Why the philosophy of management should be the pursuit of happiness
The economist Richard Layard recently published a book with the title Can We Be Happier?, where he explained the 10 keys to happier living, which he helped define together with the Dalai Lama. The book offers some very interesting and surprisingly simple actions that people can take regularly to enhance their wellbeing.
However, since the workplace plays such an central role in our lives, it’s important that companies take action to make people happier too. To do this effectively, however, we need to completely rethink the philosophy of management.
First and foremost, companies need to provide an environment that meets the following criteria:
Employees are given more influence over how their work is organized
Managers are appointed only if they can inspire and lead
Employee wellbeing is tracked and measured
At Attuned, we believe that understanding other people’s Intrinsic Motivation is the key to better communication. When managers can see what’s most important to their team members, they can communicate with them in the way that they are best communicated with, rather than the way that feels most natural to the manager. This approach increases mutual understanding, removes friction and leads to a faster adoption of this new environment.
Giving employees more influence over working styles
By using Attuned’s 11 Motivators, a manager can see at a glance what’s most important to each employee. For example, do they have a strong preference for working interactively with other team members (i.e. a high need for Social Relationships), or do they enjoy working by themselves (a high need for Autonomy), or would they prefer to switch between the two?
Employees who score highly in both Financial Needs and Competition, meanwhile, usually require clear rules for recognition and reward, so that they can understand their individual contribution and goals. (Although it’s worth noting that data from the US General Social Survey suggests that pay based on team or company performance makes people work harder and quit less frequently. The reason? Individual-performance-based pay can produce jealousy while group-performance-based pay enhances team spirit.)
Alternatively, some employees might place greater emphasis on scheduling their work hours at a time of day when they are at their most productive (a high need for Autonomy). Traditional flextime systems have something called Core Hours, where all employees are required to be in work or available online during certain hours. However, more modern systems offer total flexibility on when and where to work, which requires a high level of trust between the company and the employee.
It’s also important to clarify how employee performance is measured, especially for people who have a high need for Security. This is key in order to evaluate employees on what they have achieved rather than how long they are at work.
Last but not least, managers need to be more supportive of their employees to ensure that they feel comfortable having more control of their work. The easiest way to accomplish this is to be yourself while paying attention to your own interpersonal blindspots.
Managers need to inspire and lead
The Nobel Prize-winning economist and psychologist Daniel Kahneman conducted a study to find out which times of day are happiest for people. It turns out that the worst time of day for most people is when they are with their boss—meaning that the person who should be inspiring you to work hard and appreciating your work most often makes you feel lousy! Similar findings have been reported by other studies, including by pollsters Gallup.
One probable cause for this is a difference in values. Unfortunately, compared with behavior and personality, a person’s values are very difficult to see. This is why Attuned offers a view to uncover interpersonal motivator gaps.
Using this feature, a manager can instantly check their motivational gaps compared with any chosen employee, and thus make sure they remain aware of these blindspots when communicating. For example, if the employee has a high need for Innovation but the manager does not, there is a risk that the environment will not be creative enough for the employee to thrive. Paying attention to such gaps removes friction in communication, leading to a more fruitful manager-employee relationship. By using this tool, even less experienced managers can jump on the fast track to becoming highly skilled people managers.
Making employee wellbeing measurable
It’s often said that “if you can't measure it, you can’t improve it,” and this also applies to wellbeing.
It’s important for companies to use effective tools to run regular checks on employee wellbeing and also to circulate the results. This brings transparency to the inner workings of the company and highlights any chronic issues that require immediate attention. Addressing such issues promptly helps companies stay attractive on the job market and avoid unwanted turnover.
Mental illness is a major cost to business as it accounts for half of all absenteeism and reduces the average firm’s output by about 2% annually. A research report published by HR Magazine shows that when organizations put a lot of effort into improving employee engagement, it results in more motivated people who feel a sense of accomplishment at work. Typically, these people have higher levels of personal wellbeing.
Attuned measures employee engagement and presents results on both a team and a company level.
It’s possible to drill down into the data to uncover possible causes for low employee engagement. This can be done by analyzing each motivator to see how employees evaluate the company’s efforts to satisfy their needs in this regard. In Attuned, this measurement is expressed as a weather icon, from sunshine to thunderstorms.
In short, making sure your employees are happy is key to optimizing performance and productivity, and minimizing turnover—and it’s easy if you have the right tools.
Download The State of Motivation Report 2024. It’s free!
