Archive for happiness at work – Page 2

Happiness at Work: Not as Scary as You Imagine! (PS: It’s Not Kumbaya Circles)

Posted by Chris Cook on
 September 18, 2012
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Happy Woman in the Workplace

Greetings! I urge you to listen to a podcast I was invited to record last week with two fantastic business strategists—Randy Harrington and Carmen Voillequé. I met Randy when he spoke to a group at a Southern Oregon business conference in the fall, and we’ve been in contact ever since.

Here is a link to the interview:

The Happiness Factor: A Special Interview with Chris Cook of Capiche

I’m especially curious about your takeaways from this. How does this strike you? What does it make you think you need to do?

I also encourage those of you who live in Southern Oregon to attend the next Jefferson Grapevine this Wednesday, September 19. I will be presenting on how creating happy cultures at work leads to high performance. Click here for details.

I hope to see you there!

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Learning About Happiness and Company Culture from the Big Dogs

Posted by Chris Cook on
 August 6, 2012
  ·  No Comments

Your culture is your brand; your brand is your culture. The two are one in the same—inextricably intertwined. It’s where marketing, positive psychology and innovative business practices intersect. After spending more than 25 years as a professional marketer, I watched the concept crystallize during two amazing days last week in San Francisco.

These two days were in a master class with Nic Marks of the “think and do tank” called the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and five key members of the team at Delivering Happiness at Work.

Chris and Nic in San Francisco

Delivering Happiness at Work is a spinoff of Zappos, the shoe and apparel company known around the world for its success in creating a company culture that spawns success at every level, from employee happiness to customer happiness to shareholder happiness. When you think of Zappos, what comes to mind?

This spring, a new survey was launched by NEF, Zappos and Delivering Happiness at Work that measures the elements necessary for happy workers:

  • the personal resources people bring to work;
  • the environment people are asked to work in;
  • the functionality that results from the combination of resources and environment; and
  • a person’s overall experience at work.

While the concept seems so basic, the research behind the survey is immense. The realization that happy workers drive business success is sweeping the world, and the research keeps growing. The design of this happiness at work survey is based on more than 10 years experience of measuring happiness and well-being at the New Economics Foundation. The happiness at work survey translates—and transfers—these skills into the context of work and organizations.

The survey is free and available online here. Check out the survey and let me know if your organization is ready to brand itself with happy workers. Your employees will benefit, your customers will benefit and your bottom line will benefit. Wouldn’t you love to be among the organizations on the Best Companies to Work For list—all winners!

If you are ready to get going, give me a call at 541.601.0114 or email me at chris@capiche.us. Let’s talk happy. Let me help you find your own unique brand of happiness that will propel your organization forward past all your competitors. And let’s have a great time doing so!

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What Brings You the Greatest Joy?

Posted by Chris Cook on
 June 29, 2012
  ·  No Comments

 “What do you do?” a new acquaintance asked me the other day. “I’m in the business of changing people’s lives,” I replied.

“Tell me more,” he smiled. “I use co-active coaching, positive psychology and the science of happiness to help people become healthier, more productive and to flourish,” I said.

I followed up by asking him what in his life brings him the greatest joy. “My partner,” he replied. “She is an amazing woman, and we have a wonderful relationship. Every day is a new adventure, and I cherish our every moment together.”

“What would it be like if you could have that passion in other areas of you life—in your career, for example?” I invited him to explore. “It would be great!” he replied. “I’ve never really thought that could be possible. The place I work at is so miserable. While I try to stay positive, there is so much negativity around me when I’m there. I don’t think I can make lemonade out of the lemons I’ve been given at Blankety-Blank Company.”

Isn’t that the way so many people feel? And what a shame. The thing is, each person has the option to control a good deal of his or her own happiness. Here’s where the science of happiness at work comes in. Because we can measure the key drivers of happiness at work (contribution, conviction, commitment, culture, confidence—coupled with trust, recognition and pride), we can focus in on the areas that need a boost. My business, Capiche, does this with individual coaching and team workshops. The results are impressive—both for the individuals and for the company. Individuals gain greater confidence, creativity, energy and job satisfaction. The company gains longer-term employees with 100% greater productivity who take ten times less sick leave, provide better customer service, make more accurate and better decisions, and are better team players.

Are you interested? I’d love to explore how the science of happiness can work for you. I invite you to contact me for a 30-minute sample coaching session to explore your personal happiness—either as it pertains to work or anything else. If you are a team leader and want to explore how your team can be happier, contact me for a free team happiness at work report that shows where your team could use a boost. Nothing to lose. No obligations. No kidding! I’m in the business of changing people’s lives. chris@capiche.us or 541-601-0114

 

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April is the Cruelest Month

Posted by Chris Cook on
 March 20, 2012
  ·  2 Comments

Fools, showers and tax returns. Perhaps T.S. Eliot was right when he wrote that “April is the cruelest month.”

April is bad news whether you’re in New York desperately trying to fill in your tax return (due April 17 this year), in London gathering together your end-of-year accounts (April 6) or are one of hundreds of new graduates having a nerve-wracking start at a major company in Tokyo (April 1 is the usual date for the entry ceremony—Nyushashiki—for new employees).

Data gathered in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal (see original article; see results), tells us that people around the world are more unhappy at work in April than any other month. So why does this matter? The Science of Happiness at Work and The Performance-Happiness Model tell us that happiness is a significant indicator of performance outcomes. The happier employees are at work, the more they feel engaged, energized, and “on task.” And the less they’ll be out sick or thinking about leaving their job.

In other words, Happiness at Work predicts employee performance and motivation. And it has a significant impact on the bottom line.

Back to April and its effects. Employees appear to experience a significant rough patch throughout the month. They report spending less time on task, less time feeling energized, and less time feeling engaged. What’s worse for employers is that April is when employees report their greatest desire to leave their jobs.

But why April? There are two massive and obvious drivers: recruitment and HR practices.

Let’s take recruitment first. When organizations think of recruiting, they are unlikely to do it in December. They start in January. They write the job descriptions, check with HR and their favorite consultants. Then they get going in early February.

But by the time they’ve found the right person, April has come around–and that’s when employees move on. So it’s no surprise that the housing market is buoyant at the same time. Movement is the order of the day in April, so things get done before the summer break.

There is however a serious added effect. The employees who quit, don’t only leave their jobs: they leave a great deal of dissatisfaction behind them too.  No one likes being left while others move on to greener pastures.

The negative effect of changed relationships and responsibilities rumbles throughout April, spreading like contagion from person to person, but like wildfire if more than one key employee leaves. It’s the time when personal and professional networks interact creating a strong ripple effect.

Turning to HR practices. The exodus in April is often kick-started by new targets and key performance indicators set in January.  When the old year ends, a new one begins, and that’s when fresh targets are set. The satisfaction of having achieved a budget or met your targets lasts only a very short time—especially compared to the difficulty of starting again from scratch.

Many organizations make things worse by asking for “stretch targets” or “big, hairy, audacious goals,” aka impossible ones. Too often impossible goals, which get bosses salivating, are seen as unachievable and therefore massively demotivating by the employees who have to deliver them. Especially when those goals are coupled with uncertain economic times. That’s when employees start thinking about greener pastures—at the same time as recruitment is getting going.

So what should organizations do? Being aware of the coupled effect is one thing. If you know it’s happening you can take steps to nurture your best employees and make sure that you are connected to them. Especially at this time of year.

Oh. There’s one more thing to be aware of. Mondays are less happy than other days of the week. Employees report significantly lower levels of commitment to their jobs, goal achievement, feelings of efficiency and effectiveness, and general positive feelings to name a few.

This year April has five Unhappy Mondays and a tragic Tuesday (Tax Day). Enjoy them all.

If you’re interested in finding out how happy at work you are, click here. For a free team report for 9-19 people, contact Chris.

 

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Why Happiness at Work Trumps Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction

Why Happiness at Work Trumps Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction

Posted by Chris Cook on
 February 12, 2012
  ·  1 Comment

Last Friday, I had another chance to share the benefits of happiness at work – this time with 20 members of the Douglas County, OR, Society for Human Resource Management. There was a diverse group of organizations represented – from Roseburg Forest Products, the News Review, Umpqua Dairy Products and Ingram Book Company to the Umpqua Indian Development Corp.

As defined, happiness at work is a mindset that allows you to maximize your performance and achieve your potential.

During the two hours we shared, there was discussion about the difference between happiness at work, employee engagement and job satisfaction. Fortunately, I am familiar with recent research on just that topic, so I shared the latest facts.

The concepts are related, yet very different different. One thing is certain: happiness at work is a stronger predictor of performance than engagement or satisfaction. And that’s important because performance is what you really want on the job. Here’s the paradox: people who report high levels of happiness at work also report high job satisfaction and high engagement. But people with high engagement or job satisfaction are not always happy.

How can that be? You might be strongly self-motivated and power through the challenges at work (high engagement), but you may not be happy. Nor will you be satisfied with your job. (In fact, this is often the situation with executives. And this is a good predictor of intention to quit.) This suggests that happiness at work is a bigger and more important concept than employee engagement or job satisfaction. We know the drivers of happiness at work, and we can measure them quite accurately for individuals and teams. Job satisfaction and engagement don’t lend themselves to such definitive measurement. These two concepts are more closely tied to organizational attitudes that are extremely hard to interpret or influence. These typical questions illustrate this point: “My manager helps me engage with my work” and “As an employee, how satisfied are you with your work?” Engagement and job satisfaction are typically seen as driven by the top down. I believe that happiness at work is a joint responsibility of managers and employees.

Keep in mind that job satisfaction and engagement are older concepts that were developed in the ’60s and ’70s when the workplace was very different. They are based on research that occurred inside organizations whose structures were more hierarchical and had more of a command and control approach. This doesn’t jibe in today’s flatter, lean-and-mean organizations that rely more on knowledge work.

Happiness at work takes the traditional measures of employee engagement and job satisfaction to a deeper and more practical place, with outcomes of greater performance, leading to higher levels of productivity and profits.

 

 

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Something Seemingly Outrageous

Posted by Chris Cook on
 January 28, 2012
  ·  3 Comments

That’s what today’s strategic plans need to be, according to strategist, speaker and author Randy Harrington. Our economy is changing, Harrington explained, and three things are driving that change: 1) We value experience over acquisition, 2) The emergence of integrative technology, and 3) We respond more favorably to dialogue than directives.

Harrington addressed a room of ~300 Rogue Valley business people last Friday at the 8th annual Southern Oregon Business Conference, organized by Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI). He talked about how, as we move beyond the Great Recession, businesses will need leaders who are agile, adaptable, innovative and visionary. I’m not really sure how that is so different than before, but I hope to find out by reading his new book “Evolutionaries.”

Randy and Chris

To be sure, I agree with Harrington’s assessment of the three reasons our economy is changing. He talked about his twenty-something daughter not wanting a car. Not wanting a car? Well, that’s just plain un-American! That’s the main thing we all wanted at her age and younger. How can that be? Yet, she goes to India to work with severely handicapped youth. Hmmmmm. Guess that’s the new experience over acquisition paradigm. How have you experienced it?

Next, we look at integrative technology. It started out that we had these computers and we could do stuff on them, like solve an engineering problem, type a letter or manage a budget. Then, we could search the Internet and obtain information about everything. These days, our technology is doing even more—more than working on our command; they are working on our behalf. I’m so interested in seeing where this all goes . . . it’s called the semantic web and it will be ever present and ever helpful. (Click here to check out this Ted talk for some amazing info on the future of the web. Really incredible and so interesting.)

Finally, Harrington stressed the importance of relationships in the workplace. Dialogue over directives. Who hasn’t seen that emerge as the generations of workers move through and the work moves from task- to knowledge-based? And this is where my work with happiness in the workplace comes in (https://capiche.us/services/organizational-development).

In Harrington’s future vision, the most successful organizations will be led by “evolutionaries” and characterized by high energy and high speed, rockin’ and rollin’ with high levels of change—evolution. “All improvements are change, but not all changes are improvements,” he says. It takes an evolutionary to know one. Let’s all be on the lookout, and don’t forget your mirror. Thanks, Dr. Randy Harrington, for giving us plenty to think about.

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Is Anyone Sick of Happiness at Work? I’m Not, and Here’s Why

Posted by Chris Cook on
 January 22, 2012
  ·  3 Comments

Happiness at work is a big topic these days. I spoke to a packed room at the Medford Rotary about it just last week. Even with unemployment still looming large, most people are carrying 150% or more of the workload they were hired for. Companies are cutting their workforce without lowering the expected output. Someone needs to pick up the slack. How can employees stay positive and how can a company justify investing in workforce engagement programs?

How can they not? 

The billboard you see above is posted all over the San Francisco Bay area. There are many terrific books on happiness at work, and more and more articles continue to be published as the research continues. Just Google “happiness at work” and you will find articles in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, etc. There is even a great LinkedIn group that I belong to called ‘Happy at Work.’ Check it out!

According to one of my favorite happiness gurus, Shawn Achor, “Nearly every company in the world gives lip service to the idea that ‘our people are our greatest asset’. Yet when the Conference Board Survey came out last year, employees were the unhappiest they have been in their 22 years of tracking job satisfaction rates. Around the same time, CNNMoney reported a survey that indicated 84% of Americans are unhappy with their current job. Mercer’s “What’s Working” survey found that one in three US employees are serious about leaving their current jobs.”

Why is this lack of happiness at work important? Job satisfaction is not only the key predictor of turnover rates. In The Happiness Advantage, former Harvard University professor Achor makes the research case for the fact that the single greatest advantage in the modern economy is a happy and engaged workforce. A decade of research proves that happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%, as well as a myriad of health and quality of life improvements. Yet even those companies that do take leadership training seriously still ignore the role that happiness plays in leadership effectiveness.

So the secret is out! Happiness, job satisfaction and fulfillment, and employee engagement are WIN-WIN situations for employees and employers. How does your company invest in yours?

(Photo credit to: Anne Espiritu – Google+ http://bit.ly/pElTPu.)

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Is Happiness a Luxury Small Businesses Can’t Afford?

Posted by Chris Cook on
 November 10, 2011
  ·  6 Comments

As I am preparing for next week’s “Leveraging the Science of Happiness at Work” presentation to the Rogue Valley Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), I’m reflecting on a comment a Facebook friend made the other day when I shared results from a Wall Street Journal survey on happiness in the workplace.

She wrote, “As a small business-owner, no matter the type of business, my primary concern is to make a living, to pay my staff, my taxes and my vendors. Since 2008 when the recession slammed all of us, it’s been a very, very hard slog. Like many other businesses, we’ve laid off employees and we’ve cut costs to the bone. I’m concerned about survival – of my business and of my family. Frankly, ‘happiness’ on the job is merely a luxury, an afterthought that I cannot afford.”

I expect that many people are feeling the same way. What business owners don’t understand is that happiness at work – defined as “a mindset that enables action to maximize performance and achieve potential” – actually saves them money.  In fact, research has proven it can enhance revenue.

Empirical research by iOpeners Institute for People and Performance, involving 9,000 people from around the world, reveals some astonishing findings. Employees who report being happiest at work:

  • Stay twice as long in their jobs as their least happy colleagues
  • Spend double their time at work focused on what they are paid to do
  • Take ten times less sick leave
  • Believe they are achieving their potential twice as much

This means greater outcomes and profits for employers.

And the “science of happiness at work” has big benefits for individuals too. If you’re really happy at work, you’ll solve problems faster, be more creative, adapt fastest to change, receive better feedback, get promoted quicker and earn more over the long-term.

So the next time start to feel that happiness at work is a luxury you can’t afford, think again. Give me a holler if you’d like to see how you can be happier at work. I’ll provide a free individual or team happiness assessment to the first person that contacts me.

 

 

 

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Most employee problems are directly related to . . .

Posted by Chris Cook on
 October 26, 2011
  ·  No Comments

I’m presenting tomorrow at the University of New Mexico’s Mentoring Institute Conference on Leveraging the Science of Happiness at Work. Excited! Also doing a poster session and getting my paper published in the proceedings. A copy will soon be on this website.  

Today’s offerings opened with renowned researcher and publisher David Clutterbuck. I was pleasantly surprised that most of what he said was a refrain of the learning and research I have been doing – always nice to confirm!

He is colorful and has some pretty interesting points of view. 
1. Most employee problems are directly related to their supervisors. 
2. If succession planning works, then why do the wrong people keep getting to the top (I think his next book is on succession planning). 

Also, he shared some very powerful questions to use in coaching. 
1. What’s the risk in succeeding?
2. How many lies are you telling yourself about this?

He noted that men and women consistently tell themselves different types of lies. I invite you! Who wants to guess what the differences are?

 

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Playing to the Edge in Las Vegas

Posted by Chris Cook on
 October 5, 2011
  ·  7 Comments

What an incredible week as I attended the International Coaching Federation’s international conference! The theme was Playing to the Edge. With more than 1,000 coaches from around the world, we gathered together to continue our studies in the art and science of coaching and share perspectives on how we can help businesses and employees achieve their potential in our global economy.

Some of my personal highlights:

Having returned from the conference, renewed and invigorated, I was today’s guest on KCMX 880AM’s “Southern Oregon Live,” where I talked about happiness at work. In the next few weeks, I’ll be speaking at the 2011 Mentoring Conference at the University of New Mexico’s Mentoring Institute; return as a guest to KCMX, where I’ll appear on the “Open for Business” program; and also address the members of the Southern Oregon Chapter of the Society for Human Resources Managers in Medford, Oregon.

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