The Truth Behind Employee Happiness

Many companies believe increasing employee happiness by providing napping lounges or lunchtime yoga is the best way to increase productivity. However, the article “Why Employee Happiness Shouldn’t Be Your No. 1 Goal” by Sue Bingham (Founder and principal of HPWP Consulting) presents that these solutions are only short term. In reality, treating employees right and challenging them should be a company’s number one goal.

SOURCE: https://brettmh2.files.wordpress.com

Sue Bingham explores the idea that while providing employees with luxury things like a free coffee bar can be beneficial to their happiness, this happiness is only short term. The overall effect of providing employees with unnecessary luxuries does not increase overall productivity and could lead to pitfalls in the foundations of a company. Not addressing performance issues can overall lead to lower productivity and little respect between a boss and their employees. Setting high expectations should be a goal for an employer because this will give employees something to work towards. With a happy-centric environment, employers often forget they should be critical of their employees. Although they should be to some extent because often times they will work harder as a result. Furthermore, employees will always be wanting more and more if they regularly expect such luxuries.

The real way to increase productivity and employee mentality is to treat employees as equals, challenge their abilities, be involved in employees work, and invest in the individual. Treating employees like adults will allow them to “see that you appreciate their opinions, which will foster mutual respect.” Challenging employees abilities will force them to work harder and strive to do better, especially with employers encouragement and support. At the end of the day, being involved in employees work will show that you care. “As a leader, you have to acknowledge your employees' contributions every day because they're your biggest assets.” Finally, investing in each individual employee will help with acknowledging their efforts and improving their weaknesses. The article explains that if an employer follows these steps, their employees will be more productive rather than providing them with unnecessary, expensive luxuries.

In my opinion, if I were an employee of course I would love to have random perks to a job like you see at Google headquarters. However, I find that even in school I work harder when my teacher/employer is encouraging to me. I find it amazing how small changes could produce a more productive work ethic and I think it is important that many employers realize this. If all businesses ran this way, I believe our society as a whole would run better and the overall happiness of the working class would greatly improve. In my next post I plan to wrap up the topic and reflect on my own community and my own experience with happiness and I will find an article that talks about happiness is different social classes to support this.