What is work happiness? With an impressive score of 7.4 in the annual World Happiness Report , the Netherlands is firmly in the top five of the happiest countries in the world. In terms of work happiness, we are not doing too badly with a score around 7.2. But what exactly is work happiness?
Work happiness is much more than just being happy with your job. In essence, it is about promoting and experiencing positive thoughts and emotions that make you enjoy your work. In this blog we explain what the definition of work happiness is according to JobAligner .
The definition of work happiness is the happiness you experience when you cherish positive thoughts, feel positive emotions, feel good about yourself, enjoy your work, and feel satisfaction by utilizing and further developing your own talent. And you have the feeling that you can contribute to a higher goal of the organization.
This definition emphasizes that work happiness is not limited to just the workplace. Work happiness affects all facets of someone's life and therefore influences a large part of an individual's happiness in life. And the other way around: the degree of happiness in the private sphere also determines the degree of happiness at work. This strong interconnection between work happiness and life happiness is often underestimated.
Happiness at work and feeling happy in life are therefore inextricably linked. It underlines the importance of recognizing the profound impact of work happiness on our overall well-being and vice versa.To better understand the definition of work happiness, we first dive into the specific elements that together form work happiness.
Understanding the components that make up the DNA of work happiness is fundamental to promoting satisfaction, enjoyment and job performance in the workplace.
Here is a summary of the most important components of work happiness:
Nurturing positive thoughts and emotions
At its core, work happiness consists of cherishing positive thoughts and feeling positive emotions. So it's about achieving a positive mindset in the workplace. A mindset where optimism and enthusiasm flourish, even in the face of challenges. This positivity not onlyincreases satisfaction at work, but also affects someone's private life. In other words: a positive mindset not only contributes to happiness at work, but also to greater happiness in life.
Feeling good about yourself
Experiencing comfort and convenience in the workplace is a crucial part of work happiness. When employees can be themselves, express their ideas and genuinely contribute to the organization,this contributes to an inclusive work environment. Feeling good about yourself contributes to increasing work happiness!
Enjoy your work
Work happiness is about the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction you experience while carrying out specific tasks orprojects. The work must offer sufficient challenge. And if possible, also match the interests of the employees. Of course, every employee has to deal with the performance of work that he enjoys less. But apart from this, the fun factor is a true multiplier in increasing work happiness.
Feeling satisfied by utilizing talent
Feeling satisfied at work by using and developing your personal talent is of the utmost importance. JobAligner's work happiness formula emphasizes the importance of getting satisfaction from the tasks you perform every day by using your talent.
Contribute to higher organizational goals
Understanding how one's role fits within the company's larger mission and goals provides a deep sense of meaning, which increases employee engagement. This completes the circle. Work happiness encourages employees to commit to the higher goals of the organization. And at the same time, contributing to these higher goals ensures even more work happiness.
By stimulating positive thoughts and emotions, feeling good about yourself, enjoying your work, feeling satisfaction by utilizing your talent and by contributing to the higher goal of the organization, employees and employers can work together contribute to acorporate culture that promotes work happiness.
Each of these work happiness components strengthens the other. And creates a positive feedback loop that goes beyondthe boundaries of the office.
In the following sections we explore why working on work happiness is so important. In other words: why should you, as an employer, see the theme of work happiness as a top priority?
A work environment that prioritises happiness has a stimulating effect on the individual, the family and society in general. Employees who find satisfaction in their tasks enjoy their interactions in the workplace. They are driven by a sense of purpose. And they have a greater chance of a fulfilling life. Experience shows that a working environment where people genuinely enjoy their work and feel valued is a formula for success.
Understanding why work happiness is important is not just about numbers and statistics! It is also about recognizing the personal satisfaction and growth that it can bring to managers and employees.
In addition to the above benefits, there are more reasons why as an employer you should view the theme of work happiness as a top priority. If employees experience more work happiness, they are more productive, creativity increases, the relationship between managers and colleagues is improved, the costs of absenteeism decrease, innovation increases, the number of burnout situations decreases, staff outflow decreases and the company reputation improves.
When defining work happiness, we previously noted that there is a strong interconnection between work happiness and life happiness. Let us now zoom in on the connection between our private lives and the situation in the workplace.
It is undeniable that work is ubiquitous in our lives today. Emails and phone calls follow us home. In our spare time we often engage in work-related conversations. So even when the office is closed,we find it difficult to let go of our work. The same applies to meeting up with colleagues in our spare time. Even then we often talk about the work, which further strengthens the connection between the two worlds.
This interplay has a direct influence on the workload that employees and managers experience. This is because distractions from personal circumstances can undermine business focus, reduce productivity and even lead to increased work stress. And more work stress creates the experience of more work pressure.
Let us now consider the question: who is responsible for promoting work happiness?
Experiencing work happiness is partly related to the perception of the employee's state of mind. After all, the employee is responsible for the thoughts and emotions that he associates with the situation in the workplace. Everyone experiences work happiness in their own way. For example, a joke from a manager can be seen as funny by one employee and as sarcastic or downright insulting by another.
On the other hand, the employer is responsible for creating business conditions that guarantee work happiness and safety in the workplace. Managers who are empathetic and connect with employees fromtheir hearts contribute to this. The same applies to managers who make an effort to inspire employees to develop their talent and use their strengths.
Conclusion: work happiness is a joint responsibility of both the employer and the employee. Both will therefore have to take action. And because work happiness and life satisfaction are so closely linked, creating a workplace where employees feel like they can grow both professionally and personally is a joint effort. But also that a corporate culture is created that provides support in dealing with stress and the unique challenges of the modern (digital) world.
More and more employers are wondering what to do with the concept of work-life balance.
One of the crucial factors for work happiness is finding the right balance between work and private life. A good work-life balance enables employees to fulfill their professional obligations with more pleasure, do more work and simultaneously experience personal well-being. Once again an indication that work happiness is very important for both the employeeand the employer. And when it comes to a good work-life balance, having fun in your life is paramount.
Take a look at what our Happiness Professor Ruut Veenhoven says about this.
"Enjoying your work makes life even more fun, but what is actually more important: if you enjoy your life, you usually also enjoy your work more. Employers think that employee satisfaction can only be achieved by improving their work happiness. However, it turns out that workers' productivity depends more on their life satisfaction than their work happiness."
Various factors in the private sphere of employees play a major role in achieving happiness in life. The most important factor for happiness in life is health. So as an employer, not only look at happiness in the workplace, but also at life outside of it, which has a major influence on someone's work performance. What can you best do as an employer to ensure a good work-life balance for your employees? According to Ruut Veenhoven, this means identifying private challenges and offering resources.
A frequently asked question is: can robotization contribute to work happiness?
Automation and robotics can contribute to work happiness by streamlining repetitive tasks, reducing workloads and allowing employees to focus on more creative and meaningful aspects of their work. When implemented thoughtfully, automation can free up time for employees, improve work efficiency and increase work happiness.
In addition, apps such as those from JobAligner can also help improve work happiness. We continue this blog with a brief explanation of JobAligner's integrated work happiness formula.
JobAligner developed an integrated work happiness formula in which hard entrepreneurial goals are optimally achieved by paying attention to the soft human side. JobAligner clients thus have access to their own Work Happiness App, their own organizational community. And employees answer questions every week that affect their personal well-being, inside and outside work. Based on the output, work happiness statistics and improvement plans are periodically generated. Together with the management, an implementation plan is drawn up with the most important work happiness boosters. The improvements are then implemented on the work floor. Seeing is believing and this way work happiness is guaranteed to increase!
What is important for happiness in the workplace?
Employees find happiness in different aspects of their work. Factors such as a safe working environment, fair compensationand job security are essential. But employees often experience the most satisfaction when they have autonomy in their roles, find satisfaction in their work, discover meaning and purpose in their work, receive recognition and appreciation, have opportunities for personal and professional development, maintain positive relationships with colleagues and supervisors, work in a healthy and supportive atmosphere and have moments to relax and recharge.
What makes a successful approach to work happiness extra challenging is the fact that work happiness and life happiness are so strongly linked. As an employer, you are partly responsiblefor a good work-life balance for your employees. This requires a genuine connection and commitment from both the employer and the employee. As an employer, you would do well to identify private challenges and offer resources.
And last, but not least. Because work happiness is a joint responsibility of both the employer and the employee, both will have to take action. In other words: an effective approach to work happiness requires both a top-down approach and a bottom-up approach. When it comes to work happiness, everyone is in charge!
