There is a rumor going around that sacrifice and hard work always precede happiness; that they are somehow harbingers of it. This could explain the fact that over the last two to three decades, the average American has seen the typical work day grow from eight to nine and even ten hours. Somehow we began to form this collective misconception that all these extra hours at the office will equate to success, which will equate to promotions, while will equate to more money, which will equate to more happiness. I remain unconvinced.
The problem with this kind of thinking is that it also makes the assumption that more hours always equal more productivity. This is where we get ourselves into trouble. I’m sure some very smart people out there could show, with years of research and some complicated math, that this is false. I don’t really need to do all that because I know it’s false. As our work weeks extend, so too does our burnout. Burnout causes mistakes. These mistakes take time to fix. This rework time has a cancelling effect on the productivity you thought you were gaining by working an extra ten to twenty hours last week.
So why even bother presenting an argument on something thatmost likely won’t change any time soon (and, in fact, while probably just get worse)? Because the answer is a lot more simple than you might think: reverse the formula. Let happiness lead you to success,promotions, more money and whatever else you may think will plug those holes inyour life. Of course, this tactic may require a little bit of help from your employer, and that’s where your friendly neighborhood HR team can make themselves useful.
If we can entertain, just for a few minutes, that happiness, not a longer work week, is the key to solving organizational productivityissues, then we’ve got to start with another great TED lecture1:
In the lecture, Shawn Achor explains to his audience thatall our beliefs about the source of happiness are completely backward. He explains that, regardless of whether ornot all this extra working is increasing our productivity, it’s not making ushappier; we’re focusing on the wrong things.
As we already know, people react to incentives. This means that as a function, human resources, is responsible for creating systems that will incent people to behappy. How we accomplish this willdepend completely upon the makeup of our workforce. Remember, incentives must be individualized.
At first, I imagine, your employees won’t believe the shiftin your culture. The natural suspicionof mankind will tell them it’s all some clever ploy to raise revenue and cutcosts. Their suspicions are, of course,well founded, but here’s the best part: there’s something in it for them aswell; something pretty great. They getto enjoy work! They get to enjoy being at work and whenpeople are happy at work they work harder, get along better, team up more oftenand are far more creative (did you know that few things stifle creativity inthe workplace more efficiently than stress?).
So be bold. Find away to get your leadership bought into a culture of happiness. As with anything else, this won’t ever workif your GMs, VPs, SVPs, C-whatevers don’t buy in. So don’t get too frustrated. This kind of culture isn’t for everyone. I’ve seen it fail miserably with the wrong leader. But if you’re lucky enough to be surroundedby a team that believes in the power of happiness, you’ve already taken a verylarge step in the right direction.
As always, your feedback is welcome!
As always, your feedback is welcome!
1. Achor,Shawn. "Shawn Achor: The Happy Secret to Better Work." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. TED, Feb. 2012. Web. 12 June 2012.<http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html>.
