What is happiness & engagement?
Employee happiness and engagement are closely related. Happiness refers to a positive feeling. Engagement refers to the degree to which a person is committed on an emotional level to the company and one’s responsibilities. Both reinforce each other. When a person feels involved, it has a positive impact on the feeling of happiness. Experiencing a sense of belonging is also a universal need. Conversely, people who feel comfortable in their work and are less likely to experience work pressure, for example.
How can you measure happiness & engagement?
Happiness is a specific emotion that everyone experiences differently. What makes one person feel happy may be less relevant to another. So when an employee satisfaction survey simply asks how happy someone feels, you get an answer that can cover a variety of aspects. It is therefore important to use a good measurement scale to measure both positive and negative feelings, as well as engagement.
Drivers of happiness & enagement
Much scientific research has been done on the “drivers” behind happiness and engagement. By analyzing these drivers in relation to current work happiness and engagement, you can determine what factors your organization needs to work on to increase employee work happiness and engagement.
People within your organization may need to work on different drivers on different levels. Some teams may need to work on “psychological safety” while in another business unit, “meaning-based leadership” or “empowerment” may need attention. The Happiness & Engagement Scan shows you exactly where you need to work on which driver within the organization.
Why happiness and engagement matter
Happiness has positive effects on various organizational outcomes. For example, an extensive study at the University of Oxford found that employees who feel happy while performing their tasks are 13% more productive.
Other studies have shown that organizational happiness and engagement are associated with, among other things:
- increased task persistence
- more creativity
- less absenteeism and staff turnover
- higher customer satisfaction
So plenty of reasons to work on work happiness and engagement!
Happiness & Engagement Scan
Our Strategic Alignment Scan measures the level of alignment within your organization and shows you how you can improve it. Download the product sheet to learn more.
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