While most of us would agree that we would rather have employees be happy than unhappy, so complex is the nature of happiness that it often seems something that is beyond the duty of an employer to provide. After all, as Richard Easterlin famously describes in his eponymous paradox, and in his recent book An Economist's Lessons on Happiness, financial wellbeing often has a pretty limited impact on our overall happiness.
This should not deter us, however, not least as research from the University of Oxford found that happy workers are around 13% more productive than their gloomier peers. "We found that when workers are happier, they work faster by making more calls per hour worked and, importantly, convert more calls to sales," the researchers say.
The researchers mirror Easterlin's finding that paid work has little to do with our happiness, however, so what does? Insight may come from Harvard academic Tal-Ben Shahar, who outlines what he believes to be the key to happiness in his recently published book Happiness Studies.
The SPIRE of happiness - Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational, Emotional
He refers to the need to focus on our whole selves in order to be truly happy, and only when our “whole-being” has been satisfied will we be on the right path. By doing this we can begin to understand the various components that make us who we are, and can then start to tackle those aspects of our being and the relationship between them.
“Each element of whole-being - each part that makes up the whole - constitutes an indirect path to the promised land of happiness,” he writes. “In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of happiness studies, I have come to look at whole-being as a multidimensional, multifaceted variable that includes spiritual wellbeing, physical wellbeing, intellectual wellbeing, relational wellbeing, and emotional wellbeing.”
These five SPIRE elements allow us to indirectly aim to become happier, whether, through regular exercise, purposeful work, continuous learning, and quality time with family and friends, but Beh-Shahar believes there are a number of things we can strive to provide in the workplace to contribute towards a happier workforce.
Spiritual happiness
For instance, under spiritual happiness, the key is very much achieving the kind of purpose-filled life that has been so frequently discussed in recent years. While having meaning in our work life may not be what many describe as a spiritual experience, Ben-Shahar believes that spirituality is in essence a search for meaning, so it should very much apply.
If you’re looking to make changes in this way, tools like job crafting can be a fantastic introduction. Job crafting is when employer and employee work together to design meaningful and purposeful work, with evidence suggesting that not only does this make us more productive, but also more engaged with our employer and happier in our life.
Physical happiness
Physical health has obviously come to the fore during the Covid pandemic when ensuring people are not only free from illness but also protected from the various stresses that emerged during the past 18 months. It has given renewed emphasis to the importance of things like good sleep, adequate exercise, and a healthy diet to our happiness and effectiveness at work.
We’re increasingly seeing managers take a greater interest in the whole life of their employees, and things like exergaming have been shown to boost not only the physical wellbeing of employees but also the cohesiveness and togetherness of teams as well.
Intellectual health
For intellectual happiness, Ben-Shahar believes that curiosity is key. This makes complete sense as we’re living in an age of lifelong learning in which it’s paramount that we’re all able to adapt to the rapid pace of change in the world around us. It’s no longer enough for thinking and learning to be something done by a few in our organizations and the rest just go through the motions each day.
To develop a culture of curiosity in our organizations requires not only the psychological safety that allows people to speak up, even when going against the grain, but also the creation of the right conditions to allow curiosity to flourish.
Relational happiness
The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a light on the importance of others to our happiness, with loneliness reaching endemic levels. In the workplace, this has also shown its importance, with workplace friendships strongly linked to happiness and longevity at work. The virtual nature of much of working life during Covid-19 has made building these relationships that bit harder and it’s important that post-Covid life addresses these shortcomings.
Ben-Shahar also suggests that it’s important that we encourage ourselves and others to give freely to those around us. Adopting an open and helpful approach to our work has been shown by Adam Grant to not only be successful for us as individuals but also for our teams and our organizations. Giving to others also makes us happy so it’s definitely something to pursue.
Emotional wellbeing
Last, but not least are our emotions, and we can often fall into the trap of thinking that emotions have no place at work as it’s neither professional nor businesslike. Ben-Shahar suggests this is counter-productive, and if managers are to encourage our whole self then emotions are a big part of that. We’re seeing this more and more in the workplace with an appreciation for things such as grief, but also the anxieties that have surfaced during the pandemic.
Managers need to be able to cope with the full gambit of emotions among their staff to enable them to be truly happy and engaged, and being versed in active listening can be a good first step towards achieving such a culture.
Achieving happiness in such uncertain times is by no means easy, but following the SPIRE approach is certainly one that will have you heading in the right direction. Whether you’re only managing yourself or managing others, it’s something to aspire to.