India was once called the “Golden Bird” for its riches – not only in its material worth but also for its spiritual quests, ethical practices and value-based culture, which translated into a happy society.
Recently, a leading English daily carried a feature indicating that India has fallen down to 117th position globally in the happiness index. Through this article I represent both the contemporary and ancient views on happiness, keeping in mind today’s corporate India and how it can benefit from this way of thinking.
Contemporary Views
Matthew Killingsworth wrote that, “mind wandering on the job reduces both happiness and productivity. Managers may want to look for ways to help employees stay focused.” He added in his article that people’s minds wander half the time in office and this appears to lower their mood. The amount of mind wandering varies depending on the activity, roughly 60 percent of the time while commuting, 30 percent of time when talking to someone and 10 percent on activities the person loves.
He concludes by stating that happiness on the job may depend more on our moment-to-moment experiences, our routine interactions with co-workers and our daily contributions than a higher salary or a lofty title. Gretchen and Porath, in another article, state that, “If you give your employees the chance to learn and grow, they will thrive and so will your organization and country.”
Research suggests the following actions for increasing productivity through happy minds
❏ Craft your own work to be more meaningful
❏ Look for opportunities to innovate and work
❏ Invest in relationships that energizes you
❏ Recognize that thriving can spill over outside the office & finally
❏ Take a break to discover yourself
Ancient Indian solutions
The “Chandogya Upanishad,” the “Kato Upanishad” and in “Bhagvad Gita” have stated the science of
From Bangalore, India:
The Value of Happiness
By Seshadri “Sesh” Ramaswami
THE CONNECTOR’S REGIONAL REPORTS