Workplace Happiness

The Great Realisation Is Driving The Great Resignation

The pandemic has allowed employees to reflect on what is important to them – not only in their personal life but also their work life.

Indeed commissioned a 2021 Workplace Happiness Study conducted by Forrester Consulting which revealed that nearly 50% of people believe expectations around work happiness has increased over the last five years.?

Massive change is afoot. Employees are in the driving seat having proved that remote working can work, they are no longer limited by geographical boundaries when seeking a new employer. They are demanding retention of the flexibility to choose where they work and when. We have learned from the Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index: Annual Report that over 40% of the global workforce is considering leaving their employer this year.

The Indeed research explored a variety of topics related to happiness at work, including happiness in different aspects of respondents’ overall lives, the contribution of workplace happiness to overall happiness, the importance of different dimensions of workplace happiness, and underlying factors that respondents believe would influence the different dimensions of workplace happiness.

97% of those surveyed believed that happiness at work is possible and therefore they will look for employers who can meet their expectations. 92% of those surveyed said that how they feel at work impacts how they feel at home, making happiness at work an imperative. When people are happy, they have more success, positivity, creativity, and resilience in the face of constant change and disruption.?

When asked what the primary reason would be to leave their current job 30% stated pay followed by not feeling happy at work (19%) and not feeling energised when working (18%).

The results

What was interesting about the results was that when asked what actually makes you happy at work, the social elements of work proved to be more important than pay. For example, dimensions like being energized by work (17%), feeling belonging (12%) and having a sense of purpose (11%) all ranked higher than pay (5%).

These are the results of the research into what makes people happy at work.

This is a big wake-up call for employers who will have to make intentional and concerted efforts to not only retain their current talent but attract the talent they need to be leaders into the future. It is going to take more than just a large pay packet.

The Indeed research along with consultation from leading happiness experts?Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky?and?Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre, identified the key drivers of workplace happiness.

Employers should see pay and flexibility as fundamental needs at the base of the pyramid. Once those needs are met, the focus should be on the aspects of work that drive employee happiness.

Source: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/work-happiness-survey

Energised

Employees want to feel energised by their work. Energising employees wherever they are working is a leadership capability in need of development in most organisations.

Learning objectives

Employers need to rethink the goals and objectives they set for their employees. Objectives should motivate and energise.

As I suggested in this article for Remote Report, set objectives that are learning objectives as opposed to performance objectives.

As opposed to performance objectives such as “Run three town-hall meetings to reach over 700 of our employees”, make it into a learning objective by adding in some discovery, problem solving and innovation.

Turn it on its head and say, “Find a way to reach over 700 of our employees in the next quarter.”

This energises employees to find the best way to achieve the desired outcome themselves.

Motivators

The right motivators can energise employees. In his 2009 book Drive, Dan Pink suggests a new vision for employee motivation which he terms Motivation 3.0. ?It is a fundamental shift from the traditional and outdated carrot and stick approach to motivation that does not address the needs of the creative and innovative workplace.

Intrinsic motivation occurs when people are self-motivated because they have the freedom to do the work they enjoy as opposed to extrinsic motivation which is reward external to the work.

There are three components to intrinsic motivation.

Autonomy: the need to direct your own life and work. To be fully motivated, you must be able to control what you do, when you do it, and who you do it with.

Mastery: the desire to improve. If you are motivated by mastery, you'll likely see your potential as being unlimited, and you'll constantly seek to improve your skills through learning and practice. Someone who seeks mastery needs to attain it for its own sake.

Purpose: those who believe they are working toward something greater than themselves and therefore have purpose, are hard-working, productive and engaged?

Energise people by providing autonomy, opportunities to master a skill and a sense of purpose.

Belonging

Employees want a sense of belonging in the organisation. This is especially important in a hybrid working model where you may have employees working in an office whilst others work remotely. This can lead to an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality if one cohort is treated differently to the other.

Equity and Inclusivity

On another article I wrote for Remote Report I explored what can be done to drive equity and inclusivity across hybrid teams.

Leaders must ensure there is no proximity bias which is the tendency to give preferential treatment to those in our immediate vicinity.

Everyone has to be treated equally and fairly regardless of where they work. Everyone must be in sync.

The fact that an employee has ‘chosen’ to work remotely does not mean they will not have feelings of isolation and loneliness. Leaders must ensure that every employee feels included as a part of the team and the wider organization, wherever they are working?

Psychological safet

Employees feel a sense of belonging when they know their voice will be heard and that their input is valued. This requires an environment of psychological safety.

Dr. Amy Edmonson, Harvard Business School Professor, and behavioural scientist, introduced the construct back in 1999 when she published an influential paper on the subject. She defined it as:

“Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes."

Psychological safety takes time to create and effort to maintain. The foundation of psychological safety is trust which as the saying goes is hard to build but easy to lose.

Psychological safety is demonstrated through mutual respect, shared values, interpersonal skills, inclusivity, and equity.

When every employee feels safe to speak up, challenge, question, debate, etc. and they know that their input is welcomed and valued, they have a real sense of belonging.

Purpose

Employees want to have a clear sense of purpose. When you have a sense of purpose, you feel passionate, innovative, and committed.

Why

Organisations can create a shared sense of purpose when they start with ‘Why.’ In Simon Sinek’s 2009 book ‘Start With Why’ he explains the Golden Circle theory. The theory shows how leaders can inspire cooperation, trust, and change in a business when they think, act, and communicate starting with ‘Why.’

'Start With Why' is how you explain your purpose and the reason you exist and behave as you do. Sinek's theory is that successfully communicating the passion behind the 'Why' is a way to communicate with the listener's limbic brain. This is the part of our anatomy that processes feelings such as trust and loyalty - as well as decision-making.

Successfully articulating your 'Why' is a very impactful way to communicate with employees, define your particular value proposition and inspire them to act. Sinek's theory is that communicating 'Why' taps into the part of the brain that influences behavior.

Job crafting

Job crafting is how an employee can change their job to make it more meaningful and engaging. Organisations must encourage employee to do this and find their sense of purpose.

Research by psychologists Jane E. Dutton and Amy Wrzesniewski defined job crafting. It can take many forms including:

·??????task crafting: which involves changing the type, scope, sequence, and number of tasks that make up your job;?

·??????relational crafting:?where you alter who you interact with in your work; and?

·??????cognitive crafting: where you modify the way you interpret the tasks and/or work you’re doing.

Conclusion

The choices employers make right will have a direct impact on their ability to retain and attract talent, drive creativity and innovation and be an employer of choice.

This is especially pertinent as organisation grapple with the future hybrid working models. Not only is this the greatest opportunity most organisations have been afforded in generations but also the greatest challenge. It is organisation’s that embrace the change, follow the data, and listen to employee needs that will create a better future of work for everyone.

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I am an organisational change management rebel with a cause.?

I am an author, sought after keynote speaker, coach mentor and facilitator. My latest and fourth book, "Balanced Diversity: A Portfolio Approach to Organisational Change" is available?here.

I am passionate about enabling individuals and organisations to triumph in the face of constant and disruptive change and I do so through programs regarding organisational change, resilience, agility, leadership, transformation and adaptation.

To inquire about me working with you or your organisation please contact me?here??

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