Achieving happiness in the workplace can be a daunting task for many organizations. Armed with an abundance of data from credible sources that can transform an average company into a great place to work, organizations forge ahead with strategies that they hope will positively impact their workplace culture, and their bottom lines.
Most of these strategies, which draw upon copious research, surveys, and a plethora of analytics, are based on a menagerie of psychology disciplines. I've studied them all, and read the data. In addition, I've worked in over 70 organizations in various capacities; affording me the golden opportunity to gather my own empirical evidence on what really creates workplace happiness.
My observations have taught me that while there are many ways to improve workplace culture, and thus increase employee happiness, there is one - and only one - guaranteed way to do it:
Hire happy people.
Of course that's not feasible for established organizations with discontented workforces, but it's possible for new ventures that are cognizant of how vital people are to workplace culture. People are the culture; therefore, when hiring droves of happy people is not an option, hiring people who will be happy to work for a specific company is. It takes more effort and skill to find employees with higher baseline happiness levels, and palpable happiness at the prospect of working for a targeted employer. But it's worth it.
Creating a happy workplace culture is not a panacea for unhappiness in the workplace, nor should it be. Companies are not in the business of making employees happy. They have the scientific research that delineates where employee unhappiness originates.
Too often unhappiness implies misery. Most people are not miserable in their jobs. In the context of work, unhappiness is the feeling of not being satisfied or pleased with a situation. Workplace culture statistics tend not to reflect this discrepancy.
While we applaud workplace happiness initiatives and their seeming concern for the greater well-being of employees, it's easy to lose sight of what the real driver is: increased employee productivity - whether quantitative or qualitative. Greater productivity is the real goal; it just happens to be the byproduct of employee happiness.
My observations have taught me that while there are many ways to improve workplace culture, and thus increase employee happiness, there is one - and only one - guaranteed way to do it:
Hire happy people.
Of course that's not feasible for established organizations with discontented workforces, but it's possible for new ventures that are cognizant of how vital people are to workplace culture. People are the culture; therefore, when hiring droves of happy people is not an option, hiring people who will be happy to work for a specific company is. It takes more effort and skill to find employees with higher baseline happiness levels, and palpable happiness at the prospect of working for a targeted employer. But it's worth it.
Creating a happy workplace culture is not a panacea for unhappiness in the workplace, nor should it be. Companies are not in the business of making employees happy. They have the scientific research that delineates where employee unhappiness originates.
Too often unhappiness implies misery. Most people are not miserable in their jobs. In the context of work, unhappiness is the feeling of not being satisfied or pleased with a situation. Workplace culture statistics tend not to reflect this discrepancy.
While we applaud workplace happiness initiatives and their seeming concern for the greater well-being of employees, it's easy to lose sight of what the real driver is: increased employee productivity - whether quantitative or qualitative. Greater productivity is the real goal; it just happens to be the byproduct of employee happiness.
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