Belonging at work
The case for happiness at work is clear. Many research projects show that happier employees lead to an increase in productivity and therefore profit. Despite all the relevant research, we are not doing very well at being happy. According to the labour work survey, 15.4 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2017/2018. It is clear we have a lot of work to do to improve the well-being of ourselves and our employees.
Stanford Graduate school of Business have identified key drivers to feel happier at work:
1) Higher purpose – People want to feel that they are part of something bigger than themselves and that shared goals are important.
2) Autonomy – People want to feel that are trusted to get on with their work.
3) Meaningful relationships – Shared experiences can help to achieve this.
4) A positive Impact – people are happier if they see the concrete, measurable and purposeful influence their actions have on others.
You could consider these questions to gauge whether your organisation has this kind of culture:
- How freely for your employees voice their thoughts and offer suggestions?
- How open are they to hearing other peoples’ points of view?
- How accepted do they feel?
We will look at how leaders can improve the culture at their businesses next week.
