How employers can make workers happier

Gallup released on Mar. 19 its 14th annual World Happiness Report. Nordic countries, like Finland, Denmark, and Iceland, topped the list again, while some Western nations, including the US and Canada, fell slightly compared to previous years.

Happiness can be influenced by several factors, including social support, GDP, freedom, life expectancy, and social media, the latter of which the report considered for the first time this year. A person’s workplace could influence their happiness as well.

“Work matters tremendously to happiness,” Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, told HR Brew at the report reveal. “You get a sense of purpose. You get a sense of belonging. This is the ideal. You get a sense of contribution.”

Various workplace factors can influence a person’s happiness, including having a true friend, according to Rubin. “Somebody who has your back; to whom you could confide an important secret.”

Multiple studies indicate that happy people are also more productive at work. As the great (fictional) Elle Woods once said, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.” So perhaps it makes sense that happy people also “have less unhealthy behaviors, like less burnout [and] less days off,” Rubin said. “They make better team leaders and better team members.”

Employers can play a role in boosting happiness by allowing workers more flexibility when it comes to when, where, and how they work. “People at work who control their time and how they work are much happier,” Rubin said.

Happiness looks different for everyone, according to Rubin, noting that there are multiple academic definitions of the word. Employers can look to these to understand if their employees are happy and engaged.

“Do they have strong social trust? Do they have strong social bonds? Can people say difficult things to each other? Can they joke around?” Rubin said, adding that employers should keep track of absenteeism, turnover, and complaints for signs of trouble. “It’s definitely something that’s worth studying, if only for the benefits to the bottom line.”