Being Happy at Work

One piece of advice I was given when I joined Grab was that Grab years are like dog years - one year at Grab can expose employees to the same intensity, sheer excitement and great variety of work as three years at a larger company.

Three calendar years on (nine Grab years on) Grab's sincerity in delivering its vision to "Drive SEA Forward" seems to still burn bright. Grab aims to enable millions of micro-entrepreneurs - especially the ones at the bottom of the pyramid, the invisible and unserved - across the region, to empower them to be able to improve their lives. I blame Grab for having instilled in me this sense of a greater purpose. My passion now is for the work Grab does and my "why'' has changed.

Having made a career change that completely destroyed any career goal or financial upside, I was glad that Grab took a chance on me. Today, my professional fulfilment now derives from a much bigger purpose and I want to use the experience and skills I have acquired along the way to contribute towards creating and sustaining positive social impact.

Numerous research agree that happiness stems from believing that one’s work is truly meaningful. Employees who believe that their “company makes a positive societal contribution” and who feel “committed to achieving the company’s vision” feel that their work is most meaningful. Feeling meaning provides the daily confirmation and motivation that we are doing exactly what we should be doing, which result in happiness.

People intrinsically seek happiness, which connects people more powerfully than almost any other emotion. Yet many teams struggle with meaning and happiness because cultures get in the way - too many silos, too many teammates who prefer to stay in their comfort zones, hide behind their inflated contributions, and resist new ways of connecting.?

The solution, in a team context, is happiness - aroused from a combination of opportunity, impact and acknowledgment.

Opportunity. Each team mate has a distinct role in achieving the goal so the best leaders pick their team for their diverse skills, experience and strengths. When they click, each teammate use their abilities (regardless of size of contribution) to act on the opportunity with intelligent risk-taking and innovation. It feels great and there is a certain intensity and competitive fire to succeed as a team, rather than at the expense of other teammates.

Impact. When teammates hold each other accountable: poor performance isn’t tolerated. They trust their teammates implicitly to have their backs and support each other until success is attained. Successfully acting on an opportunity well leads to impact, which further fuels happiness. Even if the result is just one-off, the palpable joy of every teammate can be translated to an unspoken “Can you believe we did that?!”

Acknowledgment. Acknowledging each teammate's contributions and cheering for each other powers the entire happiness-opportunity-impact cycle. However this is where most teams struggle. Instead of acknowledging the success of teammates, the toxic behaviour of comparison and believing that one's contributions is greater than others stunts the whole team's happiness. Even if it is the belief of one teammate.

Crafting a team culture that consistently engenders acknowledgement can create a stronger sense of loyalism, shared purpose and heartfelt pride.?Teammates need to remember that each member of the team is picked for precisely their individual skill or strength. Their contributions can and will never be equal. A teammate may see themselves as just a tiny screw in the whole machine, but that screw could also be the cause of a system crash.

As a team, return to these fundamental drives:

• Demonstrate a growth mindset - Great teammates do not merely have the capacity to do the job - they also prove they are willing to be coached so they can get better at it.
• Be super excited - Great teammates show that they are willing to hustle, improvise, and find a way to move the needle or make an impact.
• Share your ideas - Great teammates recognise problems the team has been dealing with and humbly show that they are actively coming up with solutions, which are implemented after alignment with leadership.
• Get on board - Great teammates work with leadership to create a loyalist team culture and celebrate each teammate's success no matter the size of contribution.

Happy teammates embrace teamwork to deliver maximum impact, shared success and in the process, fun. Authentically participating in team efforts to create culture - connect, celebrate and express happiness through simple events like team gatherings or a year-end gift exchange can help increase happiness. So “dial up” the participation to improve culture for the sakes of the teammates who energise our efforts.

Happiness begets happiness!