The Science of Happiness at WorkTM proves Happiness provides performance & Profits
News Update: iOpener Institute UK Institute is the first organisation in the world to have gained the unprecedented understanding of the link between happiness at work and performance. Or rather how we can drive high performance by focusing on the tangible elements that make up a person’s level of happiness at work.
Life Masters is accredited by iOpener Institute UK to bring this cutting-edge research and knowledge to South African organisations. We now offer a powerful suite of online organizational development diagnostics, coaching & training solutions as well as direct consulting, business strategy, Blue Ocean Innovation, Appreciative Inquiry to transform team building and organisational Culture.
Rigorous Happiness at work Research, carried out globally
iOpener Institute UK Institute has invested 6+ years researching and building a body of empirical and published evidence on the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM which shows that increased performance is driven by happy employees. And that the happiest employees have the greatest positive impact on any teamwork and organisation.
And demonstrated ROI for our clients
Research showns that smart organisations that invest time and energy using the The Science of Happiness get a measurable return on that investment. State-of-the-art profiling and assesments enable us to use data that organisations already collect, like six sigma, customer complaints, or sale figures to show the impact of the work we do.
Our people interventions have a positive impact on our clients’ bottom line. Every time we work with a client, we are able to demonstrate this positive impact to them upon completion of the project. This is our promise. Our interventions work because they take the ‘guesswork’ out of organizational development. They are targeted programmes backed by science that offer a whole system approach.
So what do we base our work on?
iOpener Institute UK Performance-Happiness Model illustrates the broad structure of our approach to performance-enhancing interventions in organisations. It’s a model that directly reflects the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM and the robust statistical analysis that lies behind it.
The Performance-Happiness Model
Thei research shows that ‘achieving your potential’ is at the centre of the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM.
To get there people need 5 components, known as the 5Cs, each of which plays a major role:•
Contribution – involves the effort people make and their perception of it.
• Conviction – means the short-term motivation everyone experiences.
• Culture – indicates the sense of ‘fit’ employees have.
• Commitment – is about long-term motivation and engagement.
• Confidence – reflects the sense of belief people have in themselves and their job.
If employees have these 5Cs they’ll be happy and high-performing at work. And as result, they’ll achieve their potential. But every one of the above items needs to be in place for organisations, teams and individuals to be delivering of their best and fulfill their potential.
Trust, Recognition and Pride
An additional 3 important attributes bind these 5Cs together: they are Trust, Recognition and Pride. And they are critical for happiness and performance. It’s important to know that they refer to organisational Trust and organisational Pride, and often walk hand-in-hand. So employees who are proud of their workplaces are likely to trust them too.
Recognition is different: It’s about personal effort being publically noted and appreciated: and that doesn’t refer to or involve pay or bonuses.
Why the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM™ – and why now?
A note from Jessica Pryce-Jones, CEO of iOpener Institute UK and author of ‘Happiness at Work; Maximizing Your Psychological Capital For Success’ [Wiley Blackwell 2010]
“Organizations today are often very unhappy places to be: there’s too much to do, too few resources, too little talent and still so much waste. Leaders everywhere worry about retaining their best people, ensuring motivation, making initiatives work, and getting projects delivered, all while enabling everyone to stay creative and innovative.
But how happiness at work?
Our knowledge-driven and service-led organizations need to get to grips with the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM™ for 3 important reasons:
• Happiness drives tangible benefits to the bottom line
• Happiness is linked closely to performance; the happier people are, the more productive they, their teams and their organizations are
• Happiness is measurable, manageable and actionable.
Our robust research and development tells organizations not only what to focus on but how to go about it
So what’s the definition of happiness at work?
At the iOpener Institute for People and Performance™, they define it as a mindset which allows employees to maximize performance and achieve their potential.
We’re not talking about emotional highs or personality here. They’re referring to is mindset happiness, something which has been shown to be relatively stable, yet open to change, and change for the better. It’s a resource which enables individuals to deal with the tough stuff, and to take personal responsibility in their own particular working context. The happiest employees:
• Stay nearly 5 times as long in their jobs
• Spend double the time focused on what they are paid to do in the workplace
• Take ten times less sick leave
Do these desirable things lead to happiness at work?
Interestingly happiness at work is a key driver of these positive outcomes. That’s why deploying the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM really matters.
And it matters now more than ever before, because we have a crisis of the fundamental things that the enable happiness and performance: trust, pride, confidence, recognition, personal energy, goal achievement, leadership. The list goes on.
Moreover the importance of general happiness is now part of the zeitgeist. The idea of measuring national progress by the happiness of its citizens has attracted leading economists and political leaders across the world. And we know it’s something that’s really important to Millennials – or Gen Y-ers – the global and connected talent of tomorrow’s leadership teams. They like it, they want it and they want it now.
Employees are stretched to capacity, and being pressured to do ever more. That means organizations who focus on the benefits that the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM brings, gain commercial upside that not only accelerates their performance, but ensures that they thrive over the next decade and beyond. Because they’ll keep their top talent, keep performance high, and keep their costs down.
Money can’t buy happiness. But when looking at the bottom line, happiness sure saves money.”
What’s being measured – happiness versus engagement?
We’re often asked about the differences between happiness at work and engagement. Many experts think that engagement is the result of matching job resources and job demands. And we think that part of those job resources is an individual’s overall happiness at work and mental resilience.
When happiness at work is lower, then a person has fewer resources to meet their job demands and they disengage from their job. In other words happiness at work drives engaged behavior.
A second vital difference is this. We believe that happiness at work is the joint responsibility of an individual and their manager; it is not the responsibility of a manager alone. Traditionally engagement is owned by leaders and it’s up to them to make sure their employees are engaged. But in today’s tough times leaders and managers have more than enough to do. And the idea of one person being responsible for another’s happiness at work is simply obsolete.
The The Science of Happiness at Work™ – an agenda for action
Given the growing importance of happiness at work right now to leaders, politicians and economists across the world, and the scientific rigour underpinning the link between happiness and productivity in particular, the iOpener Institute UK Institute and its partners have 5 ambitions for The The Science of Happiness at WorkTM™.
We are to:
• Establish the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM as the definitive measure for employers and employees who want to improve performance. Happiness at work is science. But it’s not rocket science and most importantly, it delivers tangible and measurable results.
• Influence employers to use this measurement. Economic uncertainty has decreased performance, motivation and happiness levels at work. We know because our data is clear. But anything that isn’t measured, isn’t managed either. And both are crucial for any employer who wants to deliver organizational strategy by using this ground-breaking new science.
• Support leaders and managers as they use the The Science of Happiness to improve performance. We’ve developed a fully-supported or standalone approach. This means that leaders and managers can help themselves and their organisations to achieve their strategic ambitions and manage this internally if they want to.
• Influence individuals to place a greater emphasis on the The Science of Happiness as a measure which will guide them through their careers. Being more aware of happiness at work is the first step towards understanding that although work can’t ‘make’ anyone happy, individuals can make themselves happier at work.
• Work with government to ensure that workplace happiness is measured in the happiness at work index. For the first time, politicians are listening and thinking about happiness: they know that for all its importance, strong economic growth and great financial results are the outcome of a strategy, not the strategy per se. When it comes to making and measuring government policy, money matters. But happiness matters more.
Clients already benefiting from the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM
In South Africa, we are already working with a number of household brands, banks and government departments, as well as with SMEs. The data collected in South Africa is giving validated insights into the ‘cost of misery’ particular to this country’s work environment. And our case studies are clearly demonstrating how we at Stoke – and through our community of licensed practitioners – are able to make a positive difference to these organisations’ employees and to these organisations’ bottom line.
Who is behind the The Science of Happiness at WorkTM?
Life Masters and iOpener Institute UK Institute for People and Performance –
CEO Jessica Pryce-Jones says iOpener Institute UK Institute for People and Performance and our accredited partners provides practical solutions to common and complex workforce issues. Its specific purpose is to assess, analyse and act upon the factors that create high-performing workplaces. This means that they:
• Assess the key components of workforce issues
• Analyse what affects performance levels
• Act to improve the performance of organizations and people
Over the past six years their world-class, in-house research team has developed meticulous and innovative ways of assessing what enables people to consistently deliver measurable and sustainable results. Working to the highest academic standards, they create knowledge and translate it into practical audit, assessment and development solutions for individuals, teams and organizations. To find out more, please
Contact Tony Dovale on 083-447-6300 or email Morehappiness@ coachfree.com we offer 360 degree assessments, resileince coaching, consulting, organisatioal Culture and straTEGIC FACILITATION
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