Workplace happiness; a term that has been ‘trendy’ for a while now, and one that quite a few people are delving into. Last week was even designated the Week of Workplace Happiness! Research shows that people who are happy at work have more energy, perform better, and often have better relationships with their colleagues. Additionally, they feel more engaged and get more work done. But how do you ensure your employees are happy, and what factors influence this? Especially in these times of corona, where in many cases employees are working remotely. This naturally has a major impact on workplace happiness.
Martin Seligman (the founder of positive psychology) distinguishes five factors that influence workplace happiness and incorporates this into the so-called PERMA model:
Positive emotions
Engagement = Flow
Relationships = connecting
Meaning = meaning
Accomplishment = challenge
The advantage of this model is that it focuses on factors that increase workplace happiness, rather than the traditional view of focusing on factors that decrease it. This therefore zooms in on the positive side to see how it can be increased. Below is an explanation of these 5 factors. It can therefore be very interesting to see how this applies to your company and where “positive” gains can be achieved.
Positive emotions
Everyone experiences certain emotions at work. These can be positive emotions such as satisfaction, pleasure, and gratitude. But on the other hand, they can also be emotions such as frustration, anger, and dissatisfaction. As a manager, it can be helpful to gain more insight into this to see if you can assist your employee. After all, negative emotions are not only an energy drain for the employee themselves but also for those around them. What does this employee need to experience more positive emotions? If the employee is struggling with many negative emotions, you can initiate a conversation about it to see if you can help him or her. In doing so, you can also look at when he or she does experience positive emotions. A coaching program might also be helpful.
Engagement
Do you know that feeling when you are working on something and suddenly completely forget the time? When you become so absorbed in the moment that the rest of the world seems to cease to exist for a while? Then you are in a flow state. You feel motivated and inspired to do your work, and it requires little effort. Employees in this state of flow take much more pleasure in their work and often perform better. The extent to which employees find their work meaningful also impacts whether they easily enter a flow state. Additionally, the type of work performed is also important in determining how much flow someone experiences. One person loves diving into files and working everything out down to the last detail, while another prefers coordinating and organizing matters. Therefore, if someone struggles to enter a flow state, it is also possible that the type of work is not a good fit.
Relationships
How employees experience contact with colleagues and their manager is a major determinant of their level of job satisfaction. The way the team functions also influences this. Disagreements in interpersonal relationships reduce the enjoyment people derive from their work. Furthermore, there is a natural human need to feel connected to others. A good connection with colleagues is therefore important and determines how much pleasure you take going to work. Teambuilding is important for this reason, with the advice not only to organize an activity such as going out for dinner or an escape room, but also to engage in a dialogue with the team about the state of collaboration. This can also help increase mutual trust within the team.
Meaning
What meaning do you give to your work? What do you contribute, not only to yourself but also, for example, to society? For some professions, this is very clear, such as a police officer ensuring safety on the streets, a healthcare worker caring for sick people, etc. But this is not so clear for all professions. For an employee, it can be very important to contribute something to society. And are the employees proud of what they do? Do they also embody the company’s mission and core values? These are also determining factors regarding how much pleasure people take in going to work and how much energy they put into it. This can therefore be a great topic to discuss to see how this applies to your company.
Accomplishment
At a fundamental level, every person has a need for growth. For some, this means taking steps and moving to higher positions; for others, it involves personal growth or becoming better at what they do. Additionally, one can consider the degree of control an employee has over their work. It is particularly important to pay attention to this for people who have held the same position for a long time. Otherwise, there is a risk that they will go to work like robots and no longer feel very motivated. Often, even small adjustments or training that the employee can take can provide a positive boost in this regard.
These five factors also influence one another. Someone who is in a state of flow will also have better relationships with colleagues. Someone who experiences more challenge will also experience more positive emotions during work. Carpe Vita developed a tool to measure which areas the team or company scores well on and where improvement is possible. Especially in these times of COVID-19, it is extra important to assess whether employees are happy in their work and to make adjustments where necessary.
