How employers can help boost the happiness of their employees
Control
Research shows that people’s happiness is affected by their sense of
control over their lives. Being able to do your own work in your own
way, or to influence your environment, gives a big boost in
satisfaction.
Employers can look for ways to amplify employees’ sense of control over their work, schedule, and environment. In particular…
Commuting
Bad commutes are a major source of unhappiness. People feel frustrated, powerless, and stressed.
Employers can consider whether telecommuting or staggered start/end
times for work might be practicable, to allow people to avoid rush
hours.
Wasted time
According to a recent study, one factor that most upset people’s daily moods was having tight work deadlines.
One way to free up work time to meet deadlines is to stop having long, inefficient meetings.
Employers can take a look at meetings – how often are they being
called? Is anything actually being accomplished? Could conference calls
substitute? One easy fix: have a meeting without chairs. In Bob
Sutton’s book The No A****le Rule (he also has a great blog),
I read about a study which compared decisions made by groups where
members STOOD during the meeting compared to decisions made where
members SAT. Groups that stood took 34% less time, with no loss in
quality. (Might cause a lot of grumbling, though.)
Social connection
Studies underscore the critical importance of social relationships to
happiness. Also, interacting with others gives people a boost in mood –
surprisingly, this is true even for introverts.
To foster strong connections among employees, employees can consider
office designs that make social interactions more pleasant and
convenient, encouraging office celebrations, like birthday or holiday
parties, and other ways to help people have closer relationships.
Health and energy
Corporations pay a heavy cost for stress-related illnesses, such as
hypertension, gastrointestinal problems, and substance abuse.
Employers can consider ways to bring down the stress level of the
workplace. Employers can also take steps to educate and encourage folks
to take steps that will help them manage stress:
Sleep – surprisingly, lack of sleep (which many of us take for
granted as a part of daily life) is a major disrupter of people’s daily
moods.
Exercise – exercise is one of the most effective and easiest ways of
lifting people’s moods, and even a ten-minute walk will boost a
person’s spirits.
An atmosphere of growth
People have a strong desire for growth, progress, and advancement in their lives.
Employers can consider creating benchmarks for people whose jobs
don’t provide a sense of completion and accomplishment, providing
opportunities for training so employees can expand their skills, giving
employees a chance to take risks and enlarge their responsibilities.
Surprise!
Even a small treat can boost people’s happiness – and people get a bigger kick from an unexpected pleasure.
Employers can consider some kind of intermittent small benefit or
give-away. This might seem kind of childish, but we’ve all seen adults
scrambling for little freebies in very undignified ways. People love a
treat.
But these suggestions don’t just hold for employers. We should all
be trying to bring these elements into our own lives. Find a way to
bring “an atmosphere of growth” into your day, get more sleep and
exercise, make plans with friends, surprise your family with some
little treat.
From The Happiness Project @ http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2007/06/how_employers_c.html
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