Happiness

It is one of those glorious British summer days today. The sort where everything gets soaked in that nice yellow glow. Even people. Us Brits are so grateful to discover we actually have a day of uninterrupted sunshine that it sends us a bit giddy.

There are all sorts of reasons why humans respond so well to the sun – but science aside, it’s just such a good feeling to see the sunshine spread the happiness bug.

If only you could bottle it and squirt some back into the office. A Gallup report (mentioned in this interesting infographic) suggests that 72% of U.S. workers are ‘sleepwalking’ through the working day and that 18% of disengaged workers actively undermine their co-workers’ success.

Sounds more like a storm is brewing!

It seems the key to happiness is more flexible working – the ability to do shift work and avoid the commute not only puts smiles on employees’ faces but also boosts productivity.

Our obsession to work in this ‘flexible’ utopia is due to the daily demand of trying to squeeze in our ‘lives’ around the 9-5. It’s a weekly challenge to stay on top of the to-do lists – both at the office and at home.

Being in control of your life is an essential ingredient to happiness though according to a report by the Futures Company called An Introduction to happiness – is it your business?  Globally 83% of people surveyed felt that being in control was extremely important to them – more so than any other factor including looking after their health or having fun.

Only 36% of people agreed that they would be happier if they had more material possessions. In fact 52% of people in the UK agreed they have learnt how many things they can do without since the recession and still be happy.

According to the report, it seems we have become ‘tired of wealth and consumerism for its own sake’ and are looking for a ‘deeper sense of meaning and purpose.’

But how does this transcend to the workplace and what does it mean for communications? The report suggests that by paying attention to employees’ life satisfaction and mood, businesses could boost workforce health, creativity, productivity and loyalty.

If organisations want to put an end to the ‘sleepwalking,’ we probably need to see even more flexible and remote working, which will inevitably create more disparate workforces. This only means communications will have to work even harder to engage their internal and external audiences. Not just because of location but also to ensure the messages are right.

With social networking being implemented in more and more organisations, employees are able to control the workplace debate. But organisations will continue to need separate channels to establish their culture and lead the conversation – and ensure their stakeholders are happy. Perhaps now more than ever.

Right then. The sun is still shining so I think I’ll go and soak up a bit of that happiness for free…