Job Performance (Linked With Happiness Optimism And Well-Being)

Introduction

Happiness, optimism and well-being are indicators of job performance
"...a large-scale study found that well-being predicts outstanding job performance..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022

Which comes first, succeeding and then being happy or being happy and then succeeding? Is initial happiness a pre-requisite for well-being?

Happiness and well-being are linked with optimism and are all strong indicators and predictors of performance.

"...behavioural science research spanning the past 40 years highlights the competitive advantage that employee happiness offers businesses..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022

Happiness

What is happiness, ie subjective well-being. Its meaning can vary in different situations.

There are 3 components to happiness

i) person's own assessment of their satisfaction with life

ii) experiencing much positive emotions like enjoyment, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, etc

iii) experiencing insignificant amounts of negative emotions like hostility, irritability, fear, nervousness, anxiety, etc

Researchers looked at how much happiness is

- inherited (40%), ie genetic, etc (nature)

- impact of environment (60%), like life experiences, etc (nurture)

Generally, as we get older, the environment becomes more important and genetic influences become less important.

Within the workplace
"...happiness before the pandemic was largely due to employees' sense of belonging within an organisation and among co-workers, the flexibility afforded to workers, inclusivity, and a sense of purpose to their work (in descending order of important). Things changed dramatically during the pandemic: having a supportive manager became the largest predictor of happiness - nearly twice as important as the next ranked workplace happiness factor, purpose..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022

Employees who indicate that money is important to them were 4 times more likely to link income and happiness, when compared with those who cared less about money.
Happy employees

- are more likely to emerge as leaders

- earn higher scores on performance evaluations

- tend to be better teammates

- are healthier

- have a lower rate of absenteeism

- are more motivated to succeed

- are more creative

- better relationships with peers

- are less likely to leave the organisation, ie lower staff turn-over.

NB All these factors have a significant impact on the company's profitability and sustainability.

In addition to heritability and sense of meaning, happiness can be influenced by

- workplace flexibility

- reasonable pay

- type of work

- supportive managers

All these can be influenced by management. Consequently, management should take 3 actions

i) measure happiness in both employees and job candidates (in staff selection, attitudes like happiness and optimism can be placed ahead of knowledge, skills, talent needed for the job, etc;

To test happiness, well-being, optimism, etc, it is
"...important to use proven assessment tools and not rely on management intuition..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022

It is much easier to teach a person skills than to change their overall attitude.
If you have toxic leadership and management practices, factors like happiness, well-being, optimism, etc will evaporate. Consequently, staff turnover will increase; with the bottom line being negatively impacted.

NB
"...Happiness matters across the work spectrum..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022)

ii) develop happiness in your workforce
"...Training initiatives targeting employee well-being do not require a significant time investment, are cost-effective and carry a high ROI..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022

Some examples include

- Gratitude Visit (participants prepare and present a 300-word testimony of gratitude to someone who changed their life for the better)

- Three Good Things (for one week, participants write down 3 things that went well each day and what caused those things to go well)

- Signature Strengths (participants complete an online strengths survey and then use one of their top strengths in a new way each day for at least a week)

Research has shown
"...the three good things and signature strengths exercises significantly increase happiness and decreased depression over six months, while a gratitude visit did the same over one month..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022

These exercises work when staff want to be happier, are willing to put in the effort and believe that these efforts will pay dividends.

Some other exercises include

- Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (resilience initiative which improves psychological health of military personnel)

- Endurance Happiness and Continued Self-Enhancement (ENHANCE) (focus on identifying core values, cultivating mindfulness, establishing positive social relationships, dealing with negativity and adversity, etc)

Need to be careful that people are happy with status quo, ie staying where they are!!

In summary

"...first, measure well-being. Next, start with the easy exercises to demonstrate that the company values employees' well-being. Then start investing in the more formal programs over time as happiness increases..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022)

iii) retain employees who are happy (happiness can be contagious, ie
"...Happiness can spread across the social network, but also happy people are much more connected to other happy people within the network......the effect of happiness extended 3° of separation on the focal person..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022

Similarly, unhappiness is also contagious.

Remember
"...Employee well-being initiatives work best when confident leaders present the material and when senior leaders place significant emphasis on the overall effort..."
Paul B Lester et al, 2022

Thus leaders must be more than advocates, they must be active participants and role models.