Unlocking Happiness At Work

Unlocking Happiness At Work, How A Data-Driven Happiness Strategy Fuels Purpose, Passion And Performance, by Jennifer Moss, Kogan Page 2016

Is it possible to use the words "work," "happiness" and "data" realistically in the same sentence?  That is, does happiness at work exist and can it be created on purpose at good companies?  Author Jennifer Moss presents convincing corporate examples to illustrate her point - Whole Foods, Zappos and the US Navy - that our work lives and our personal lives or inextricably mixed and that is indeed possible to be happy at work.  

"My job throughout this book is to debunk some of those pervasive happiness myths that hold us back from feeling like we can be our authentic selves," says Moss.  "Happiness is a scientific discussion that should be assessed against any other people investment you're currently making."

Aha!  So that's where the data comes in.  "We focus too highly on building on the existing skills of our employees," says Moss.  "But why don't we invest more to increase resiliency, mindfulness, empathy, gratitude - overall emotional intelligence?"  Enter case study Zappos - In ten years Ton Hsieh grew Zappos online retail sales to one billion dollars.  The company's unusual culture shown through to customers; Hsieh wanted a place there encouraged people to "hang out with each other when they leave the office."  Money - pay increases and bonuses - were awarded for improving skill sets.  Employees have the choice of how many and what skills they want to develop; Moss says this option not only makes employees feel valued, but makes for a more flexible operation in which employees can quickly be deployed to a unit needing help.  

Virgin Airlines headed by the legendary Richard Branson also illustrates Moss' concept of a strong culture focused on making the staff happy.  The company changed some rules to make taking time off mandatory, and they backed it up with tracking employees' house to ensure they were taking break time.  The company, the data shows, is still profitable, 14.4M pre-tax pounds in 2014, on track to hit 100M pounds by 2018.

Readers may find it hard to move from the corporate culture stories to individual brain dynamics, but Moss's Introduction and Chapter 1 are great maps.  Moss describes a personal experience - her Olympic athlete husband Jim losing his ability to walk - and how the brain works to be positive and happy, and not surprisingly, these two sections are more persuasive than the Zappos, US Navy, Virgin Air, and Whole Foods examples because they are personal.  Neuroplasticity is what gives the brain the ability to constantly shift and reorganize, and it may be that is how her perpetually positive hubby looked ahead after his setback.  The author could well have dedicated more chapters to this brain research material because corporate culture is now recognized as critical.