Happiness at Work

A short blog prior to the Perkbox Webinar with me, 20 July 2017 at 12.30 GMT.

“Where happiness, is just an illusion, filled with sadness and confusion…”  Lyrics from the epic 1960s Tamla Motown classic from Jimmy Ruffin “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted”.

Unfortunately, you could say this has become anthemic about many of our working lives: Happiness is an illusion, and our days are filled with sadness and confusion.

And yet, I meet many people who are very happy in their work. Many who really love what they do. Many who love whom they do it for (their customers) and with (their colleagues), and many who have worked out they are doing what they were called to do.

And then the majority aren’t so fortunate in their commentary on work. Whose experience is one of drudgery, too much pressure, boredom and feeling trapped.

This is not conducive to happiness - of course - and is probably why there are real concerns that we’re in the midst of a quiet epidemic of mental ill health, physical ill health and overly stressed situations that just happen to be called our jobs.

Yet if we compare it to the early industrial age of 14-hour forced labour for little returns in early Victorian Britain for example, we’re positively resplendent with the conditions of our labour.

So we’ve moved on - significantly - to a fairer place to work but there’s still an AWFUL long way to go. 

That the Government of the UK commissioned CEO of the RSA.org Matthew Taylor to review working conditions in response to the rise of the gig economy (amongst other things) says a lot. His report issued recently on Good Work is a worthy read here.

It says a lot about work-related exploitation, inequality and organisational justice that we needed this review. It says a lot about how we, as workers, still feel too little empathy and too much machinery in the world of work.

And so to counter some of this, we see a rise in things that can help us be happier at work. Productivity research, schemes, themes and positive regimes. Consultants, products, methodologies. All meant to help. And in many ways, they do. Perhaps not where it's most needed mind, but help it often does.

Although I can’t escape the thought that if people matter, the people who employ them have to believe that they do. And believe that at least on par - or ideally over - their fixation on profit/returns. Of course, it's not looking after anyone to be frivolous or ignorant to financial well-being and yet we see it time and again. Avarice. And when that's the overriding theme, how people are treated becomes a background blur, an intolerance, an inconvenience to manage.

There are though, leaders who know the balance between good finances and genuinely caring about their own people and indeed, how the two co-exist and are enhanced by each other.

There’s one obvious example I won’t be covering in the webinar but provides a tease into the kinds of companies I will be highlighting: Happy Limited in London found at https://www.happy.co.uk/ Have a look into a happy workplace that helps other be that way and see Henry Stewart address Perkbox live here

So instead of short bursts of hopeful optimism, I’m going to share with you how some companies really have looked at the work they do and given it a total overhaul and made places of work truly happier. 

Join me on 20th July at 1230 GMT by registering here

Perry Timms

Founder and Chief Energy Officer - PTHR.