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Why read this newsletter? 🔍

• Discover the science-backed link between employee happiness and your company's success.

• Learn actionable strategies to boost happiness within your teams, directly impacting productivity and innovation.

• Get inspired by real-world examples of companies thriving by prioritizing employee well-being.

🧐 Did You Know?

Researchers at the University of Warwick found that workers who were experimentally induced to feel happier were around 12% more productive. According to economist Andrew Oswald, "When people become happier, they somehow find more energy. We don't know how they do it.”

Psychology Prof. Scollon added, "Our research shows that happy people earn more money, are healthier (spend fewer days out of the office sick) [and] are more creative at problem-solving." Promoting happiness in the company makes commercial sense "even if you're a total Scrooge and only care about making money."

Why is happiness important? 😊

Happiness is a positive emotional state characterized by joy, contentment, satisfaction, and fulfillment. How we define and experience happiness is highly individual. What makes one person happy might not have the same effect on another. 

Happiness is important because it encompasses deeper meaning and satisfaction with life as a whole and has many benefits, including: 

• Physical Health Benefits: Happy people tend to have more robust immune systems, lower blood pressure, and healthier hearts.

• Mental Resilience: Happiness promotes optimism and helps you cope better with stress, adversity, and trauma.

• Stronger Relationships: Positive emotions foster better connections with friends, family, and romantic partners.

• Increased Success: Happiness is linked to higher productivity, problem-solving abilities, and overall success at work and in life.

The types of happiness

• Simple pleasures: Simple pleasures are a quick fix for happiness and can be short-lived, e.g., I got a bonus. The Greek philosopher Aristotle described this as hedonic well-being, where you experience fleeting positive emotions of joy, pleasure, or contentment.

• Engagement: According to positive psychology research, happiness that comes from engagement occurs in the presence of meaning or purpose and doing something you are passionate about, e.g., I was so engaged in conducting customer research interviews today that time flew by. 

• Higher Purpose: Aristotle described happiness as having a higher purpose as eudaimonic well-being. It’s a by-product of being part of a community more significant than yourself; for example, being on this design team gives me a sense of belonging.

Case Study Zappos

Before Amazon acquired it in 2009, CEO Tony Hsieh designed the Zappos work environment to help his team connect to and be more passionate about the work they did selling shoes.

Informed by Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, he felt that money was not a very good motivator after his employee’s basic financial needs and safety were met. Instead, he believed employees are more motivated by intrinsic factors, such as feeling like they are contributing and that their work is meaningful. Hsieh created a more engaging and satisfying work environment to show employees it was committed to their long-term success and happiness. Some of the ways he did this include:

Focus on Culture 

Zappos has a strong company culture that is focused on happiness, teamwork, and collaboration. It hosts a variety of events and activities to help employees connect with each other and build relationships, which helps create a sense of community and belonging for employees.

Investing in training and development

Zappos invested heavily in employee training and development. The company offers a variety of programs and resources to help employees learn and grow their skills, which keeps them engaged.

Core values

Zappos has ten core values that guide the company’s culture and decision-making. These values include “deliver WOW through service,” “embrace and drive change,” and “create fun and a little weirdness.” These values help set the foundation for employees to embrace a positive mindset about their work.

Holacracy 

Zappos uses a management structure called holacracy, a self-organizing management system that distributes decision-making authority throughout the organization. This gives employees more autonomy and control over their work, leading to increased engagement.

🤑 How to Apply This

Here are some actionable strategies to boost happiness within your teams.

1. Simple Pleasures: The 'Quick Fix' for Motivation 🏆

Simple pleasures are instant gratification—bonuses, team outings, promotions, recognition, awards, and business perks. These are essential motivators, especially during crunch times or to celebrate milestones. Think of them like energy drinks—a temporary boost, not lasting fuel. Please don't rely solely on them for long-term satisfaction. 

2. Engagement: Happiness in the 'Flow State' 🏄🏻‍♂️

Engagement happiness is the deep immersion and satisfaction derived from working on challenging and enjoyable tasks – coding sprints, design breakthroughs, delivering a well-received presentation, completing a project, and the satisfying moment when a complex problem is progressed or solved. This is where productivity and happiness intersect, and you can develop environments where 'flow' thrives by minimizing distractions, encouraging focused work blocks, and matching employees' skills to appropriately challenging projects. 

3. Higher Purpose: Building Lasting Fulfillment ❤️

Higher purpose happiness is connecting work to a more significant meaning – ensuring customer needs are part of the business proposition, improving with user-centered design methods, contributing to open-source communities, ethical AI advancements, and becoming an industry thought leader.

This is the hardest to cultivate but the most powerful. Share your company's higher vision relentlessly. Highlight how individual contributions ladder up to this bigger picture. Volunteer for a cause you and your team care about and work towards a greater social good. Employees engaged with a purpose beyond the bottom line find the deepest well of happiness.

💥 The Short Of It

Embracing happiness is a win-win-win strategy. You're not just building products; you're shaping experiences. By embracing happiness as a core value within your organization, you can unlock a wealth of benefits, including:

• Unleashed Innovation: Happy teams think beyond boundaries. Empowered minds fuel disruptive ideas.

• Unwavering Loyalty: When people feel valued, they anchor themselves to your vision, reducing turnover and building institutional knowledge.

• Delighted Customers: Genuine joy is infectious. It radiates through your products and the way you support users.

• Elevated Brand: Become the company known for its vibrant culture. Attract top talent, mindful investors, and a loyal following.

• The Competitive Edge: Joyful, purpose-driven teams don't just succeed; they set new standards.

Happiness isn't a fluffy concept; it’s a strategic advantage creative leaders can harness to thrive in a competitive and ever-evolving industry. 

That’s it for this week!

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With ❤️ from Sally

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