How happy are you at work?
We’ve all heard the jokes about the ‘Sunday scaries’, but how many people genuinely dread going to work? While even the best-loved jobs can sometimes feel stressful or overwhelming, how many employees are truly unhappy at work?
This week, I was fascinated to read The global workplace happiness report, published by The Happiness Index in partnership with Pluxee, which surveyed 80,000 employees across 115 countries.
The report found that UK workers report higher levels of happiness than the global average, as well as higher productivity than nations in its peer group. The findings challenged common assumptions about drivers of productivity, highlighting social and emotional factors as the strongest perceived drivers of productivity. Team enjoyment, for example, was found to be the number one global driver of productivity, followed by effective collaboration, inspiration and strong information flow.
The quality of workplace relationships was also a strong factor in the UK’s ratings.
As Matt Phelan, co-founder at The Happiness Index, said: “While operational systems provide structure, they are not what make employees feel motivated or committed. Feeling recognised, inspired and connected to others has a far greater impact on whether people perform at their highest level, advocate for their organisation and want to stay.”
However, employers should not fall into the trap of assuming long-serving staff have remained with the organisation because they are happy. The report also found happiness plateaus after five years. Having a clear plan in place to both create and sustain employee happiness is, therefore, vital.
But, how many employers include happiness as a measure of success within their business?
Hosted Desktop UK (HDUK) this week reported its highest team happiness score to date after its overall happiness score rose to 87%, up by 4% on the previous quarter. The results of its latest employee survey showed a high percentage of its workforce trust management, report positive wellbeing and love the work they do.
The organisation believes creating a positive working environment has been key to its continued growth, with business success and employee happiness being strongly interlinked.
While the concept of happiness at work isn’t new, it is something we do not always see being discussed or focused upon within organisations. Yet, including this as a clear business focus and/or measure of success can reap rewards for employers, as well as making a real difference to employees.
Debbie Lovewell-Tuck
Editor
@DebbieLovewell
