Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

Everyone wants a happy workforce. But achieving that goal is more difficult than it seems.

A "hot off the press" study of workplace happiness by Kronos sheds light on what makes people happy at work. 

And what doesn't. 

Everyone wants to be happy.

 

First, where do we currently reside as a national workforce? It isn't pretty.

• 51 percent of workers are not engaged.
• 17 percent are actively disengaged.
• 61 percent of employees have considered looking for a job in the past year. 26 percent in the past week.

OK, so we have work to do.  So, how do we make people happy? More engaged?

How about more money? Not so fast my friend.  From the study...

• Pay raises don't always boost appreciation. If they do, they're quickly forgotten. While salary, promotions, and bonuses typically win out in employee motivation surveys, nearly a quarter (24 percent) of those who ever received a pay raise say it did not improve their motivation or general feelings of appreciation at work.
  
  • Perhaps worse, of those who had ever received a past pay raise, 40 percent said it improved their motivation or general feelings of appreciation for six months or less, while 30 percent say the raise boosted these feelings for a mere month or less; making day-to-day acts of gratitude and appreciation in the workplace that much more important.

So, money isn't a long-term solution. So what is, according to the study?

The simple act of saying "thanks."

• When asked what gives them a high sense of satisfaction at work, employees say receiving a "Thank you" from their direct manager (55 percent) nearly doubled that of public recognition of a job well done (28 percent) even if this recognition is tied to rewards such as a gift card or company award.
• Receiving positive feedback from fellow employees at all levels gave the highest sense of satisfaction, with 70 percent of employees saying it provides a boost.
• Private, one-on-one communication is preferred over receiving positive recognition with others present or copied on a group email (59 percent vs. 26 percent); while 61 percent prefer verbal recognition (either privately or in front of a group) over electronic communication such as email (24 percent) when receiving positive feedback.

If you work with anyone, this study should be required reading.

And here's perhaps the kicker. The study asked people what they'd do if they replaced their boss. Here's the answer.

• What would employees change if they traded places with their boss for a day? While more than half of employees feel at least mostly appreciated at work, more than three-quarters (76 percent) who have a direct boss/manager think they could do even better. When asked what they would immediately change with respect to showing appreciation and recognition if they traded places with their boss, 38 percent - the highest percentage - would simply say "Thank you" more.

So, here's to the fist-bump, the pat on the back, and the thank-you. These are the stuff of happiness.

And they don't cost a thing.