Employee experience

2022.12.05

At work, like anywhere else, happiness is popular

By Stéphane Rochereau

Gone are the days when working meant getting up reluctantly to then go and live out one’s sentence at the office. Opinions are unanimous: happiness is now a key ingredient to creating an attractive and efficient work environment. As managers, for many years we were reminded of the importance of implementing initiatives to encourage employee engagement. We now see this approached the problem the wrong way.
 
Today, employees find themselves in a position of strength vis-à-vis their employers. This reversal of the situation has highlighted a reality that was obscured, untilà recently, bya primary emphasis on productivity. But at work, like anywhere else,human beings want most of all to be happy.. Our organizations have long neglected this both obvious and surprising reality.  

Studies show that people who are happy at work are more creative, more productive, and above all more committed. It’s not the other way around. What’s more, their happiness is infectious to the rest of the team, thus promoting a collective adherence to values and objectives. In this virtuous cycle, happiness radiates and benefits everyone! 

Can we manufacture happiness? 

The challenge lies in this question. There exist effective steps to move from theory to practice. But happiness remains an abstract concept and is difficult to measure.

To begin with, what exactly is happiness? The Petit Robert dictionary says “happiness is a state of fully satisfied consciousness, it is what makes us content”. This doesn’t help much … Wikipedia defines it as “a state of fulfillment, satisfaction or serenity, a pleasant and balanced state of mind and body, from which suffering, stress, worry and disorder are absent”. Here we come closer to the object of this quest, which is common to all of humanity.  

Shawn Anchor, an American researcher whose postdoctoral studies analyze the effects of happiness at work on the performance of organizations, Shawn Anchor goes further by stating that happiness at work does not lie in the belief that we do not need to change, but in the realization that we can change. In short, it’s the feeling we get when we realize we’re on the right path to realizing our full potential.  

While the pursuit of happiness is a matter of course, this goal is far from easy for us managers to achieve or share. On a personal level, one’s quest requires a mix of discipline and introspection. Then, when it comes to wanting to implement happiness within a team, we must be tactful, all while taking the right steps to promote its growth. In other words, happiness is a garden that needs to be cultivated carefully and over time.  

Start with yourself 

As mentioned earlier, happiness is contagious. Good leaders lead by example, and being happy yourself is a great place to start. According to Shawn Anchor, we can train our brains to be happy by adopting the following 7 principles: 

1. The advantage of happiness: getting our brain used to capitalizing on positive thoughts and emotions. 
2. Supports and levers: adopting a positive vision of ourselves. 
3. The Tetris effect: practicing seeing possibilities and opportunities, rather than problems. 
4. Rebounding: focusing on the positive side of difficulties and failures. 
5. Zorro’s Circle: Start with small goals and gradually work towards bigger ones.  
6. The 20-second rule: make small changes that require little energy but will last.  
7. Social investment: investing energy in family and friends. 

Although this cannot be seen as a magic recipe, these principles remind us of some bases on which we can act to maximize our chances of being happy. Every one of us does it our own way. One thing is certain, the feeling of being in the right place, in full possession of one’s means, is an essential prerequisite for demonstrating true leadership and influencing the people who work alongside us. 

Managing happiness is a complex challenge complexe 

Managing happiness is far from being an exact science. As a manager, it’s normal to sometimes feel helpless when it comes to implementing strategies to create this feeling within your team or organization. We all know the common expression: “you can’t make everyone happy”. It sums up the challenge we managers face, in particular, that of making decisions that are fair to an entire group. However, we can influence many parameters that can make our work environment conducive to happiness. The benefits of such an approach are manifold and worth paying close attention to. 

According to a study published in the Journal of Financial Economics, the 100 best companies to work at – as voted for by 66% of employees and 33% by managers – are the ones that generate the best return to shareholders. In other words, happiness is highly correlated with profitability. This conclusion confirms what several studies tend to show, namely that happy employees have characteristics that organizations are looking for. They are more efficient, more creative, and better suited to customer service, not to mention positively infecting their colleagues.

To establish their ranking of the 100 companies offering the best working environment, the study leaders also carry out an audit of corporate culture. Five essential variables have been identified for creating a work environment that can promote happiness: 

1. Credibility – the honesty and transparency of the organization 
2. Respect – equal treatment for all 
3. Fairness –  un traitement égal pour toutes et pour tous 
4. Pride – a sense of accomplishment 
5. Camaraderie – fluid and positive human relationships 

A well-balanced mix of these ingredients helps improve corporate culture and increase the attractiveness of the organization, both outside and within it.

Moving in the right direction 

In addition to the five main principles set out above, there are also many actions and approaches that specialists consider beneficial to making employees happy. The Covid pandemic highlighted the need to pay special attention to work-life balance. As managers, we benefit from going beyond the obvious in this area. It is essential to remain attentive to the evolving and specific needs and expectations of our team members. A well-known secret between us: flexible hours are popular. 

Of course, having more elaborate benefits programs is an asset, but the importance of a well-defined progression path, dwhere employees perceive they can grow within the company, cannot be underestimated. Lead by example by having a positive attitude yourself, be grateful, reward good initiatives, establish clear and transparent communication channels, stay attuned – these are all good habits to adopt to improve the happiness index.  

In our performance-oriented society, taking breaks is not a natural reflex for leaders and key people working within our teams. However, it is a beneficial and positive attitude that should be encouraged, for better long-term results. Your star players will not be of any support to you if they fall in battle from overwork. This type of concern, long neglected, is now de rigueur for any organization concerned with the well-being and productivity of its employees. 

In light of all these observations, we realize that the search for happiness, even if it remains an elusive quest, can be initiated and led. Each person has their own definition for it. Your own approach will benefit from being implemented with subtlety. With the advent of programs such as MBAs in happiness with $18,000 tuition, t’s a good idea to keep it natural, to avoid the perception that this is justanother strategy to boost productivity. Happiness is all about balance.