H
appier workplaces are more productive. But what does happiness at work mean? How
can we increase personal and team wellbeing as we negotiate constant change? The answers are important not only for individual, family and community health and wellbeing, but also for the health of businesses, organisations and national economies. The UK, in particular, is facing
the perfect storm of a longstanding productivity problem. Alongside innovation, the government is relying heavily on businesses and organisations to produce more with less to deliver even the most modest economic growth. Economic growth is linked to happiness and wellbeing and is a well-researched area. But can increasing happiness increase economic growth? Yok-Yong Lee and Kim-Leng
Loh, researchers at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, found economic growth of 1–3% can be achieved by increasing happiness. Also, this positive impact is about four times greater in the most developed economies than in developing economies. It confirms the intuitive, anecdotal and self- reported evidence that happiness at work makes for more productive employees and that good jobs make for healthier populations.
BRINGING JOY BACK TO WORK Bruce Daisley, best-selling author, honorary visiting professor at Bayes Business School and former VP EMEA of Twitter, has written a bestselling book on how to create more joy at work. At the CIPD conference, he reflected on how much work had changed since the beginning of the century and what this means for making happier, more productive workplaces. Workloads have increased,
processes have become quicker and we are more disconnected
from each other. This is in the context of trust in major public and private institutions falling to all-time lows. However, work is one of the “smallest big things” we can have an impact on. “I suspect what we find going forward is organisations being called on more to offer a sense of safety,” he said. Creating this when uncertainty, overwhelm and lack of community characterise today’s workplaces is the challenge companies like global drinks company Britvic is actively addressing. Elly Tomlins, chief people
officer at the company, detailed how its people policies support people to thrive at work. It is cultivating positive employee experiences, a sense of connection, community and safety. Britvic’s ‘We Care’ philosophy is “wired into the core of our ESG strategy,” she explained to delegates. Covering people, planet and performance, the ‘Healthier People’ strand focuses on employees, communities and consumers. Wellbeing for employees is
driven from the bottom up. “We can’t solve everyone’s problems, but we can offer an environment where we can help,” she explained. This means giving line managers and employees as much agency as possible to step in and solve challenges and offering a range of affordable flexible benefits. Britvic has since seen a 7%
increase in positive responses to the question “Britvic cares about my wellbeing” in its staff surveys. Tomlins believes there are three factors behind this. The first is the targeted help that has come out of “profound conversations” in employee groups. This includes the partnership with Nightclub – a national charity helping organisations combat the £50bn lost to sleep deprivation – to help people working nightshifts cope with non-standard shift patterns. The second is the link to the ESG
strategy. This gives people “spaces to feel good”, connect wellbeing to the environment and make work meaningful. The third aspect is giving people as much agency over their work as possible, including making suggestions and asking for help. Together, this approach helps people to feel more in control of their lives, which is important as work becomes more transactional. At energy company OVO too,
there is recognition that different people need different things at different times. “There is an adult- to-adult culture at OVO with belonging and self-led networks,” said Emma Illingworth, its head of people transformation.
RECONNECTING WITH COLLEAGUES & CULTURES Initiatives and programmes like these help people to connect and build social capital. Loneliness and feeling less connected with people at work – and in our communities more widely – are growing issues. They are problematic because isolation reduces protective factors for good mental health, opportunities to forge strong social bonds and people’s enjoyment of their work and life. Having a best friend at work is
important because it is “the biggest predictor of engagement,” said Bruce Daisley. “It forces you to reflect on your experience; someone to laugh, moan and talk nonsense with.” The second biggest predictor of engagement is the relationship with your line manager, especially for people in remote locations. More specifically, whether someone has received direct feedback from their manager this week. “Most of our engagement comes from our manager,” explained Daisley. “It’s our relationship with our manager that characterises it.” This is where a coaching
approach can make the difference to performance and engagement.
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GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SUPPLEMENT
ENGAGEMENT
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