One Study Points to ‘Yes.’ Is Happiness a Workplace Superpower?
soldiers were compared to the most negative and unhappy soldiers, the happy soldiers were nearly four times more likely to receive recognition through an award. This is even more amazing when you consider that receiving a military award is relatively rare. Throughout the study, only 12% of participants won any awards, and nearly all top performers were ranked as “very happy.”
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the global economy — specifically the labor market. Many employees are rethinking what matters most to them in a job and prioritizing their well-being and happiness when selecting a company. Fortunately, many employers are willing to accommodate this need primarily because it is the right thing to do. Beyond that, many business owners also have the intuitive sense that happy employees are more productive. After all, how does the old saying go? “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life?”
So, what does this mean for your business?
Well, it means a few things. Firstly, if you’re interested in identifying your company’s top performers, look for the people with the most positive outlook. Secondly, if you want to boost the performance of your workers overall, look for ways that you can improve the overall well- being of your staff members. By
But how valid is the claim that satisfied employees are more productive? Furthermore, are productive employees happy because they are successful, or does happiness drive employees to succeed? One study from MIT published in the Journal of Happiness Studies gives us some insight into the answer.
In today’s workforce, prioritizing your staff’s happiness isn’t just a luxury – it’s a necessity.
rewarding people who elevate your company culture by maintaining a positive attitude while addressing challenges, you demonstrate that you value that behavior. Likewise, when you create systems within your company that allow employees to focus on their well-being, you’re setting your staff up for happiness. In today’s workforce, prioritizing your staff’s happiness isn’t just a luxury — it’s a necessity. To attract and retain highly motivated and qualified candidates, you must demonstrate that your company values their well-being. So when you make workplace happiness a priority, you begin a cycle that feeds off of itself and compounds over time, resulting in happier, more productive, more fulfilled employees. That translates to better outcomes for you, your staff, and your company. What could be better than that?
In this study, researchers followed nearly 1 million U.S. Army service members for five years. Every year, the soldiers were required to answer 25 relevant research questions as part of a more extensive survey every Army soldier takes annually. These questions were used to determine the participants’ well-being quotient (or “happiness score”) year over year. This quotient was then considered when measuring the number of participating soldiers that received an award over four years. The results were very stark. Even when controlling for factors like socioeconomic status, sex, and education level, among other things — the participant’s outlook was still considered to be a key predictor of whether or not a soldier would receive an award. When the most positive and happy
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