why happiness at work is a serious business - nic marks speaking at nixonmcinnes, nov '13

Happiness at Work

Nic MarksHappiness Works @happiness_works"

Watt’s Perfect Engine

Watt’s Governor – beautifully simple

We are emotional beings

Barbara  Fredrickson’s  theory  of  the  evolu7onary  role  of  posi7ve  emo7ons  

1.  Posi7ve  emo7ons  BROADEN  our  thoughts  &  ac7ons:  paying  more  a,en-on,  being  more  crea-ve  &  playful,  open  to  rela-onships,  and  flexible.  

2.  Posi7ve  emo7ons  BUILD  psychological  resources:  resilience,  coping,  physical  abili-es,  emo-onal  intelligence,  social  skills  and  self  mastery.  

emotions are contagious

emotions are contagious we co-ordinate them

emotions are contagious and communicate with them

emotions are contagious we share them

Photo by Annika Bischof

CONNECTED:"The amazing power of social networks "

and how they shape our lives"

Nicholas Christakis & James Fowler; 2009"

=2,000+  

•  Emo7ons  help  us  regulate  our  behavior  

•  They  are  also  highly  contagious  

•  “Nega7ve”  emo7ons  help  us  deal  with  threats  

•  “Posi7ve”  emo7ons  help  us  deal  with  (and  create)  opportuni7es  

3  great  pieces  of  research    

about    

happiness  at  work  

1  the  role  of  posi7ve  emo7ons  in  

team  performance    

Role of Emotions at Work"

Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work""Study of 60 Strategic Business Unit teams, each of eight

people, all from within the same organisation.""The SBUs performance categorised in terms of:"

–  Profitability (SBU profit & loss accounts)"–  Customer satisfaction (surveys & interviews)"

Each “utterance” in meeting was coded in terms of:"–  Positivity (support, encouragement, appreciation)"–  Negativity (disapproval, sarcasm, cynicism) "

Role of Emotions at Work"

Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work"

Team Performance

HIGH (15)

MEDIUM (26)

LOW (19)

Role of Emotions at Work"

Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work"

Team Performance Positivity / Negativity ratio

HIGH (15)

MEDIUM (26)

LOW (19)

Role of Emotions at Work"

Fredrickson and Losado: Positive teams at work"

Team Performance Positivity / Negativity ratio

HIGH (15) 5.61

MEDIUM (26) 1.86

LOW (19) 0.36

Role  of  Emo7ons  at  Work  

Fredrickson  and  Losado:  Posi7ve  teams  at  work  

Magic  Ra7o  of    Posi%ve  :  Nega%ve  

3  :  1  to    8  :  1    

BUT – they do NOT show causality

Happiness  at  Work  

•  So  does  Happiness  come  from  HIGH  performance?    

•  Or  does  Happiness  lead  to  HIGH  performance?  

•  Or  both!  

2  the  rela7onship  between  

happiness  and  performance  through  7me  

Happiness  at  Work  

Happiness  T1   Happiness  T2  

Performance  T1   Performance  T2  

11  organisa7ons;  2,000+  teams;  140,000+  respondents  

Happiness  at  Work  

Happiness  T1   Happiness  T2  

Performance  T1   Performance  T2  

11  organisa7ons;  2,000+  teams;  140,000+  respondents  

Happiness  at  Work  

Happiness  T1   Happiness  T2  

Performance  T1   Performance  T2  

11  organisa7ons;  2,000+  teams;  140,000+  respondents  

Happiness  at  Work  

Happiness  T1   Happiness  T2  

Performance  T1   Performance  T2  

11  organisa7ons;  2,000+  teams;  140,000+  respondents  

Both  models  fi_ed  the  data  …            Source:  Causal  impact  of  employee  percep7ons  on  the  bo_om  line  of  organisa7ons;  James  Harter  et  al;  Perspec7ves  on  psychological  science  5(4);    2010    

Both  models  fi_ed  the  data  …  but  Model  1  was  much  be_er    “these  data  suggest  that  the  impact  of  …  [happiness  at  work]  on  …  performance  is  twice  as  large  as  from  performance  to  …  [happiness  at  work]”      Source:  Causal  impact  of  employee  percep7ons  on  the  bo_om  line  of  organisa7ons;  James  Harter  et  al;  Perspec7ves  on  psychological  science  5(4);    2010    

Happiness  works!    It  is  a  serious  business  …    But  somehow  it  is  not  being  taken  seriously    

3  the  stock  market  performance  of  

great  places  to  work  

“The  management  are  focused  on  employees  to  the  detriment  of  shareholders.      Why  would  I  want  to  buy  a  stock  like  that?”  Equity  analyst  quoted  in  Business  Week  

“I  happen  to  believe  that  in  order  to  reward  the  shareholder  in  the  long  term,  you  have  to  please  your  customers  and  employees.”  Jim  Sinegal,  Costco’s  CEO,  quoted  in  the  Wall  Street  Journal      

Companies  listed  in  the  top  100  “great  places  to  work”  have  outperformed  the  market  every  year  between  1985–2011  by  2.3  –  3.8%.  Source:  “The  link  between  Job  Sa7sfac7on  and  Firm  Value”  Alex  Edmans;  Academy  of  Management  Perspec7ves  2012  

 Source:  “The  link  between  Job  Sa7sfac7on  and  Firm  Value”  Alex  Edmans;  Academy  of  Management  Perspec7ves  2012  

0%  

50%  

100%  

150%  

200%  

250%  

300%  

350%  

1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  

CRSP  Value  weighted  index  of  US  stocks  

Fortune  Magazine's  100  Best  Places  to  Work  

 Source:  “The  link  between  Job  Sa7sfac7on  and  Firm  Value”  Alex  Edmans;  Academy  of  Management  Perspec7ves  2012  

0%  

50%  

100%  

150%  

200%  

250%  

300%  

350%  

1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  

CRSP  Value  weighted  index  of  US  stocks  

Fortune  Magazine's  100  Best  Places  to  Work  

Companies  listed  in  the  top  100  “great  places  to  work”  have  outperformed  the  market  every  year  between  1985–2011  by  2.3  –  3.8%.  Source:  “The  link  between  Job  Sa7sfac7on  and  Firm  Value”  Alex  Edmans;  Academy  of  Management  Perspec7ves  2012  

Companies  listed  in  the  top  100  “great  places  to  work”  have  outperformed  the  market  every  year  between  1985–2011  by  2.3  –  3.8%.  Source:  “The  link  between  Job  Sa7sfac7on  and  Firm  Value”  Alex  Edmans;  Academy  of  Management  Perspec7ves  2012  

2.5x  ROI  

•  Posi7ve  teams  are  characterized  by  be_er  performance  

•  Happiness  at  work  predicts  performance  (a  leading  indicator)  

•  Happier  companies  outperform  their  compe7tors  on  the  stock  market  

What  could  it  mean  for  your  company?  

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Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate  

Benefit  

Absenteesim  

Staff  Turnover  

Produc7vity  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate  

Benefit  

Absenteesim   -­‐38%  

Staff  Turnover   down  25-­‐65%  

Produc7vity   up  21%  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

up10%  

Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate  

Benefit  

Absenteesim   -­‐38%   -­‐10%  

Staff  Turnover   down  25-­‐65%  

-­‐10%  

Produc7vity   up  21%   +5%  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

up10%   +10%  

Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate   Benefit  

Absenteesim   down  38%  

-­‐10%  

Staff  Turnover   down  25-­‐65%  

-­‐10%  

Produc7vity   up    21%  

+5%  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

up    10%  

+10%  

TOTAL      

Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate   Benefit  

Absenteesim   down  38%  

-­‐10%   £16,667  

Staff  Turnover   down  25-­‐65%  

-­‐10%  

Produc7vity   up    21%  

+5%  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

up    10%  

+10%  

TOTAL      

Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate   Benefit  

Absenteesim   down  38%  

-­‐10%   £16,667  

Staff  Turnover   down  25-­‐65%  

-­‐10%   £15,680  

Produc7vity   up    21%  

+5%  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

up    10%  

+10%  

TOTAL      

Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate   Benefit  

Absenteesim   down  38%  

-­‐10%   £16,667  

Staff  Turnover   down  25-­‐65%  

-­‐10%   £15,680  

Produc7vity   up    21%  

+5%   £122,500  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

up    10%  

+10%  

TOTAL      

Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate   Benefit  

Absenteesim   down  38%  

-­‐10%   £16,667  

Staff  Turnover   down  25-­‐65%  

-­‐10%   £15,680  

Produc7vity   up    21%  

+5%   £122,500  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

up    10%  

+10%   ??    (lower  cost  of  sales)  

TOTAL      

Benefits  of  Happiness  at  Work  Gallup  data  

Modest  es%mate   Benefit  

Absenteesim   down  38%  

-­‐10%   £16,667  

Staff  Turnover   down  25-­‐65%  

-­‐10%   £15,680  

Produc7vity   up    21%  

+5%   £122,500  

Customer  Sa7sfac7on  

up    10%  

+10%   ??    (lower  cost  of  sales)  

TOTAL       £154,847  

Happiness works"•  More innovation"•  Higher performance"•  Shareholder value"plus … lower absenteeism, less staff turnover, better customer service and increased word of mouth recommendations"

"

 But “happiness at work” is not mainstream … yet!"

Taking  happiness  mainstream  

Taking  happiness  mainstream  

Enthusiasts"

Pragmatists" Conservatives"

Skeptics"

Innovators" Source: “Crossing the Chasm” Geoffrey Moore; 1999"

Mind  the  gap  …  

Pragmatists" Conservatives"

Skeptics"Enthusiasts"

Innovators"Source: “Crossing the Chasm” Geoffrey Moore; 1999"

Understanding  the  gap  …  

Innovators & Enthusiasts"

The GAP" Pragmatists"

Creating the future" Dealing with the present"Enjoys being the first" Values experience"

Likes new ideas" Likes what works "Inspired by the vision" Interested in details"

“State of the art”" “Industry standard”"

Happiness  works  …  

Innovators & Enthusiasts"

The GAP" Pragmatists"

Creating the future" Dealing with the present"Enjoys being the first" Values experience"

Likes new ideas" Likes what works "Inspired by the vision" Interested in details"

“State of the art”" “Industry standard”"

✔✔ ✔✔

✔✔

www.happinessatworksurvey.com  

a  sta7s7cian’s  strategy  for  bridging  the  gap  

a  strategy  for  bridging  the  gap  

• 50% of people have done one in last 3 years"

• 80% of them think it made no difference to their working lives"

• Why?"

what’s  wrong  with  staff  surveys?  

•  Wrong questions"•  Bad user experiences"•  No feedback to individuals

and teams"•  6 weeks till a report"•  Statistics too complicated"•  Not enough consistent

follow up and through from the organization"

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•  Happiness is more than engagement"•  Instant results"•  Team level results"•  Easy to use "•  Results easy to understand"•  Accurate reflection of the organisation"•  Encourages conversations and insights"•  Helps turn insights into actions"•  Measures changes over time"•  Based on state of the art measurement

techniques"•  More cost effective"

Business Case:"10 reasons why a happiness survey is better than engagement surveys"

“If  you  look  at  the  modern  workplace,  I  would  say  it's  one  of  the  most  feedback-­‐deprived  places  in  American  civiliza7on.”  “feedback  comes  in  the  form  of  a  once-­‐a-­‐year,  awkward,  45-­‐minute  conversa7on  with  your  boss.  It's  a  feedback  desert.”  Washington  Post,  9th  January  2011  

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www.happinessatworksurvey.com"

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Mirrors and Windows"

The happiness at work tool helps organizations and leaders to “lean” towards the future rather than just looking back at last years performance""It acts like a mirror – helping the system become more aware of itself""It also acts like a window – showing the possibility of a better way""Leaning = Learning and Leading "

“the finger that points

to the moon is not the

moon”    

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The BIGGEST conversation"

 The  tool  points  to  happiness  at  work  but  it  is  NOT  happiness  at  work!    It  will  only  be  useful  if  it  provokes  conversa7ons  and  insights  within  the  organiza7on    And  those  conversa7ons  and  insights  need  to  be  turned  into  posi7ve  ac7ons    

Only  if  insights  are  generated  

and  acted  on  will  change  happen  

Happiness  Insight  Engines?  

www.happinessworks.com  

www.happinessworks.com