BizInsight

“HAPPINESS is not about making it to the peak of the mountain, nor is it about climbing aimlessly around the mountain: happiness is the experience of climbing toward the peak.” – Tal-Ben Shahar, professor of Leadership Psychology, Harvard University
Happy employees are productive employees. They’re also committed, loyal and eager to go the extra mile. This leads to increased growth, customer satisfaction, lower staff turnover and fewer safety incidents. So, if an organisation’s primary objective is to make profit, should it not be concerned with creating a happy workplace?
What is a happy workplace, exactly?
As per my analysis, a happy workplace equals engaged employees and a thriving sense of well-being. Well-being is comprised of the physical, emotional and social connectedness. Research, after all, shows that employee engagement is more likely to be sustained when the psychological well-being is high (Robertson and Cooper 2010).
As a human-resources manager, how do you go about creating a happy workplace?
Create buy-in: It’s not specifically the job of HR, but rather the job of the company as a whole to create and sustain a happy workplace. Everyone from the CEO to line managers must understand and accept the responsibility of maintaining happiness. This is intricately linked to company’s strategic objectives: customer loyalty, innovation and profitability.
Appoint Happy Champs: Train your line managers and employees. Give them practical tools on how to put a happy workplace into practice. Appoint them to become happiness champions. The ideal ratio of Happy Champs to employees should range between 1:10 up to 1:40 employees and no greater. Show your managers how to use career conversations, recognition and clear and common purpose to create a powerful and engaging experience for employees. Well-being programmes that emphasise a healthy lifestyle, mindfulness, financial planning, employee counselling services and corporate social responsibility, to name just a few, are very effective.
Measure happiness: Conduct a survey to gauge your employee engagement and well-being levels. Ensure that the survey is done confidentially.
According to Gallup, in a world-class organisation, the ratio of engaged to disengaged employees is 9.57:1. Disengaged employees are unhappy and unproductive and liable to spread negativity among their co-workers. One simple engagement survey is by Kevin Kruse’s GReAT (G=Growth, Re=Recognition and T= Trust). As for well-being, there is Happinometer by our very own Thailand Health Promotion Foundation. For the record, Thailand ranked 44th in the happiness index conducted by Gallup among 135 countries in 2013.
Take corrective action: Analyse your surveys and provide your managers with feedback. Use the 80:20 rule. Tackle the most pressing issues that will yield the biggest results. Remind them to use tools, tips and seek assistance from Happy Champs.
While the verdict on a happy workplace may not move mountains, more companies are promoting employee engagement and employee well-being. The position of “chief happiness officer” is on the rise. A note of caution, happy workplace should be part of your HR strategy as long as it does not contradict your company’s philosophy. The results will be evident in the bottom line and before you know it your organisation will become a great mountain to climb.

Author Suvit Chansrichawla is HR consultant for Serendipity & Co, which is a partner of the Curve Group in Thailand.