Employee happiness is crucial for any organization. Not only does it help them retain talent, but it is also the key to improving performance. As a result, businesses and organizations around the world regard workplace happiness as a top priority.
However, some studies differ from this accepted notion. One, for instance, claimed that while happiness may boost productivity in some cases, too much emphasis on happiness can lead to the opposite results.
This puts organizations in a difficult spot – should they work towards ensuring employee happiness or not? What should be the right approach towards happiness?
Why Happiness Is Essential
Happy employees are an asset every organization needs. The main reasons for this include:
- It gives a boost to creativity and productivity
- It enables the employee to find effective solutions for a problem
- It aids teamwork and collaboration
- It makes them more socially active
- It makes them less likely to fall sick
The above points emphasize the fact that workplace happiness is beneficial for both employers and employees. But, this is only the brighter side of happiness. Research has proven that too much happiness can be harmful.
Why Is Too Much Happiness Not A Good Thing?
While happiness in moderation has a positive effect on a person’s psychology, excessive levels can be detrimental. Research has demonstrated that the pursuit of an idealized version of happiness can stop people from appreciating the present. As they strive to achieve a high standard of happiness, they get disappointed when they cannot get the expected results. In short, pursuing happiness can cause them to be unhappy.
Additionally, it has been found that excessive happiness can lower creativity in people. According to a 2008 research on the relationships between mood and creativity by Mark A Davis, people who experience excessive amounts of happiness show a drop in their creativity.
Too much happiness is disadvantageous for the workplace, too. When organizations focus too much on the happiness of their employees, they fail to challenge their capabilities. This can hinder the personal growth of employees, which gradually leads to falling productivity.
Moreover, if organizations bestow rewards or promotions in a bid to keep their employees happy, these could easily be taken for granted. Workers won’t work hard to reach a higher position, as they will know that they would ultimately achieve it no matter what they do. And that wouldn’t be in the organization’s interest.
The Right Approach Towards Workplace Happiness
Balancing happiness in the workplace is a tricky affair. Organizations need to ensure enough happiness among the employees to help boost productivity and achieve their goals. Defining a clear happiness policy is as essential as other more common workplace policies on equality, sexual harassment, etc.
While measuring happiness is close to impossible, tracking the mood of your employees can give you a fair idea of any potential issues. Eliminating toxic behavior along with encouraging compassion and understanding can help balance workplace happiness. Discussions with employees can also help an organization get a clear idea of what is expected of them.
Summing Up
While some organizations successfully maintain this balance of happiness among their employees, others may fail to do so. In fact, workplace clashes are very common in the US and other parts of the world. And these may be the cause of trauma (physical, mental, or both) for an employee.
Most cities within the US have lawyers willing to take up cases of employees challenging their employers for compensation. If you are in the city of Reno, for example, and face an issue or injury in the workplace, you can easily reach out to a Reno workers’ compensation lawyer to take action on your behalf.