectations play a significant part in driving happiness. Whenever these are unmet, employees are often immediately disappointed and, even worse, tend not to forget the adverse event for quite some time. Which is why it becomes essential to deliver on anything you commit to your employees.
A good strategy here is communication, communication, communication. Always engage with your workforce, share your plans, truthfully tell them what they can expect, never overpromise and admit your challenges. These steps will allow you to be transparent over what you will be able to commit to. This way, your employees will be able to form more accurate and realistic expectations.
3 – Do not try to deliver happiness, but instead strive not to be the cause of unhappiness
Don’t set up yourself for failure. As we have seen, happiness is quite varied, and, therefore, it is tough to deliver it consistently. Additionally, most actions aimed at directly improving the workforce’s wellbeing are generally short-lived and might backfire when removed. For instance, if you decide to provide free coffee to everyone, the beneficial effect on morale might last a couple of weeks, but then you are stuck for life with it, as removing it would spark criticisms.
It is far easier to attempt not to be the cause of unhappiness, as you can control this more effectively. You can take action over any complaint directed at your company, strategy decisions, and behaviour, and you can show you are actively trying to improve. It would be best if you also acted upon any toxic behaviour, as relationships are critical to employees’ happiness.
This article might be perceived as primarily addressing employers, as they have the power to implement the recommendations provided. However, if you are a smart person who is able to read between the lines, you would recognise that your happiness depends on you more than anyone else. If you are unhappy at work, you are the first one that can do something about it, so speak up or pick up and… be the change you desire.
May the happiest work environment be with you
