1281: Happiness Clocks In by The Live Happy Team on Career Success & Overall Productivity

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily, Episode 1281. Happiness clocks in by the Live Happy Team of LiveHapy.com

[00:00:08] And I'm Dan, I'm your host of the show and today we're going to hear from Live Happy, so let's get right to it and optimize your life.

[00:00:17] Happiness clocks in by the Live Happy Team of LiveHapy.com

[00:00:26] In Denmark, happiness in the workplace is so valued that they even have a name for it.

[00:00:32] Our bites Glada, roughly translating into work joy or work happiness,

[00:00:37] it's a word that seems foreign to US workers in more ways than one.

[00:00:41] During the course of our lives we spend roughly 90,000 hours working,

[00:00:45] so it makes sense that we'd want to enjoy that part of our lives.

[00:00:49] While previous generations may have focused their attention on paying the bills and working hard

[00:00:53] to build a good life for their families, today's workers expect a greater work and life balance.

[00:00:59] In fact, Gallup's 2017 State of the American Workplace Report found that 53% of workers say that having a position with greater work

[00:01:08] life balance and increased personal well-being is very important and they increasingly expect employers to play a role in that.

[00:01:16] The 2017 Staples Annual Workplace Study discovered that 80% of workers believe employers have a responsibility

[00:01:23] to keep employees both mentally and physically well.

[00:01:26] Given the connection between happiness, good health and productivity, bosses would do well to listen.

[00:01:32] Quote, people who are happy at work have better health or happier in life and enjoy greater career success and lifetime incomes.

[00:01:42] Alexander Keralf, CEO of the Danish company Woohoo Inc.

[00:01:47] It's good for the company too. Economists from the University of Warwick found that happier people are 12 to 20% more productive and use their time more effectively.

[00:01:56] Quote, one of the authors of this study, Andrew Uswald, professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Warwick says,

[00:02:05] companies like Google have invested more in employees' support and employee satisfaction has risen as a result.

[00:02:12] For Google, productivity rose 37%, making workers happy really pays off.

[00:02:18] End quote, rules of engagement.

[00:02:21] But what exactly makes for a happy workplace?

[00:02:24] It's more than Google's free food and arcade games that make employees want to work harder and do better.

[00:02:30] It's most likely the autonomy, the ability to learn on the job, and the variety of challenges that contribute to happiness and greater productivity.

[00:02:39] All of those elements were found to be major contributing factors to work satisfaction in the Gallup report.

[00:02:45] Scott Krabtree, chief happiness officer and founder of Happy Brain Science, a consulting company that helps organizations boost productivity and happiness, says,

[00:02:55] autonomy is a key human motivator and that includes autonomy at work. Nobody enjoys being micromanaged, so why do it to others?

[00:03:04] End quote, employees who fare best are those who are given clear goals or expectations, limited feedback, and only when necessary,

[00:03:13] and the freedom to move forward on their own. That kind of approach leads to an engaged workforce, and engaged workers are happy ones.

[00:03:22] Making a play for workplace happiness.

[00:03:25] Engaging workers is easier said than done. While it's not a new problem for workers or for employers, it is becoming more important.

[00:03:33] One of the new drivers of employee engagement is gamification, which applies game mechanics to non-game settings such as the workplace.

[00:03:41] This allows employers to develop rewards, encourage employees, and improve performance in a more accessible, enjoyable way.

[00:03:49] As he studied more about happiness in the workplace, Scott, who has a background in video game design, was surprised to learn that what makes people happy and engaged in video games are the same elements that engage us at work.

[00:04:01] He says, quote,

[00:04:03] What makes games so compelling, according to science, is that you find core human intrinsic motivators in them. These are psychological needs that we all have.

[00:04:12] Specifically, those needs are autonomy, relatedness, and mastery, and the best video game satisfy our needs for that.

[00:04:19] It's exciting to know that the things that engage us in playing games are the same things that engage us in making work more rewarding and engaging.

[00:04:28] End quote,

[00:04:29] Playing with a full deck. Scott merged the research on workplace happiness with positive psychology principles into a game called Choose Happiness at Work.

[00:04:39] Using two decks of cards, players work through a set of problems based on real-world works and areas. One player draws a problem, and the other players recommend one of the solutions they've drawn from the other deck.

[00:04:51] Scott says, quote, It gets everyone talking about how these different solutions will work. Every solution has a real science behind it. End quote,

[00:05:00] Those solutions apply principles of positive psychology to resolve the scenario. He goes on to say, quote, I use this a lot in workshops and presentations, and there's a lot of laughter.

[00:05:12] There's not enough laughter in the workplace, so even though it's a quote unquote serious game, it's a lot of fun. End quote,

[00:05:20] Even in its levity, however, the game is providing ideas and guidelines for solving workplace problems, improving communication, and creating greater engagement.

[00:05:29] Those solutions presented are designed to make players think differently and respond to situations using a positive engaged approach. Scott says, quote,

[00:05:39] When you talk to people about gamification at work, most people immediately go to the surface stuff. We'll give people points and badges and prizes. All of that is great, and it works, but it works better if you understand why it's working and what it's all about.

[00:05:54] In work and in games, it's all about progress and mastery. End quote,

[00:06:00] While workplaces may have been reluctant to introduce initiatives for employee happiness in the past, today that mindset is changing. Finally, Scott says, quote,

[00:06:10] I understand that we're at work to get things done, but fun is not the opposite of productivity. Science shows us it can be a great compliment to productivity.

[00:06:20] If you take 5% of your time to boost happiness at work and you get a 20% productivity boost out of that investment, then I would say that's a fantastic return on investment. End quote,

[00:06:35] You just listen to the post titled Happiness clocks in by the live happy team of livehappy.com. We're driven by the search for better,

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