HEALTH & WELLNESS and mental health outcomes .” While Hsu acknowledges that happiness is not exactly the same thing as absence of strain , she cites a 2015 study from the University of Warwick in the U . K ., which found that employees were 12 percent more productive when happier .
Perhaps the idea of employee happiness strikes the wrong note for business leaders , as it can sound a bit loosey-goosey . It might even feel naive . But Barrett McBride , CEO of a Sacramento-based consultancy firm , says there ’ s a more acceptable corporate concept that covers much of the same turf : employee engagement . “ If people are engaged at work , there ’ s a sense of some type of joy ,” says McBride . And the same elements that researchers have linked to happiness — gratitude , variety , even kindness — are also essential for employee engagement .
This starts with a positive culture . Robert Lorber , CEO of The Lorber Kamai Consulting Group in Davis , says that creating a healthy company environment — one that fosters engagement — starts with giving everyone a clear sense of the mission . This lets employees feel connected and important . “ Everybody should really understand the purpose of the organization ,” says Lorber , as well as how their specific tasks contribute to the end game . He points to PRIDE Industries , the Sacramento-based social enterprise company that helps create jobs for people with disabilities , as an exemplar of this kind of shared purpose . “ The passion there is so strong ,” he says . “ Everybody understands what they ’ re about .” Lorber ’ s other keys for employee engagement : Everyone understands how decisions are made ; crisp and transparent guidelines for how performance is evaluated ; clear communication ; and a strong focus on recognition , teamwork and continued development .
At first , these concepts of employee engagement and individual happiness feel disconnected — even apples and oranges — but when you look a little deeper , they share some underlying tenets . Demir stresses the importance of variety ; Lorber does the same . Both underscore the importance of gratitude
and acknowledgement . Even the happiness interventions can translate to our jobs . True , it ’ s unlikely you ’ ll see “ Practice random acts of kindness ” in the third-quarter-budget deck , but we can embrace the core principles .
“ Call out your coworkers when they ’ ve done something special ,” McBride suggests , which taps into both kindness and gratitude . Or maybe if a colleague is buried with work , you can reach out to lend a surprising hand . The happiness intervention of flexing your signature strengths has a clear corporate analog in the Clifton- Strengths assessment , a framework McBride uses when coaching executives . “ Start with your strengths ,” she explains , as it can be more effective to lean into your strengths than wallow in your weaknesses .
Just as Demir ’ s research shows that improving our happiness set point — beyond a fleeting burst of joy — is not as simple as doing something fun , creating deeper employee engagement requires more than a quick fix . McBride once worked with an organization that realized it had an engagement problem . Its big solution ? Free doughnuts on Friday . “ Next year , their ( engagement ) survey wasn ’ t any better , so then they talked about doing food trucks ,” she says with a chuckle . That kind of gimmick is rarely the answer . “ I ’ m sure that everyone appreciates food , but what they really appreciate is thank-you ’ s ,” she says , clarifying that these acknowledgments should not be perfunctory or vague , but earnest and
56 comstocksmag . com | August 2021