What Are the Advantages of Happiness at Work?

Emiliana describes evidence showing that more happiness at work 

• makes things better for individuals, 
• improves the quality of social interactions 
• benefits organizations as a whole 

making the strong case that prioritizing happiness at work is a worthwhile endeavor.

• individual benefits
• happy = 
• ^ physical / mental health
• ^ intrinsic motivation 
• ^ activity at work 
• ^ creativity at work 
• see 
• Labour Economics
• Oswald, A. J., Proto, E., & Sgroi, D. (n.d.). Happiness and Productivity. 35.
• Malcolm, S. (2021, April 16). Council Post: If You Want To Be More Productive At Work, Get Happy. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/04/16/if-you-want-to-be-more-productive-at-work-get-happy/
• Progress Principle 
TEDx Talks. (2011, October 12). TEDxAtlanta—Teresa Amabile—The Progress Principle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD6N8bsjOEE
• Amabile, T., & Kramer, S. (2011, July 19). The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work:  9781422198575: Amazon.com: Books. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/142219857X?ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&tag=creativitatwork&creativeASIN=142219857X
• social benefits
• relationships with colleagues, customers and clients 
• enjoy camaraderie of peers 
• more socially appealing, trustworthy, warm, friendly,
helpful, and in contrast to the happy-go-lucky stereotype,
more competent 
• Happier people receive more favorable evaluations from supervisors and managers on the quality of their work, their productivity level, and their dependability.
• see 
• Colbert, A. E., Bono, J. E., & Purvanova, R. K. (2016). Flourishing via workplace relationships: Moving beyond instrumental support. Academy of Management Journal, 59(4), 1199–1223. http://phd.meghan-smith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/05.pdf 
• TEDx Talks. (2012, October 29). Wellbeing: Jim Harter at TEDxOmaha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLvAG8i9PF8
• organizational benefits 
• more agreements
• happier business units
• higher productivity
• better customer loyalty
• better safety records,
• fewer quality defects
• see 
• Lighthouse. (2017, February 25). Key Takeaways from the Gallup State of the American Workplace Study. Lighthouse Case Studies. https://getlighthouse.com/blog/gallup-state-of-the-american-workplace-study/
• 
  

Story 

Since the 1970s, researcher Alice Isen has published decades of foundational studies showing that making people happy in the laboratory leads to more creativity, flexible problem-solving, and kindness. In a work context, her team famously gave physicians candy before a diagnostic challenge. And compared to doctors who had not been given candy, those briefly cheered up by the candy made quicker, more accurate diagnoses, even if they were given misleading information about the patient.

Economics of Well Being 

why is happiness good for an organization? 

• higher shareholder return 
• more innovative
• employee friendly workplaces invest more into innovation
• more tolerant to setbacks 
• better able to adapt 
• attract talent .. and retain talent (double probability that they will stay); reduce turnover costs by as much as 52%
• higher levels of good health - lower absenteeism -higher productivity 

how is happiness in an organization achieved? 

PERK 

• purpose
• engagement
• resilience 
• kindness